Want to make a decent horror film.

Abraxas Studios

Abraxas Studios

Hello,

I've been watching a lot of horror films of late and I've been very disappointed with them all. It seems that they just make a rubbish film, get an excellent trailer made, then everyone goes to see and gets disappointed.

I have had an idea for a horror film that I think could work, I'd just like your feedback on my overview (It is pretty rough at the moment and it is a possibly touchy subject)

Overview:

A young struggling documentary maker, James, is about to give up on his dreams when he is given the perfect lead. He is told that a house in the countryside was the site of a religious massacre. A priest slaughtered 30 children that he thought were the spawn of witches.

James gathers up his film crew and convinces them to take on the job. A couple of days in he realises that there is more to this story than it would seem. The priest was just a small part of a massive religious cult known as the "word of jesus" who actively seek out witches and "tainted" women and children.

James incurs the wrath of the spirits of the remaining members who try to curse James in to submission. James pulls through, finishes the documentary and exposes the cult. The exposure leads to the capture of hundreds of cult members and forces the disbandment of the cult.

----



Thanks in advance!

Spencer
 
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It's okay. Seen this kind of thing before though, but that's not always a bad thing. I guess it depends on where you go with the premise, and how the 'scares' happen, and what are the scares exactly.
 
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harmonica44 said:
It's okay. Seen this kind of thing before though, but that's not always a bad thing. I guess it depends on where you go with the premise, and how the 'scares' happen, and what are the scares exactly.
Click to expand...

It's pretty hard to do something 100% original. I plan to make this something different with the way the shots are placed.

This film is going to be about suspense and getting in to peoples heads rather than just making people jump. Fear shouldn't be about making people jump for a few seconds, it's something that stays with people.

That being said, I appreciate your feedback and I understand your points. It's kind of hard to get across what the film will be like with a rough outline. Maybe I will post the treatment or 1st draft for you all to see after.

I'm a massive fan of old horror films (personal favourite is Bram Stoker's Dracula) so I want to bring horror back to something that really affects people.

Enough rambling from me, I look forward to hearing other peoples views on my outline.
 
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I think it needs a bit more explanation. So the cult are still going in this house? Or are they ghosts? If they're still alive, how do the documentary crew get access? Is it actually the cult that are antagonistic? Or were they right, the witches do actually exist?

I think you've got a good starting point, but it needs expanding, maybe even in your own mind.

Keep at it, you could have something. Definitely give it a full treatment and get that up here. Id love to hear what you come up with!
 
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As mad hatter said, it's a good starting point.

It'll all come down to the details and execution to whether it becomes another disappointing horror movie or one of the greats.

Good luck!
 
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Combination ghost story and angry zealots sort of film?
Cool.

Do you have reasonable access to primary locations?

Also, where will this be distributed for views?
 
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Don't take this the wrong way or anything, I am genuinely curious, but why the obsession with horror? So many film makers post here about wanting to make a horror or slasher film. How come?
 
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ITREF​
MileCreations said:
I am genuinely curious, but why the obsession with horror? So many film makers post here about wanting to make a horror or slasher film. How come?
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Check out the Average Gross revenues per genre: http://www.the-numbers.com/market/Genres/
ITREF​
Then consider the production expense and market saturation for different genres.

  • Dramas and comedies are cheap to make* but are a dime a dozen, thus NOT likely to generate any decent revenue.
  • For the typical indie filmmaker adventure stories are too expensive to transport equipment, cast & crew around. The financial risk-reward is too high.
  • Action films also get expensive. Breaking & crashing things costs money! And actors get hurt = $$$.
  • SciFi/fantasy often look like sh!t when done on the cheap.
  • This largely leaves horror as a sensible compromise between inexpensive drama and emotionally stimulating action.

Ta-da!
That's why.

Boobs & blood. Can't beat 'em with a stick. ;)



* When approaching filmmaking from a business perspective it's best to consider the likely "fixed" revenue a particular genre film is statistically likely to generate - THEN - develop the wildly "varaible" production budget accordingly, (typically less than expected revenue.)
My film 'Slasherz Revenge' has the potential to earn $10k in VOD revenue.
Therefore, my production budget should be less than that, say... $3k-$5k, to be on the safe side.​
Too often DIY filmmaker writer/director/producers just wanna make a film with little practical concern over the revenue potenial their film has.
I wanna make 'Zombie Trannys In Da White House'!
I'm gonna spend whatever it takes to get this film made!
If I film it they will come (with cash!) :rolleyes:​
Well... there goes $10, $20, $50 thousand out the window never to be seen again.



PS, just a random bit of insight a moment ago:
In discussing genres, generally we're talking about generating emotions.
Dramas are meant to incite motivating attachment.
Comedies are meant to generate amusement.
Romance are meant to incite feelings of appreciative love.
Action/Adventures are meant to incite entertaining thrills and excitement.
And horror films are meant to incite horror.
Blah, blah, blah. Whatever.

A modern audience is generally well aware of what's possible, plausable, and truely threatening, thus attempting to generate genuine "horror" is a rather mighty task.
However, generating genuine "disgust" may be considerably easier.

Just a thought. ;)
 
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As Ray has pointed out, horror can be made for next to nothing and provide a reasonable return on investment, more so then any other genre. So, from a business end, horror is a good choice if you have little money, but want tomake lots.

But it's also important to consider who filmmakers are. I want to be a filmmaker, because I love film. I really enjoy watching what other people create, bad or good, so I want to do that too. Although I'm a fan of all genres, I'm passionate about horror; I love nothing more than a good bit of old-fashioned gore. Can't beat it! So, being such a fan of the genre, I too want to make horrors. Simple as that. Sure, if budget allowed it, I'd love to make an epic sci-fi or action film, but, as it stands, that's not going to happen. So I'll stick, more than happily, with my horror films!

And I know I'm not alone, hence the number of wannabe horror filmmakers.
 
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Hi guys,

Thanks for the feedback, I'm working on the treatment at the moment. I'll send it to anyone here who is interested in seeing it when it's done.

Rayw - I have set it with fairly easy locations to get hold of, so they shouldn't be a problem. I would obviously love to have this a theatre release, though I am well aware that it would probably end up as straight to DVD (Even that is if I get lucky)

I will be looking to bring on some serious investors on to the project within the year, if anyone thinks they might be interested then just message me and I'll keep you updated with it's progress.
 
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Spencer, if I may share a cautionary tale, I felt (and feel) exactly the same as you do. But here's the hard lesson I've just learned:

I read all of the stats detailing how horror, sci-fi, and action are the only 3 genres that can obtain distribution without a name actor attached. Since a name actor was out of my reach, and sci-fi and action were more expensive, I opted to try my hand at horror.

However, most of the low budget horror movies I'd watched were, as you say, rubbish. All had the same plot (if you can call it that), same cheezy dialogue, same trailer filled with screaming and blood splattering. I wanted to do something with a bit more meat on its bones. So I did. It didn't really turn out to be a "horror" film, by the modern definition, but more of a supernatural thriller.

At the theatrical screenings it was a big hit with audiences. They loved that it had an actual story along with its supernatural elements.

Distributors, however, were another kettle of fish. You see, even a horror film has to have elements that they consider marketable, and story ain't one of them. They like a trailer filled with screaming, cutlery flashing, blood splattering and tits flopping, and mine didn't have nearly enough of that, so not a single distributor was interested.

For what it's worth, unless you can hire a name actor, be prepared to lower your standards if you care about distribution.
 
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2001 Productions said:
Spencer, if I may share a cautionary tale, I felt (and feel) exactly the same as you do. But here's the hard lesson I've just learned:

I read all of the stats detailing how horror, sci-fi, and action are the only 3 genres that can obtain distribution without a name actor attached. Since a name actor was out of my reach, and sci-fi and action were more expensive, I opted to try my hand at horror.

However, most of the low budget horror movies I'd watched were, as you say, rubbish. All had the same plot (if you can call it that), same cheezy dialogue, same trailer filled with screaming and blood splattering. I wanted to do something with a bit more meat on its bones. So I did. It didn't really turn out to be a "horror" film, by the modern definition, but more of a supernatural thriller.

At the theatrical screenings it was a big hit with audiences. They loved that it had an actual story along with its supernatural elements.

Distributors, however, were another kettle of fish. You see, even a horror film has to have elements that they consider marketable, and story ain't one of them. They like a trailer filled with screaming, cutlery flashing, blood splattering and tits flopping, and mine didn't have nearly enough of that, so not a single distributor was interested.

For what it's worth, unless you can hire a name actor, be prepared to lower your standards if you care about distribution.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, even as I write out the treatment I can see it becoming a supernatural thriller. However I think I can reel it back in to the realms of horror.

I am not sure if I can get any named actors but I guess I will have to wait and see what the script ends up being like.

Thanks for letting me know though :)
 
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I've come to the realization that the low-budget horror genre is not very different from porn, in that the typical viewer isn't really interested in thinking too hard about it, but wants to be engaged on a more - er, shall we say - "visceral" level.
 
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2001 Productions said:
I wanted to do something with a bit more meat on its bones. ...... by the modern definition... more of a supernatural thriller.
Click to expand...

I'm not really into horror films; I just don't see the point of all that gratuitous violence and gore. There is nothing "wrong" with violence, or graphic depictions in film - "Saving Private Ryan" is extremely violent, extremely bloody, and, to me extremely horrifying.

I really go for the supernatural thriller. Probably one of my favorites - and it was (again, to me) a pretty creepy film - was "The Changeling."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080516/
 
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Alcove Audio said:
I really go for the supernatural thriller. Probably one of my favorites - and it was (again, to me) a pretty creepy film - was "The Changeling."
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Oh, man! I remember seeing that film long, long ago when HBO first began. Haven't seen it for 30 years! Must see again.

A recent supernatural thriller I really like is The Woman in Black. I've wanted to do the stage version of it for many years. You'd really appreciate it, Alcove, as it's performed on what is essentially an empty stage, with the entire world of the play created with sound effects.
 
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2001 Productions said:
I've come to the realization that the low-budget horror genre is not very different from porn, in that the typical viewer isn't really interested in thinking too hard about it, but wants to be engaged on a more - er, shall we say - "visceral" level.
Click to expand...
LOL! Agreed.
Tired & bored with no intention of looking for anything meaningful and quite a great deal of intention of looking for something stupid, I caught the first half hour of 'Klown Kamp Massacre.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klown_Kamp_Massacre (Strongly suggest Abraxas read the three 'References' interviews.)
And I found myself thinking "You know... if a film intrinsically is sh!tty, and KKM qualifies even though it's pretty darn good by Troma standards, it might as well have boobs an blood in it."
http://www.youtube.com/user/klownkampmassacre/videos?view=0

In my 'Lo/No Budget Indie Film Review' thread I've observed that when filmmakers of few resources take themselves tooooooo seriously the product just looks like sh!t.

Get over yourself.

Entertain some people. Don't even try to make a serious film with a few thousand dollars these days. It just isn't going to happen.

IMHO, of course, or until I see a considerable new influx of lo/no budget indie films that contradict that observation.



Bonus!: http://www.youtube.com/user/Tromamovies/videos?view=0
 
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Love Horror and as a kid, loved going to the local video store with my friend. yes I said it VIDEO STORE and finding the best B type slasher. To me they are more then just movies the b type of slasher films bring about a certain type of people who understand the humor when it comes to death in movies.

However I disagree on the porn thing. I mean yeah, there are some tits and sex scenes but it's still a movie none the less, which requires a lot of work to pull off even if it is the most zero budgeted movie.
 
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