David Pierdomenico
What do It, The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity, Halloween, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre all have in common? Besides each being horror classics in their own right, each of these films were more profitable than The Avengers. Certainly it grossed over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. But when factoring in the staggering amount of money it took to produce, The Avengers only managed to make 6.9 times its budget back.
And while that by no means diminishes its blockbuster status, that number is minuscule compared to horror. Each of the aforementioned horror films managed to gross well over 10 times their production budget. The original Halloween managed to make over 200 times its budget, while Paranormal Activity takes the cake with an astronomical gross of over 12,800 times its production budget! Clearly, the true yellow brick road is paved by making films that terrify people.
Why Horror Wasn’t Always Taken Seriously
The horror genre has never been known for its prestige or Hollywood star power. Hearkening back to the 1950’s, both horror and science fiction were seen purely as “B-movie material and “Creature Double Features”. Acclaimed director Rob Zombie even describes the era exploitation horror from the 1970’s as “one step above porn.” Because of all this, it’s quite clear why the genre struggled to be taken seriously in Hollywood. To date, only one horror film has ever won Best Picture (The Silence of the Lambs, 1991), yet there is an endless list of social dramas and historical epics that have won the golden statue.
Why We Love Horror
And yet, among all the derision by critics, it is horror that remains the most profitable genre by far. The simple reason behind it: people love to be scared. Call it the dark side we all have, call it an evolutionary leftover from our Neanderthal ancestors, we have in us a desire to feel primal fear. And watching a horror film is one of the only ways to experience this fear but in a safe and controlled environment. It allows us to escape the issues of daily life and experience the catharsis of true fear and adrenaline…all while knowing we are never any legitimate danger. Interestingly enough, you will also burn more calories from watching horror than any other genre, due to the adrenaline and nervous systems being triggered.
Why It’s So Profitable
Obviously there’s always been an enormous demand for horror, yet there is equal demand for entertaining comedies, action films, and superhero sagas. Yet none of these come close to making back 20 or 200 or even 12,000 times their budget. The reason lies in just how cheaply horror can be produced. In order for a typical tent pole blockbuster to be successful, a studio will need to spend quite a bit on visual effects, large crews, and salaries for A-list actors. A low budget action film with limited effects and no star power will quickly be relegated to the bargain bin at Walmart. Horror, on the other hand, uses these very disadvantages to its own favor.
It can get away with using smaller and limited sets because isolation adds to the tension. It can get away with and underuse of visual effects because often what we don’t see is far more frightening to the imagination. And finally, it can get away with casting unknowns because it allows us the audience to relate to the characters more. Part of what made films like 28 Days Later and Paranormal Activity so haunting was the fact that the actors didn’t look like movie stars, but rather ordinary, relatable human beings. With all this in mind, a decent horror film can be made for tiny fractions of what any other genres cost to produce.
Why Horror Will Never Die
Any diehard film buff or even casual moviegoer will lament at the current state of cinema. They will argue that Hollywood is out of ideas, that the vast majority of films are either sequels, remakes, or “re-imaginings”. And while there is merit to this argument, and while horror is at times just as culpable (look no further than the 3rd reboot of Halloween coming out later this year), horror has a much better chance at retaining originality.
The simple fact is studios are afraid of risk. And it’s much easier for them to approve a budget for an original horror film that will cost less than $10 million than an original blockbuster that will cost over $100 million. This practice has yielded such recent films as A Quiet Place, Get Out, Split, It Comes At Night, Lights Out, and Don’t Breathe, all of which were original horror/thriller films and all of which were highly profitable due to low production costs. Get Out even went so far as to obtain a nomination for Best Picture, a feat almost never achieved by the genre. It remains one step closer to gaining it the prestige it has long since deserved.
With all of this in place, horror is certainly going nowhere, and will maintain its status as the one genre audiences can always expect original ideas, and studios can expect astronomical payouts based on their budget.
