A strong message is going out to Hollywood: Horror films do not need to be made with obscene budgets that would feed a third world country. I hate the look of those high tech movies that appear to have been made on computers. Ingenuity, performances, and screenwriting are far more effective than endless mind-numbing special effects. Especially when it comes to the overused CGI technology.
The first Paranormal Activity was reportedly budgeted at an astonishing $15,000. In theaters alone it brought in nearly two hundred million dollars in box office revenue. This is before home video and television sales.
The second Paranormal Activity was made for quite a bit more money, but still a pittance in comparison to nearly any other movie that gets a wide distribution. Three million dollars to make it, and it earned seventy five million dollars at the box office. Not quite the hit as the first PA movie, but not so shabby either.
The third Paranormal Activity movie was the biggest success of all of them. Made for five million dollars, it made $203,148,425 worldwide.
As always, fans were divided about these movies, but I liked them all. And I'm most heartened that I felt that the third Paranormal Activity was easily the best in the series so far. With these kind of profits there will certainly be another in the series this Halloween. Let's hope that the filmmakers can keep the same kind of quality up that we've seen in them so far.
Released in August 2010, The Last Exorcism was budgeted at merely 1.5 million dollars. It wasn't as lucrative as the Paranormal Activity films, but it brought in nearly seventy million dollars. Not a bad haul for its backers. I really liked this one, too. It's one of my favorite horror movies of the last decade.
Last year's Insidious had the same million-and-a-half dollar budget that The Last Exorcism had, but it was even more profitable. Insidious made over ninety million smackers home. I did like Insidious, and I felt that the first half had some seriously intense moments. It kind of fell apart in the end for me, but not enough so that I hated it. Insidious is a pretty good horror movie. I sure as hell have seen a lot worse.
Now we have The Devil Inside. It has only been in theaters for a couple of weeks, but it has brought in almost fifty-million dollars so far. And that number is rising. Its budget? One million dollars.
I have not seen The Devil Inside yet, but I plan to before the week is over. The trailer looks pretty damned good to me.
I know that a lot of independent, low budget horror movies are made, but the movies I have talked about here have gotten wide theatrical releases and they have all been huge money-makers. I'm not talking about Avatar-type money, but for the relatively small investments, they are, in my opinion, just as successful.
We've all seen big budget horror done well. The Exorcist, The Silence of the Lambs, and Scream come immediately to mind. But for most longtime fans, the most effective horror movies have been done in the low budget arena. Big budget horror in recent memory has been acutely disappointing: The Wolf Man, Van Helsing, and that Underworld crap come immediately and painfully to mind.
I urge everyone to get out and see The Devil Inside. As well as any other low budget horror movies that come to theaters near you. I know it's hard to tear yourself away from your beloved home entertainment systems, but we need to continue to send the message to Hollywood.
The first Paranormal Activity was reportedly budgeted at an astonishing $15,000. In theaters alone it brought in nearly two hundred million dollars in box office revenue. This is before home video and television sales.The second Paranormal Activity was made for quite a bit more money, but still a pittance in comparison to nearly any other movie that gets a wide distribution. Three million dollars to make it, and it earned seventy five million dollars at the box office. Not quite the hit as the first PA movie, but not so shabby either.
The third Paranormal Activity movie was the biggest success of all of them. Made for five million dollars, it made $203,148,425 worldwide.
As always, fans were divided about these movies, but I liked them all. And I'm most heartened that I felt that the third Paranormal Activity was easily the best in the series so far. With these kind of profits there will certainly be another in the series this Halloween. Let's hope that the filmmakers can keep the same kind of quality up that we've seen in them so far.
Released in August 2010, The Last Exorcism was budgeted at merely 1.5 million dollars. It wasn't as lucrative as the Paranormal Activity films, but it brought in nearly seventy million dollars. Not a bad haul for its backers. I really liked this one, too. It's one of my favorite horror movies of the last decade.
Last year's Insidious had the same million-and-a-half dollar budget that The Last Exorcism had, but it was even more profitable. Insidious made over ninety million smackers home. I did like Insidious, and I felt that the first half had some seriously intense moments. It kind of fell apart in the end for me, but not enough so that I hated it. Insidious is a pretty good horror movie. I sure as hell have seen a lot worse.
Now we have The Devil Inside. It has only been in theaters for a couple of weeks, but it has brought in almost fifty-million dollars so far. And that number is rising. Its budget? One million dollars.
I have not seen The Devil Inside yet, but I plan to before the week is over. The trailer looks pretty damned good to me.
I know that a lot of independent, low budget horror movies are made, but the movies I have talked about here have gotten wide theatrical releases and they have all been huge money-makers. I'm not talking about Avatar-type money, but for the relatively small investments, they are, in my opinion, just as successful.
We've all seen big budget horror done well. The Exorcist, The Silence of the Lambs, and Scream come immediately to mind. But for most longtime fans, the most effective horror movies have been done in the low budget arena. Big budget horror in recent memory has been acutely disappointing: The Wolf Man, Van Helsing, and that Underworld crap come immediately and painfully to mind.
I urge everyone to get out and see The Devil Inside. As well as any other low budget horror movies that come to theaters near you. I know it's hard to tear yourself away from your beloved home entertainment systems, but we need to continue to send the message to Hollywood.
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