Why you should make a horror film
With Halloween jumping out from the shadows, it’s that time of year where horror movies take centre stage. While the calling of this genre is doubtless to many filmmakers, there are many out there creating work in other genres who are yet to take their first bite into horror. For those yet to take a stab at the genre - especially those who are thinking about it - here are a few reasons why you should absolutely make a horror film.
Written & interviewed by Mark Brennan
First, the filmmaking challenge. No genre has more tropes to defy, renew, or twist than horror. They’ve become so enshrined over the years that films parody them, and it becomes harder and harder to do something new and leave your own mark. To do that, a filmmaker needs to know exactly what they want to achieve and how they’re going to achieve it. Scares need to shock, jokes need to land, neither of which are easy to achieve if you haven’t tried before. Manage either or both of these things, and you’ve added a significant string to your filmmaking bow.
“In my opinion everyone should try to make a horror film once. Fear isn’t unique to established horror filmmakers. Fear is universal. From the time we emerged from the sea, we have been afraid. It’s also the most profitable and popular genre right now, so those that used to look down upon it, are now looking up at the dominance of it and being left behind. Jump on the horror express and join us!” - Jed Shepherd (Host, Dashcam)
Secondly, and perhaps most importantly when it comes to attempting a low-budget horror, you can get away with a lot more imperfections with production value in horror than most other genres - and a big reason for that is the audience.
Horror fans in film festival audiences will have seen almost every type of death, device for suspense, physical location of trapped characters, and tropes in the genre. So, while it’s a challenge to show them something they haven’t seen before, they really are rooting for you - because they want a good time! The horror festival community is one of the most welcoming out there, appreciating any and all efforts filmmakers put into bringing something new to the table.
Thirdly, it’s the avenues available to find those audiences. On the festival circuit there are a litany of festivals out there dedicated to the genre and (with a dedicated following to boot), such as FrightFest, Horrible Imaginings, and Dead By Dawn. Additionally, the beauty of a well-crafted horror film is that it also has the potential to be considered for non genre-specific programmes of broader festivals too, including Encounters and Indy Shorts.
“Filmmakers with horror shorts get a dual opportunity to play the festival circuit, both with genre-specific fests and traditional fests with horror categories. New filmmakers will get the opportunity to compare and contrast how their film plays to different audiences and network with other filmmakers, both in and out of the genre. Candidly, our pre-screeners and jury members are much more picky when it comes to horror and comedy, and filmmakers who make effective films in these genres should feel extremely proud as their films are selected at festivals.” - Greg Sorvig (Indy Shorts)
So, simply by making a horror film, you automatically increase the programming potential of your film with an increased pool of potential festival selections.
And when the festival run is over, there are popular platforms such as Alter and Shudder that host horror films online, offering the potential for your film to find and grow an audience even further.
So, with all that said, if you like scary movies… What are you waiting for?
A grusome tale of horror filmmaking
Horror film festivals and programmes