Originally Posted by
Luris Blear
Horror goes through phases. It's happened before with the Universal monsters. It will come around again.
The studios (like it or not) invest more money in a lot of these movies than many people will see in a lifetime. They need the return of a whole hell of a lot more money than many of us will see in a lifetime or else they go broke. That means gaffers and matte artists are pretty well fucked, too. I mean, the system as is does pay the bills on the bottom rungs, too.
The information age is opening up to us like a three dollar whore. This can be a great time for non-Hollywood types to make their move. The thing is, they are going to have to step up their game. There will always be a base for "it isn't Hollywood" types who will watch anything. I have the feeling there are a lot more horror fans who don't give a damn where it came from as long as it appeals to them and is executed well enough. (I use the word "appeal" for countless reasons. First and foremost that horror is a very personal thing.)
I'll forgo the obvious indie horror title and go with The Deaths of Ian Stone. The ideas were, if not 100% fresh, an exciting combination of concepts into a new whole. "Story" wasn't replaced with "endless angst-ridden jabbering." Gore was present when someone was murdered, but wasn't the purpose of the movie either. It appeals to me as what Indie fillmakers could do when they pull their focus away from one branch of horror, and what Hollywood could be getting behind to excite their audiences.
But even most indie studios are in it for the buck. No one seems to care if the Computer Graphics look more like Roger Rabbit than any image of horror. Even too many who are in it for the art seem to get blindsided by a limited view of what horror is, or worse -- too busy trying to be the Anti-Hollywood. This is sad, too. Hollywood has spent the last several decades aping the risks that indy filmmakers made successful. Too many indie filmmakers seem scared of doing that, when they obviously have the drive and vision to give Hollywood a firm kick in the jewels.