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Let's not forget the legendary Blair Witch Project. Horror, as a genre, if done well can work incredibly well on a very small budget. Not sure many other genre

Let's not forget the legendary Blair Witch Project. Horror, as a genre, if done well can work incredibly well on a very small budget. Not sure many other genres can achieve the same level of audience emotion on similar budgets.

js2 8y ago
One of the first in the "found footage" genre. FWIW, I find that film terribly boring.
- GW150914 8y ago
  I was working in a movie theater when that was released, and watched it when I got off work one day. I love horror movies, but I agree it was a dud. Given that it inspired countless even less compelling imitators it has a lot to answer for imo. Responding to the thesis of the article though, I think comedy is at least as disrespected as horror.
mrob 8y ago
Drama can theoretically succeed on an even smaller budget. Consider "12 Angry Men", which is practically a stage play. Single set (with very minor exceptions), minimal props, mostly just talking, and it's a critically acclaimed film. And there are plenty of unknown actors and writers who think they could be great if they got the chance, and they can't all be wrong. Maybe someday we'll get something just as good made on a zero budget with phone cameras and natural lighting.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
  Also The Man From Earth, which also takes place almost entirely in a single room and is just some people talking for 90 minutes, but keeps you thoroughly engaged for every second of it.
- ghaff 8y ago
  And you don’t even need to go zero budget. Even $10K or so in camera, lighting, and audio gear gets you to a pretty nice setup by historical low budget standards.
jccalhoun 8y ago
I really like the Blair Witch Project. Maybe it is because I kind of love the style or the low budgetness of it. Maybe it was because it came out when I was first getting online and reading movie sites and so I heard about it (and knew it was not actual found footage) long before it started being advertised. Maybe it was because it was one of the first movies to have all this cross-media stuff like their web site and the special that aired in tv about The Legend of the Blair Witch. And their short-lived tv show Freaky Links was really ahead of its time (it is basically about a youtuber hunting paranormal stuff but it came out in 2000)
- ghaff 8y ago
  I’m not sure I have much interest in rewatching it but it was certainly a film that was notable in part because it brought in all these things that had never really been seen before.

js2 8y ago

One of the first in the "found footage" genre. FWIW, I find that film terribly boring.

GW150914 8y ago
I was working in a movie theater when that was released, and watched it when I got off work one day. I love horror movies, but I agree it was a dud. Given that it inspired countless even less compelling imitators it has a lot to answer for imo. Responding to the thesis of the article though, I think comedy is at least as disrespected as horror.

mrob 8y ago

Drama can theoretically succeed on an even smaller budget. Consider "12 Angry Men", which is practically a stage play. Single set (with very minor exceptions), minimal props, mostly just talking, and it's a critically acclaimed film. And there are plenty of unknown actors and writers who think they could be great if they got the chance, and they can't all be wrong. Maybe someday we'll get something just as good made on a zero budget with phone cameras and natural lighting.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
Also The Man From Earth, which also takes place almost entirely in a single room and is just some people talking for 90 minutes, but keeps you thoroughly engaged for every second of it.
ghaff 8y ago
And you don’t even need to go zero budget. Even $10K or so in camera, lighting, and audio gear gets you to a pretty nice setup by historical low budget standards.

jccalhoun 8y ago

I really like the Blair Witch Project. Maybe it is because I kind of love the style or the low budgetness of it. Maybe it was because it came out when I was first getting online and reading movie sites and so I heard about it (and knew it was not actual found footage) long before it started being advertised. Maybe it was because it was one of the first movies to have all this cross-media stuff like their web site and the special that aired in tv about The Legend of the Blair Witch. And their short-lived tv show Freaky Links was really ahead of its time (it is basically about a youtuber hunting paranormal stuff but it came out in 2000)

ghaff 8y ago
I’m not sure I have much interest in rewatching it but it was certainly a film that was notable in part because it brought in all these things that had never really been seen before.