Whilst once a strong contender for the most overlooked genre on the Hollywood radar, those days are over. With horror as the new hot contender for indie and mainstream producers alike, and Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead leading the charge, our resident expert entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, takes a closer look.
Brandon Blake- Managing Partner at Blake & Wang P.A.
Is the audience’s next good scream your next bankable hit? You stand a good chance if you have an interesting horror to offer up. Army of the Dead managed to edge out both Cruella and Raya and the Last Dragon on the Nielsen charts for May 17th-23rd. It’s also on track to score a spot on Netflix’s top 10 movies.
As we recover from a global pandemic, why are zombies dominating our imaginations? While it sounds counterintuitive, there’s long been a notable tie between global stress, gloomy times, or tragedy and a growing interest in the horror genre. In a way, it is cathartic to see a scary thing one can control on the screen when scary things beyond our control are happening.
Yet the current horror boom has much further reaching roots than a little stress relief Since 2017, we’ve seen horror films yield consistently good results at the Box Office, and as a whole, the genre has grossed more than $1B with its including It, Get Out, and Annabelle: Creation. When theaters were forced to shutter, streamers stepped in to capitalize on the boom. Netflix, in particular, has secured rights to several hot properties over the last year.
Horror has long been an intriguing genre to explore in the indie area. While films can rack up huge budgets on great effects, to truly shine you need a gripping story, fantastic direction, great sound, and a solid script. These don’t have to be costly or fancy, and many gripping hits have sprung from relatively low-cost indie productions.
With no sign of the genre’s domination slowing, it’s an arena for keen producers to watch.
