Making A Living With Horror Movies

It is odd, is it not, how popular horror movies have always been? This means odd considering the fact that fear is not usually a very pleasant state of mind to be in outside of the theater. It is a survival mechanism, and a primal one at that, yet people like to pull the trigger on it in groups and even when they are home alone.

Think about what kind of movie most would like to take a date to. Sure, the romantic comedy is the staple fare, but it is the scary flick that will get those two sitting all snuggly close and holding on to each other. And everybody just likes to be frightened when there is no real danger involved. It is like a roller coaster ride, fear without real fate involved.

So when one is watching those things, does one ever wonder what kind of sick mind is putting them all together? Many do, and some to the point of fascination. There is a stereotypical type; they go to wacky conventions dressed up like ghouls and vampires on their time off. But those running those conventions know something that others do not.

The reason it is such an easy opening opportunity is because so many of them are done so cheaply. It is no film making secret that scary movies can be made on the cheap and still turn a profit. In fact, some have gone on to tremendous success after being made on the lowest of the low budgets. So with no money to spend they cannot hire big names. Here is where newbies, the vast unknown field of talent, can get that elusive first gig.

This would include makeup people, as most of the really good ones use a truck load of make up. And all of that blood and gore has to be mixed up and smeared on to the characters by someone. Hey, someone has to do it, and they could earn a little bit of money doing it.

As for budding screenwriters, surely they can cobble together a good script for a fright fest. It will be easier when it is realized that all horror plots are very much alike. Only the monsters really change. So they can go back to the classic screams and see if they can do an update or add a particularly sick twist to the plot. Again, many screenwriters did the same thing to get started.

For actors, B-films can be a goldmine of experience and information. If they look decent and can run around screaming pretty good, they could get a leg up in a scary film. Sure, one will not be a principle at first, in fact they will probably get killed off very early in the first reel, but it is a start, and it is verifiable acting work, both of which an actor needs plenty of to move up the ladder in this business.

The bottom line is that low budget films need low budget help. But that low budget has been known to turn into big bucks when the quirky little horror movies become box office bonanzas or video smashes. The world of movie making is hard to crack, but these types of films are a great tool to try with.

Looking for the best selection of vampire movies online? Then be sure to visit Frightflicks.com – offering a massive selection of horror movies, vampire movies and zombie movies.

Tagged with:
 

Information On The History Of Horror Movies

Movies have been made for many years and horror movies have as well. When looking at the horror movie it is best to look at the horror literature that influenced it first. By understand that it is possible to understand the movies that were made from them.

Horror films would not have been as prominent if not for the horror literature. Horror literature is what made the horror film what it is today. It was in the 1764 book by Horace Walpole called The Castle of Otranto the term horror was first mentioned. Other great writers like Edgar Allan Poe helped this genre with timeless classics like The Raven. These old horror tales are what many iconic horror films are based on. Some of them will include the classics from the 1800’s like Dracula and Frankenstein.

The supernatural was the main theme of the horror movie when they first came about. Short silent films were the first place horror films were found in the 1890’s. In 1896 the short silent film Le Manior du diable is thought to be the first horror film. At the same time as Georges Melies made this film the Japanese also made horror films Shinin no Sosei and Bake Jizo.

A film adaptation of the hunchback of Notre-Dame is the first known full length horror film. German film makers were the creators of many of these early movies as this was the time of the German expressionist film. These German films have been cited as influencing film makers for decades. Hollywood started making horror films in the 1920’s and created the first American horror star.

Hollywood started to popularize the horror film in the 1930’s. In this time the classic Gothic movies Frankenstein and Dracula were created. Other films mixed Gothic horror with the supernatural at this time as well. The iconic werewolf movie The Wolf Man was created in 1941 by Universal studios. It should be noted that this was not the first werewolf film but has become the most influential. B pictures like The Body Snatchers were made in 1945 as well.

In the 1950’s there had been many innovations in the technology used to make films. Additionally in this time the horror film was divided into two categories being Armageddon films and demonic films. During this time social ideas and fears were placed into movies but in such a way that it was not direct exploitation.

There were many iconic movies created in the 1960’s that changed the genre. The Birds made by Hitchcock was one of the first American Armageddon horror films set in modern times. Night of the Living Dead is one of the most iconic zombie films. This movie changed how people viewed zombies and changed horror films altogether.

Tracing the history of horror movies will take you back to the start of movie making. It is possible to see how movies changed from Gothic horror to what we see today.

When searching online for the largest selection of scary movies be sure to visit Frightflicks.com – providing a massive selection of the most popular horror movies, zombie movies and vampire movies.