JP: Discussion of the Ways Horror Films are Produced and Distributed

     Horror movies, like any other movies within the film industry, go through a 3 stage process before release; production, distribution and exhibition. The scale of each stage is dependent on a variety of factors including whether it is an independent or industrial film and what conglomerates are involved in certain stages (other than the production studio itself). Whilst industrial films generally have a much higher budget, this does not directly translate to a greater success or profit than lower budget independent films due to the diverse change in dominant audience interests in recent years.
     In industrial film, the advantage of having a large financial backing from various conglomerates means horror films can be produced with a large budget and marketed, distributed and exhibited internationally. A prime example of this is Warner Bros’ ‘The Conjuring’ (Wan, 2013) which, with a budget of $20 million, released worldwide on 19 July 2013 and went on to make a Box Office profit of $316,700,141. The film began its marketing campaign in 2012 with the first promotional images being released in November 2012. A teaser trailer was shown at the 2012 New York Comic Con enabling the film to advertise to a large demographic made up predominantly of their target audience of the core horror audience (males aged 15-24). A unique selling point for the film was its emphasis on promoting it as being “based on a true story”.
     The production of the film itself was similar to many other horror films in the mainstream film industry. Due to the large budget, the film was able to be shot at multiple locations including EUE/Screen Gems Studios, the University of North Carolina Wilmington (while the students were on spring break) and various other locations in and around Wilmington North Carolina. The film also utilised specially designed sets for the production that were used at the locations of filming. The musical score in the film was composed by Joseph Bishara and was released as a film soundtrack CD separately post release by La-La Land Records and WaterTower music (using synergistic promotional activity within Warner Bros).
     In independent film, the lack of monetary backing means the film maker has to rely on directorial vision and a unique approach to the horror genre to market their film. An example of this is Artisan Entertainment’s ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (Sánchez, 1999) having been produced on a budget of $22,500 and went on to make a Box Office profit of $248,639,099. The films unique approach through the production decision of using predominantly “recovered footage” meant some people went to view the film for that reason alone just to find out how the narrative could work. Also, funding for expensive cameras was not required as a result of this and meant the film could be made for a much lower budget.
         Overall, the ways in which horror movies are produced and distributed depends on the monetary backing and the access to subsidiaries or other companies for a wide range of distribution or marketing reasons. However, despite independent film makers lacking these connections they are still producing good quality horror films which are breaking into the mainstream modern film industry through adaption to audience desires and the unique directorial style of art over profit. As technology continues to improve and technological convergence becomes more outstanding, more and more independent film makers will have a means to create and explore their artistic vision through the means of film.