Horror Stories

Few facts about some of our favorite scary success stories

by MovieMaker Staff | Published October 2, 2003

For decades the horror genre has helped would-be cinematic masters get their start in the movie business. Many have used horror just to cut their teeth, but others have never strayed too far from their roots. Here are a few facts about some of our favorite scary success stories:

The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Directed by: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez
Budget: $35,000 Budget: $140,530,000
Shot on: 16mm and Hi 8
Did you know:

• The film was marketed as a documentary
• The three lead actors shot much of the film
• Nearly all the dialogue was improvised
• Before the film was released, the three main actors were listed as “Missing—Presumed Dead” on IMDB.com ?
• The movie made the Guinness Book Of World Records for budget/box office ratio

The Blob (1958)
Directed by: Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.
Budget: $240,000
Shot on: 35mm
Did you know:

• In the script, the blob is called “the mass”
• This was the last film in which Steve McQueen was credited as Steven McQueen
• The blob was created with a weather balloon early on, and colored silicone gel later
• In some of the promotional materials, Aneta Corsaut’s character is referred to as “Judy,” though her name in the film is “Jane”
• During the drag race, exhaust can be seen going back into the car’s exhaust pipe

Eraserhead (1977)
Directed by: David Lynch
Budget: $10,000 Budget: $7,000,000
Shot on: 35mm
Did you know:

• The film took five years to complete
• John Nance kept his hair in “Eraserhead” fashion for the duration of the project
• The original script was only 20 pages long, making financing a difficult task
• David Lynch still will not reveal how the baby was created
• It was one of Stanley Kubrick favorite films
• Lynch headed up nearly every department on the film, with credits for the music, editing, art direction, sound and special effects

The Evil Dead (1981)
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Budget: $150,000 Budget: $2,400,000
Shot on: 16mm
Did you know:

• The famous “eyeball-in-the-mouth” scene was inspired by the Three Stooges?
• Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell began their collaboration in high school, where they made many Super8 films with Sam’s brother, Ted
• The film’s title was changed from Book of the Dead, as producers feared that kids wouldn’t see a movie with the word “book” in the title
• The Arabic passages read from The Book of the Dead translate to: “Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi are the men on the side of the road”
• To film the opening sequence, Raimi shot from a dingy while Campbell pushed him

The Exorcist (1973)
Directed by: William Friedkin
Budget: $12,000,000 Budget: $128,660,000
Did you know:

• Friedkin was known to “scare” his actors into character, firing a gun before saying “action”—and reportedly even slapping someone across the face
• Ellen Burstyn suffered a permanet spinal injury when a harness pulled her away from Regan’s bed too quickly, throwing her to the floor... The scene remains intact.
• The Exorcist crew was the only Amercan film crew ever allowed to shoot in Iraq
• In the original script, Burstyn’s character stated “I believe in the devil.” She would only agree to make the film if the line was removed.
• Directorial duties for were first offered to John Boorman, who declined because he thought the film was cruel to children... Boorman later directed its sequel, The Exorcist II: The Heretic.

Friday the 13th (1980)
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Budget: $700,000 Budget: $56,920,431
Shot on: 35mm
Did you know:
n The producers wanted Sally Field for the lead?
n Tom Savini came up with the idea for Jason’s “re-emergence” at the end of the film, and would sneak into theaters during the last five minutes to see how the audience reacted

Halloween (1978)
Directed by: John Carpenter
Budget: $325,000 Budget: $65,500,000
Shot on: 35mm
Did you know:

• Because filming took place in the spring, set designers had to purchase paper leaves and paint them... To save money, the same leaves were used throughout the film.
• The film is set in Haddonfield, Illinois, but all of the cars have California license plates
• Michael Myers wears a William Shatner mask
• The entire film was shot in 21 days
• Halloween is one of the most successful independent films ever made

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Directed by: George A. Romero
Budget: $114,000
Shot on: 35mm
Did you know:

• Tom Savini was originally hired to do the make-up, but was called for military duty in Vietnam
• Duane Jones is the first African-American to play a lead role in a horror film
• Columbia Pictures passed on the film because it was in black and white... In 1990, however, the studio released the colorized version.
• The zombies were paid $1 for their work—along with a T-shirt that claimed “I was a zombie in Night of the Living Dead”
• One of the film’s investors was a butcher, who paid Romero in blood and guts

Scream (1996)
Directed by: Wes Craven
Budget: $15,000 Budget: $140,000
Shot on: 35mm
Did you know:

• Drew Barrymore was originally cast in the lead... She dropped out because of scheduling conflicts, but offered to play the role of “Casey.”
• When the MPAA asked Craven to cut the stabbing of Casey, he claimed (falsely) that he had only shot it once? The scene remains intact.
• Approximately 50 gallons of fake blood were used during the production?
• In his role as Fred, the janitor, Craven wears the same outfit as Freddy Krueger
• The film’s original title was Scary Movie

The Sixth Sense (1999)
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Budget: $55,000,000 Budget: $293,502,000
Shot on: 35mm
Did you know:

• The movie was shot in sequence
• Shyamalan pitched The Sixth Sense as “The Exorcist meets Ordinary People”
• The film was 2000’s top video and DVD, with more than 80 million rentals

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Directed by: Tobe Hooper
Budget: $140,000 Budget: $30,859,000
Shot on: 16mm
Did you know:

• Leatherface is based on serial killer Ed Gein
• The film was shot in chronological order
• Hooper had intended to get a PG rating
• Many of the actors claim that, because of the shooting conditions, much of the blood in the film is real— their own!

Information courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)

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