Gross Horrror Films
For background research into what type of horror film we should make, I did the following:
- I looked up online the top ten films for Psychological thrillers, Vampire movies, Zombie movies and Ghost horrors
- I then looked up the Gross for each film and stored it in a Microsoft Excel sheet
Here are my results.
Psychological Thrillers:
Silence of the Lambs - $272,742,922
Taxi Driver - $28,262,574
Se7en - $316,400,000
Memento - $25,530,884
The Usual Suspects - $23,272,306
Play Misty for Me - $10,600,000
Straw Dogs - $11,148,828
American Psycho - $34,266,564
Cape Fear - $182,300,000
The Game - $61,100,000
Total Gross - $965,624,078
Vampire Movies
Vampires - $20,241,395
The Lost Boys - $3,222,567
Interview With a Vampire - $223,664,608
Bram Strokes Dracula - $215,862,692
From Dusk until Dawn - $33,500,000
Blade - $70,001,065
Underworld - $95,708,457
Daybreakers - $29,975,979
Twilight - $382,133,300
Fright Night - $18,202,995
Total Gross - $1,092,513,058
Zombie Movies
Day of the Dead - $34,000,000
28 Days Later - $82,719,885
Cemetery Man - $253,969
Re-animator - $2,023,414
Zombie - $8,425,308
Dawn of the Dead - $162,356,381
Army of Darkness - $251,500,000
Night of the Living Dead - $30,000,000
Dead Alive - $242,628
Prince of Darkness - $14,182,492
Total Gross - $585,704,077
Ghost Horrors
Dark Water - $49,483,352.00
The Fog - $21,378,361.00
The Devil's Backbone - $754,749.00
Poltergeist - $76,606,280
Paranormal Activity - $193,355,800
The Sixth Sense - $672,806,292
What Lies Beneath - $291,420,351
The Others - $209,800,000
The Ring - $128,579,698
The Shining - $44,017,374
Total Gross - $1,688,202,257
From these results I concluded that the film type that sells most are Ghost horrors, followed closely by Vampire Movies. We discussed both as a group, and Vampires were vetoed due to one members lack of interest in them. We decided that on important matters such as the film type, everyone must agree. As a team we all liked ghost horrors, they are the highest selling film type, which means we would have a vast target audience, and we began to have ideas that fit in with the supernatural genre, and so we chose to make a film opening for a ghost horror.
Idea Log
Emma and I discussed how as a team we need to develop our idea management. We came up with the idea that when a team member has an idea, they need to clearly state the idea and it needs to be logged. As Director and Runner, I will be responsible for this log. Therefore, when we evaluate our task, we can identify who came up with the idea, as in our group, we are all fairly modest, and wouldn't want to forcefully say it was our own idea. It also stops disputes of who said what, and allows us to see our ideas before development.
My Thoughts on Horror
When I think of a horror film, I think of these following stereotypes: - - Establishing shot of location - Lots of shadows used - Eerie music that builds up to a climax - a vulnerable victim - creepy electrical interference - a kitchen scene I think it would be good if, as a group, we conform to these stereotypes, because it means the audience will immediately recognise it as a horror film. We have not planned to do a establishing shot, and so I will suggest that we do it, because its important for the audience to recognise and understand location. My idea to fit this in would to either film it before Emma wakes up, or have it placed after Emma wakes up, she can open her curtains and the establishing shot will be shown from the outside looking at the house, but with the main focus being the window with Emma in it. This shot will have two purposes, to establish where we are filming, but to also start the idea that someone is watching Emma. We should use lighting to create shadows on purpose for effect, as this will show development on mise -en-scene and will improve the atmosphere that we are trying to create.
Five Film Production Company Logos
Horror Film Production companies
20th century fox
20th century fox was formed in 1904 by William Fox. In 1915, he founded the Fox film cooperation which brought together movie production, exhibition and distribution. In the same year, fox’s first film was produced and released, a film called Regeneration. Fox bought the Thomas Dixon Studio, a five and a half acre studio on the west side of Hollywood in 1917. In 1930 Fox was ousted from his own company and Sidney R. Kent became executive vice president on April 1st 1932, and the company’s president, which he stayed as until his death in 1942. Under his reign, over ninety films were produced and released with such classics as A Little Princesses. In 2001, Fox joined with National Geographic TV, and film to create the National Geographic Channel, which has become one of the fastest growing cable networks, connecting 50 million homes in the U.S for three years. It can now be seen in 25 languages in 147 companies. 20th century fox is mainly thought of for producing the ever popular The Simpsons, and later a motion picture The Simpson’s Movie. The Simpsons is the longest running TV show and aired its 3000th episode in 2008, the same year as the release of the films. 20th century fox also produces horror films such as Jennifer’s Body and The Fly.
Warner Brothers
Warner Brothers was founded in 1903 by four brothers who were originally from Poland but immigrated to North America. They opened the first Warner Brothers studio in 1918, in Hollywood, and formally incorporated the company as Warner Brothers incorporated on the 4th April 1923. They joined with Vitaphone to produce movies with sounds and effects in 1926. Warner Bros produced the first ‘talkie’ the Jazz Singer, which was a huge success. They produced 89 features in 1929, which was quite a feat for the time. Warner Bros have produced many films that are now considered to be classics, such as My Fair Lady, and Bonnie and Clyde. Warner Bros can also be attributed with landmark films like Blazing Saddles and Driving Miss Daisy. It has produced many horrors such as The Exorcist and a Clockwork Orange.
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures was created by HBO, CBS and Columbia Pictures joined together to help minimise costs of producing films. It later became a subsidiary of Coca-Cola. It was created in 1982 and released its first film, The Natural in 1984. CBS sold their share in 1985 and in 1987 Tri-Star Television was created and HBO also sold their share to Columbia Pictures. Sony Pictures Entertainment bought all of Coca-cola’s holdings in 1989 and re-launched TriStar pictures. In 1998 Sony Pictures Entertainment brought together Columbia and Tri-Star to create Columbia Tri-Star Pictures. TriStar was once again relaunched in 2004 to have a ‘particular emphasis on genre films’. Tristar would be the best company to produce our group’s horror film because it has released quite a few ghost horrors such as Silent Hill and Wind Chill, and therefore already attracts the kind of audience we would be looking at. It is also a well respected company and easily recognised by its logo and so fans of the company would come and see our film.
