House Of Horrors: A Halloween Special

The House(s) That Horror Built

For Halloween, we're revisiting #HouseOfHorrors, OTTplay's definitive guide on the nine modern production houses that comprise the genre's hall of fame.

TRACE the grammar and the syntax of modern horror movies, and you'll find the imprint of nine production houses, showing up as clearly as a bloody handprint on a windowpane. It is from their stables that our most terrifying pop culture monsters emerged, from their attics (and basements) that gory avatars of everyday appliances and objects wrecked mayhem, and their storyboards that released the blueprints for the dread that stalked our nightmares. In this compendium compiled by OTTplay's contributing writer Prahlad Srihari, we dive deep into the terrors wielded by these nine production houses. Let's begin?

How Blumhouse Haunted Us All

BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS has established itself as a horror powerhouse in the last two decades, bolstered by a canny business model that allows the company to make up to six movies for what one episode of Stranger Things Season 4 roughly cost Netflix. Or in Marvel assembly line terms, what it costs to produce a single superhero extravaganza could produce 40 or more movies from modern horror masters like Jordan Peele, Mike Flanagan and Leigh Whannell.

Scaring people senseless is more lucrative and less risky than assembling superheroes to save the multiverse — who would have thought? Well, Jason Blum did. On the heels of the viral success of The Blair Witch Project (a pioneering found-footage movie that earned nearly 1250 times its budget), Blum left Miramax to pursue a dream of producing low-budget horror movies in 2000. But success would prove elusive for seven years until he came across a movie shot on a $15,000 budget and set for a direct-to-DVD release. That movie was Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity. After two years of shopping around, the movie got a wide release, went on to earn $194 million worldwide, and put Blumhouse on the map. Continue reading.

THE BLUMHOUSE PLAYBOOK

Get Out (2017), Cam (2018), Us (2019), The Invisible Man (2020), Upgrade (2018), Sick (2022), Creep (2014), Hush (2016), Unfriended: Dark Web (2018), Nanny (2022), Happy Death Day (2017)

Atomic Monster & The Conjuring Of Jump Scares

ANY discussion about the most influential genre directors of the 21st century would be incomplete without mention of James Wan, the man behind Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring, Furious 7 and Aquaman. In 2014, the Malaysian-born, Australian director established his own production outfit to make horror movies. Atomic Monster has since been spooking us with The Conjuring spin offs and other fresh nightmares (Lights Out, Malignant, M3GAN).

Outside of the Marvel juggernaut, no franchise has taken to the now-entrenched Hollywood template of shared universes like The Conjuring-verse. We have already had eight entries, with at least two more on the way. Wan seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to genre movies, many (if not all) of which have contained the seeds to spawn red-hot franchises. It’s this talent to recognise and maximise a movie’s IP potential that has made him a bankable name in the industry. Continue reading.

ATOMIC'S MONSTER HITS

Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016), Lights Out (2016), Annabelle: Creation (2017), The Nun (2018), The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), Malignant (2021), M3GAN (2023)

How Hammer Wielded Its Classic Monsters

“HAMMER HORROR, Hammer Horror, won’t leave it alone. The first time in my life I keep the lights on to ease my soul,” sang Kate Bush in a 1978 track inspired by the British studio whose name was synonymous with lurid Gothic shockers between the late 1950s and the mid-1970s. Hammer Films didn’t start off as a horror studio though. In 1934, jeweller-comedian-entrepreneur William Hinds founded a scrappy production company (Hammer) whose movies were distributed by the company (Exclusive) he co-founded with theatre owner Enrique Carreras. Bankruptcy however forced Hammer to shut shop within three years. Exclusive, which had even survived the Second World War, revived Hammer as a production offshoot to fill British screens with “quota quickies”: inexpensive movies made with government support to compete with Hollywood. Continue reading.

ESSENTIAL HAMMER HORROR

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), The Mummy (1959), The Brides of Dracula (1960), Taste of Fear (1961), The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), The Abominable Snowman (1962), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Quatermass and the Pit (1967), The Devil Rides Out (1968), The Vampire Lovers (1970), Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971), Twins of Evil (1971), Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (1974), Let Me In (2010)

AVAILABLE ON OTT

Let Me In | Woman In Black | The Resident | The Quiet Ones

IFC Midnight's Twisted Trajectory

LAUNCHED in 2010, IFC Midnight is the genre label of AMC Networks’ indie offshoot IFC Films. The company has provided distribution for many unconventional American and non-American horror films, like The Human Centipede, We Are What We Are, Dead Hooker in a Trunk, Berberian Sound Studio, The Babadook, A Dark Song, and more recently Skinamarink.

As an indie film distributor, IFC Midnight (unlike A24) may not have zealots preaching its name and earning it street cred with each film. But it has been as significant a prime mover of sci-fi, thriller and especially horror films. Picking up North American distribution rights for Tom Six’s The Human Centipede at the 2009 Fantastic Fest was a clear statement of intent. Since then, it has championed many more international sensations (Kill List, The Babadook, Snowtown, Sputnik, The Innocents) and has virtually become the home for potential cult fare (Berberian Sound Studio, Maniac, The Devil’s Candy, Flux Gourmet, Skinamarink). Continue reading.

ALL OF MIDNIGHT'S AGENTS

Berberian Sound Studio (2012), The Babadook (2014), Kill List (2011), Flux Gourmet (2022), Swallow (2019), We Are What We Are (2010), The Devil’s Candy (2015), Évolution (2015), Stake Land (2010), A Dark Song (2016), Relic (2020), Hatching (2022), Speak No Evil (2022), Watcher (2022)

How NEON Lit Up The Horror Genre

TOM QUINN, who ran The Weinstein Company’s boutique label RADiUS until 2015, joined hands with Tim League, the founder of the Alamo Drafthouse cinema chain, to start NEON in 2017. In the six years since, the specialty distributor has turned into something of a Cannes whisperer. Starting with Parasite in 2019, NEON has recorded four consecutive Palme d’Or wins, with Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall becoming the latest to pick up the honour at the just-concluded 76th edition of the film festival. Aside from festival favourites, horror has been just as intrinsic a foundational pillar for the company. Films like Revenge, Possessor, Titane and Crimes of the Future have been key to building the NEON brand. Continue reading.

THE NEON SIGNAL

Revenge (2017), The Lodge (2019), She Dies Tomorrow (2020), Possessor (2020), Titane (2021), Crimes of the Future (2022), Infinity Pool (2023)

Platinum Dunes' Formula For Frights

THE production company, founded by ace explodeur Michael Bay along with Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, has been a driving force in Hollywood’s recycling industry since 2001. Early on, their business model was to take seminal works of horror from the ‘70s and ‘80s and give them a shinier polish. The results were invariably substandard retreats which had lost the acidic edge of the originals — a bad reputation redeemed to a degree by A Quiet Place, the one truly original horror film in their portfolio. What then is Platinum Dunes known for? Depending on how bitter horror fans are feeling at a given point in time, the answer may vary between bringing us A Quiet Place and ruining the legacy of classic slashers with hollow updates. Continue reading.

PLATINUM GRADE

A Quiet Place (2018), A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

How A24 Made Creepy Cool

THOUGH A24 could be mistaken for a luxury lifestyle label that sells retro-minimalist apparel, lighters, candles and dog leashes, it is not just that. Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges started A24 as a film distribution company in 2012 before organically expanding into production. Over the years, the Manhattan-based studio has managed to carve out a niche for itself with mid-budget indie fare. While the budgets aren’t big, the noise A24 tends to make with its digital marketing ploys sure are — enough to earn it a reputation as a disruptor. A reputation that continues to gain momentum by way of critical acclaim and positive word-of-mouth its movies generate. Of all the different kinds of movies in the A24 catalogue, its horror output has always been central to its identity. Continue reading.

A24 APPROVED

The Witch (2015), It Comes at Night (2017), Hereditary (2018), Midsommar (2019), The Lighthouse (2019), X (2022), Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), Pearl (2022)

These Monsters Are 'Universal'

OF all the studios covered in this series, this one is without doubt the oldest and biggest. A name which really needs no introduction. Universal Pictures may not produce and distribute horror movies exclusively, but it has always been a heavyweight of the genre. Throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood, the industry and its pipeline were ruled by five studios: Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), RKO, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, and Paramount Pictures. Universal was but a minor player. But it was one of the first to recognise the audiences’ appetite for a good scare. The studio’s legendary run of monster movies between the 1920s and 1950s shaped the genre as we know it. Continue reading.

UNIVERSALLY TERRIFYING

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Wolf Man (1934), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Jaws (1975), The Thing* (1982), Tremors* (1990), The Strangers* (2008), Split* (2016) Get Out* (2017), Us* (2019), The Invisible Man* (2020), Nope (2022).

*Only distributed, not produced, by Universal

How Ghost House Stages Its Hauntings

FEW names in genre filmmaking, whether it is horror or superheroes, carry as much heft as Sam Raimi. The same goes for the production house established by Raimi along with Xena: Warrior Princess co-creator Robert Tapert in 2002. Ghost House Pictures has been behind a few of the bigger box-office hits when it comes to horror in the 21st century, starting with The Grudge in 2004, Drag Me to Hell in 2009, Don’t Breathe in 2016, and Evil Dead Rise this year. Continue reading.

GHOSTLY RECKONING

Don’t Breathe (2016), Drag Me to Hell (2009), Evil Dead (2013), Evil Dead Rise (2023)

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In which we invite a scholar of cinema, devotee of the moving image, to write a prose poem dedicated to their poison of choice. Expect to spend an
hour on this.