Lemmy Today

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17543516

Blumhouse’s 2025 lineup seems to be spitting in the face of originality with Megan 2.0, An Untitled Insidious Movie, The Black Phone 2, and Five Night’s at Freddy’s 2 all expected to release. And who knows what foreign remake they’ll target now that Speak No Evil is a nice little success. This is why it’s on us as the audience to seek out great cinema and not go simply because it’s the weekend’s new release. The studio and Indie world will just become more and more intermingled as we lose out on more and more mid-tier films. And we just have to hope that those meddling execs who usually focus on the bigger fare, don’t start setting their sights on their low-budget offerings. Because otherwise, horror is doomed.

Now, I fully acknowledge that Indie Horror is capable of being absolute shit. There are entire YouTube channels dedicated to all the awful films that get made on a daily basis. And sometimes too much creativity and lack of supervision can be a bad thing. But I will take something that’s trying to fulfill some kind of creative niche versus solely trying to eek out a profit. Longlegs, Cuckoo, and Strange Darling are amongst the year’s best and they are completely original works where the filmmakers were allowed to see their vision through. And I’ll take that over a bloodless CGI bear.

Blumhouse’s 2025 lineup seems to be spitting in the face of originality with Megan 2.0, An Untitled Insidious Movie, The Black Phone 2, and Five Night’s at Freddy’s 2 all expected to release. And who knows what foreign remake they’ll target now that Speak No Evil is a nice little success. This is why it’s on us as the audience to seek out great cinema and not go simply because it’s the weekend’s new release. The studio and Indie world will just become more and more intermingled as we lose out on more and more mid-tier films. And we just have to hope that those meddling execs who usually focus on the bigger fare, don’t start setting their sights on their low-budget offerings. Because otherwise, horror is doomed.

Now, I fully acknowledge that Indie Horror is capable of being absolute shit. There are entire YouTube channels dedicated to all the awful films that get made on a daily basis. And sometimes too much creativity and lack of supervision can be a bad thing. But I will take something that’s trying to fulfill some kind of creative niche versus solely trying to eek out a profit. Longlegs, Cuckoo, and Strange Darling are amongst the year’s best and they are completely original works where the filmmakers were allowed to see their vision through. And I’ll take that over a bloodless CGI bear.

"There used to be a very big difference when talking about independent horror and mainstream horror. The latter would often be much more tame, with a goal of maximizing the audience, therefore maximizing Box Office. Indie horror would often be darker, going for moments that would stick with you long after the credits roll. But as society has shifted into this different entertainment landscape, there’s more of a desire than ever for something wholly unique. Mostly in the sake of profit. Thinking outside of the box is rewarded as it’s all about grabbing attention. It’s why a film like Longlegs can come out and absolutely light the world on fire. Because filmmakers are being forced to take risks in an attempt to get people to the theaters. Audiences are tired of the same old, same old..."