A look at 9 amazing indie horror filmmakers who stay in the game no matter the cost
Once there was a time when indie horror filmmakers could round up some dough, make a movie, get it out there and make some money, enough to live on and even make more movies. Credit Roger Corman, the father of the indie genre film, for creating the blueprint for the business back in the late 1950s, a model he perpetuated with American International Pictures throughout the 1960s and then, in the 1970s and early ’80s with his own studio, the lamented New World Pictures.
Corman’s method of spending little, maximizing production value and creating a great marketing campaign trickled down to every aspect of the industry and, famously, many of our most important filmmakers learned their trade from working by his side. When the home video market exploded in the ’80s, not only did Corman find even more success but so did dozens of other young would-be moguls and filmmakers who made tons of low-budget and fun junk for an insatiable new audience starved for cheap thrills.
Indeed, to make movies with monsters, sex, violence and general mayhem was once a booming businesses.
But when the internet came to call, it was the wild west all over again and the business changed. For the worse. Making money off distribution was compromised by wanton piracy and younger audiences refusing to pay for product. The rental business died. Hard media was – and continues to be – on the decline and filmmakers have been flailing. Now, with the advent of cheap pro-sumer technology, anyone can make a movie. But that’s the problem. Everyone IS making a movie. Now there is too much product and not enough people to consume it, or at least PAY to consume it.
So, to survive, indie horror filmmakers have had to hustle. They’ve had to spin ten times more plates than usual, they’ve had to adapt, live leaner, alter their philosophies. They’ve had to make themselves more visible, had to get on the street and shuck their wares, had to exploit any and all technology and social media platforms at their disposal to get seen and keep the lights on.
Only the strong are surviving.
So today, here, we’ve opted to select 9 of the hardest working filmmakers, distributors and one man/woman brands alive and thriving (or at least, surviving) today. These are brave and bold adventurers who love what they love and refuse to go gently into that good night. Some have survived the decades, constantly re-inventing themselves. Some were professionally “born” into this treacherous new terrain. But all of them are fighting with ferocity to make the movies they want to make and still find ways to feed their families.
And if you’re an aspiring filmmaker, steer clear of the mainstream. You won’t find much help there. Instead, learn from these blue-collar warriors who roll up their sleeves and get the job done, hell or high water.
Have a look…
Indie Filmmaker
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Gregory Lamberson
Buffalo's Greg Lamberson is indie horror's The Terminator. He's indefatigable. The man who gave us body horror grindhouse gem Slime City and later, its sequel Slime City Massacre, is a writer, director, producer, author and film fest director. And he's a family man, a working stiff whose job is to make weird movies for very few dollars. Outside of his scrappy indie flicks like the aformentioned Slime pictures, we reccomend Dry Bone and, as an author, his werewolf cop "Frenzy" novels. Greg is currently making a bigger budgeted adaptation of his novel Johnny Gruesome. Connect with Greg via his official Facebook page. -
Lloyd Kaufman
You know Lloyd. Everyone knows Lloyd. Bow down. This co-founding father of everyone's favorite trash movie imprint, the venerable Troma Entertainment, is a grassroots force of nature, appearing in dozens of movies every year, nurturing new talent, distributing classic and contemporary oddball genre flicks and appearing at every convention that will have him. But underneath the carnival sleaze of the Troma skin, as a director, Lloyd is razor sharp, making smart movies that defy you to look past the blood, slime, tits and shit for his often profound socio-political messages. We reccomend Lloyd's Toxic Avenger sequels, his brilliant Terror Firmer (co-written by James Gunn!) and his outrageous Fast Food Nation lampoon Poultrygeist. See Lloyd's world by visiting the Troma site. -
The Soska Sisters
Though the Soska's aren't as indie as they used to be, their impact on contemporary indie genre filmmaking and the use of social networking to create a brand, cannot be ignored. Jen and Sylvia Soska, identical twins, made an impact with their no-budget debut Dead Hooker in a Trunk, writing, directing and starring in the film and going the distance promoting it online and at conventions and festivals around the world. Their sophmore film American Mary was a landmark, almost punk-rock body horror instant classic and since then, they just don't stop, making short films for the ABC's of Death films, running their "Blood Drive" PSA series, producing films and directing no-nonsense genre fare like the WWE produced See No Evil 2 and Vendetta. Their next project is a sequel/remake to David Cronenberg's Rabid. Heroes to many young rising female filmmakers around the world. The Soska's show no signs of slowing down. -
Brett Kelly
Hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Brett Kelly is one of the most prolific indie filmmakers alive with over 30 films made in less than 15 years. Writing, directing and often co-starring in his films, Kelly is an auteur who knows how to cheat budgets and almost always delivers work that is creative, clever and, like many others toiling in the same microbudget world, his work is woefully undervalued. We recommend Kelly's My Fair Zombie. Spyfall and My Dead Girlfriend. Connect with Brett on Facebook. -
Debbie Rochon
The titan of indie horror. Debbie Rochon is an actress by trade, sure, but as everyone who has worked with her knows, her energy and talent is magnetic and she often single-handedly elevates the often impoverished pictures she appears in. A street kid from Vancouver, Canada, Debbie found fame with Lloyd Kaufman's Troma-verse, starring in films like Tromeo and Juliet and parlayed that success into a prolific career in front of the lens. Recently, Debbie took her talents behind the scenes and directed her first feature, this year's satirical slaughter-fest Model Hunger. There's no one harder working in this business than Debbie and, despite her being an indie icon, we think that often people don't see just how first-rate a performer she is. Visit Debbie's official site and feel free to contact her there. She loves to talk to her fans. -
Charles Band
Full disclosure: director, writer, producer, mogul, merchandiser and movie madman Charles Band is this writer's partner, publishing the horror magazine Delirium. But because I've worked closely with him these past 4 years and cite him a friend, I am in a unique position to vouch for his vision and energy. Co-founder of the legendary Empire Pictures and Full Moon Features studios with his late father, producer Albert Band, Band has long navigated the horrors of the indie landscape like no one else. In the '80s and '90s, Charlie was untouchable, creating a string of hits like Ghoulies, Re-Animator and the Puppet Master films. As the business changed, so did Band, turning his Full Moon imprint into a fully functioning merchandising and sell-through video entity while still doing what he lives to do: making new movies. Sometimes he triumphs, sometimes he falters, but he never, ever quits. There's no one like him. Visit the Full Moon universe for all things Band. -
David DeCoteau
Working for Charles Band, Roger Corman and virtually everyone else in between, indie filmmaker David De Coteau is now one of the few '80s legends who owns his own business and makes movies his way and makes money doing so. Under his Rapid Heart Pictures imprint, De Coteau - who has made well over 100 films that we know of in his near 40 years in the business under a wealth of pseudonyms - has made movies in several genres for all sorts of international markets and never stops working, making films in both the U.S. and Canada (he's a dual citizen). His energy is infectious and he's a very smart businessman. We recommend his classic Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama, Nightmare Sisters and his modern cult classic no-budget kids flick A Talking Cat!? Find David at his official site. -
Bill Zebub
Some love him. Some hate him. Most don't understand him. Filmmaker, publisher and transgressive metalhead auteur Bill Zebub stands alone, making movies that look like porno trash but, underneath are actually ruthlessly funny, confrontational and satirical skewerings of the entertainment industry. With titles like Assmonster, Antfarm Dickhole and Forgive Me for Raping You under his belt, you can see why many opt to ignore him. But his 2014 flick Indie Director is a trash version of The Player and ten times smarter. Bill owns his own stuff and is a force of nature. Find him here. -
Fred Olen Ray
Like his pals Charles Band, David De Coteau et al, Fred Olen Ray has survived and thrived in an ever changing indie film industry. Starting with VHS faves like Scalps and Biohazzard in the early 1980s, Ray went on to make medium budget flicks like The Tomb, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and then began making cable movies, sometimes 7 per year. An avid horror film junkie, Fred founded Retromedia Home Video, an entity designed to distribute classic films as well as his own. Did we mention he was also a pro-wrestler? No one else is quite like Fred Olen Ray and he's just as active and defiant now as ever. Visit the prolific filmmaker here.
