The Force may be strong, but it could be taken down by an indie horror film this weekend.
“Backrooms,” an A24 release, has no A-list stars nor an IP connection. Box office soothsayers still predict it could snag up to $33 million this weekend. And, if “The Mandalorian and Grogu” stumbles badly at the box office, that puts this indie thriller in striking distance.
How is this possible?
The better question may be, how could a micro-indie like “Obsession” grow nearly 40 percent from its opening weekend? Director Curry Barker’s big-screen debut did just that days ago, a stunning development in La La Land.
“Obsession” also lacks A-list stars and IP ties. Word of mouth did the trick, and the film could become one of the most profitable titles of all time.
You can’t pin these numbers on Halloween, a season when horror movies often thrive. Nor can we blame any radical marketing schemes, like the one that catapulted 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project” into the stratosphere.
These are well crafted indie horror films drawing big crowds.
But why?
Wouldn’t Hollywood like to know? The return on investment here is through the roof, something that can’t be said of films like “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” The Disney title will have to keep earning over the next month to make back its sizable investment.
That’s typically how Hollywood rolls in the 21st century. It’s blockbuster or bust.
Horror films offer a smart alternative. Even more traditional shockers, like “Scream 7” ($121 million US) and “Send Help” ($64 million US) performed well earlier this year.
Let’s throw some theories out as to why indie horror is suddenly all the rage.
First, horror remains a perfect vehicle for escapism. The genre offers less intellectual rigor and more “fight-or-flight” style storytelling. That never goes out of vogue.
We’re also living in a deeply divided age, where social media makes it feel like a new civil war is just around the corner. It isn’t, but that sense of anger and isolation makes a horror movie a fine antidote to modern times.
This critic can relate.
Around 2020, I faced a dual threat unlike any I’ve experienced before. My wife was undergoing cancer treatment, and the government had locked down society to “stop the spread” of COVID-19.
As a movie critic, I generally gravitate to serious, sober films. Oscar-bait movies matter deeply to me. Except now I wanted little to do with them.
I craved escapism, the kind of emotions that only genre films could offer. It explains why my favorite film that year was “Alone,” a taut, terrific thriller that likely didn’t make it onto any other critic’s Top 10 list.
Let alone the top spot.
Plus, we’re lucky enough to have several storytellers who luxuriate in the horror genre sans apology. In the past, young filmmakers may cut their teeth in the genre before moving on to more “serious” storytelling.
Think Peter Jackson, James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola.
Today, directors like Osgood Perkins (“Longlegs”), Zach Creggers (“Weapons”), Jordan Peele (“Get Out,” “Us”) and now Curry Barker unabashedly embrace the genre.
This may collectively explain why horror is crushing the box office.
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