I don’t have to reiterate how much I loved Paranormal Activity.
So did everyone else. It’s about time we got a new horror film that isn’t a remake, re-imagining or sequel to an existing franchise. It’s an amazing story to watch unfold as an independent filmmaker myself. A guy takes $15,000 and makes an awesome horror film that has grossed over 60 million dollars so far. Nuts.
Here were the numbers last week:
- 1. Paranormal Activity – $22,000,000
- 2. Saw VI – $14,800,000
- 3. Where the Wild Things Are – $14,420,000
- 4. Law Abiding Citizen – $12,713,000
- 5. Couples Retreat – $11,097,000
- 6. Astro Boy – $7,017,000
- 7. The Stepfather – $6,500,000
- 8. Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant – $6,348,000
- 9. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs – $5,600,000
- 10. Zombieland – $4,300,000
Here’s where I get incredibly excited. About a month ago, a friend of mine from work showed me a trailer for a horror film called The Fourth Kind. Sweet. That trailer quickly made it’s way into my heart and I really can’t wait to see it.
I’m hoping that this will begin a trend I’ve been waiting years for. Original horror. The producers of The Fourth Kind must be loving their lives right now with Paranormal killing at the box office. Taking out a franchise like Saw with ease was a feat no one saw coming a year ago. You simply assume that Saw will reign on Halloween year after year. Not only did Paranormal win with less theaters, it beat arguably the best reviewed Saw film since the original. Audiences have spoken. Enough with tired franchises. Bring some new blood into the game.
This Friday, The Fourth Kind opens with a ton of buzz and an audience craving more after being slayed by Paranormal last week. It instantly benefits from a familiar style mixing home video with film. While it’s not quite Paranormal or Cloverfield, it still has the same feel and that will fill seats. And why shouldn’t it? M. Night Shyamalan is my favorite filmmaker because he created original creepy films that still entertain me once every few months. Originality like Signs (Which tops my list of favorite films by the way.) that really hit home as a filmmaker. Years later, another original alien thriller is set to kick my ass in theaters. I just hope it delivers…
If it does, we may be in for a golden age of new and original franchises. I say franchises because let’s face it, they’re already talking sequel for Paranormal Activity. Every studio wants to find the next Saw. They may kill a few here and there but I say bring on the new franchises. At least we’ll be able to see something different from time to time.
Speaking of Saw, I’m pretty excited to see that the ‘torture porn’ sub genre seems to be fading away. People don’t seem to be interested in pure sight gags and gore fests anymore. It worked for a while but it’s old. That trend is over. So long Torture Porn. Hello new trend!
