[Music]
welcome to watch mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
lowest budget horror movies
come here
it'll be easier for you
than it was for jason
for this list we'll be looking at our
spooky favorites that stretch shoestring
budgets into legitimate scares as a
baseline each entry will have budgets
under one million dollars adjusted for
inflation keep in mind however as with
much budget reporting that all numbers
are rough estimates rounded to the
nearest thousand let us know your low
budget favorites in the comments below
oh right now
onwards and upwards
number 10 open water budget
745
dollars
daniel where's the boat
that's a good question when you think
low budget horror dimly lit hallways and
abandoned homes probably come to mind
but despite being almost completely
funded by married duo writer director
chris kentis and producer laura lau this
destitute production managed to take its
thrills all the way to the high seas
short on digital video with primarily
two actors what seems like budget
constraints end up lending the film a
visceral realistic atmosphere that only
enhances the thrills of seeing a couple
lost at sea of course it helps that the
production used real sharks in lieu of
special effects with the results being
as terrifying as you'd expect despite
limited funding the creative team behind
this stranded at sea spectacle certainly
has us hesitant to scuba dive anytime
soon
i wanted to go skiing
oh god number nine grave encounters
budgets 146 thousand dollars all right
everyone if you're ready it's time to
have
some great encounters
at the time when the found footage sub
genre was proving a highly profitable
medium for spine tingling adventures on
the big screen few others managed to
stretch their comparably small budget as
much as this meta flick
there it is
by following television personalities
posing as paranormal investigators the
film sets itself apart from its found
footage contemporaries through
justifiably setting up multiple camera
angles at once alongside a traditional
shaky cam point of view the film
succeeds in placing an eerie emphasis on
claustrophobia and mounting dread but
don't think atmosphere is all this movie
brings to the table despite its tight
margins there's enough disturbing
imagery and suitably terrifying
creatures to rival even its big budgeted
peers in the scare department
number eight the signal budget sixty-six
thousand dollars
you'll see things the way i'm seeing
them
you just gotta
understand understand the message coming
through
no it's making people think the wrong
things is everything is not what it
seems
at a quick glance you wouldn't be able
to tell each section of this film was
helmed by a different director or
produced with a collective budget under
75 000
despite a tight 13-day filming schedule
it transitions between several actors
and locales more than most horror films
with double the money against all
restrictive odds the film manages to be
a bloody delight i just met you
i didn't know you were married that's
kind of kind of cool
i wish i was married
one part splatter film one part
absurdist comedy and one part love
triangle the trio of directors at the
head of this apocalyptic adventure sure
knew how to stretch a dollar to
gleefully violent heights
[Applause]
[Music]
number seven henry portrait of a serial
killer budget
275 000
i'd like to kill somebody
say that again
i'd like to kill somebody
that's mean you go for a ride on this in
a fresh change of pace for the genre
this indie slasher puts the audience in
the eyes of the titular killer to bone
chilling effect the film is a bold
innovative exploration of a real-life
murderer led by a criminally underrated
performance by michael rooker did you
really kill your mama
what
did you really kill your mama
i guess i did despite its artistic
merits writer director john mcnaughton
struggled finding distribution for the
bloody flick due to budget concerns
corners were cut in most every scene of
the film extras were often passerbys
caught on camera family and friends were
brought in to play multiple characters
and dialogue heavy scenes were confined
to small sets but rest assured the penny
pinching paid off in a film that went
down as one of the scariest and most
inventive of its era
number six the eyes of my mother budget
343 thousand dollars
i'm trying to be polite
now we can try this one more time before
i start to become unreasonable
don't let the black and white for you
this film was released in 2016. although
its tiny budget puts it in the same
league as movies released at a much
different time while it boasts no
shortage of gruesome carnage the film
lowered costs by focusing more on
disturbing imagery vulgar characters and
a haunting atmosphere i didn't mean to
hurt you sally i'm sorry
i just wanted you to tell the truth
that's all by exploring the deep trauma
of a girl named francisca throughout her
life the film maintains a spine chilling
tone without the need of visual effects
or excessive gore it's a twisted
shocking character study that's almost
too disturbing to sit through making
clever use of its limited budget to
create a truly unforgettable frightfest
number five paranormal activity budget
284 thousand dollars
what are you
i talking about
feel it
i feel it breathing on me
one of the genres of biggest success
stories ever this film's first cut was
famously funded for a mere 15 000
it was shot in a single week with no
official script and the actors were paid
just 500 with profit margins like those
and a final box office tally nearing 200
million dollars it's no wonder this goes
down as one of the most profitable films
of all time
[Music]
as one of the most defining entries in
the found footage subgenre its
commitment to a slow burn pace realistic
interactions and shaky camera movements
make it feel as though we're witnessing
the tragic haunting of a young couple as
far as profits go it's hard to compete
with the success of this franchise
spawning horror flick
number four be my cat a film for anne
budget 12 000
my movie is called be my cat
because i love cats found footage films
are no stranger to tight budgets but by
expertly blending fact and fiction this
one goes down as one of the cheapest
ever made for the bulk of this meta film
it's hard to tell if you're supposed to
be watching a movie or calling the
police i put more
substance on this uh
material
and i will put this material now on her
face and
you will see and what will happen with
an appallingly tiny budget of just over
ten thousand dollars adrian toufey wrote
directed starred and edited this
chilling film about the extremes a man
will go to to convince anne hathaway to
act in his next feature disturbing and
effective this indie horror flick uses
its lack of budget to create something
that's almost too realistic for comfort
oh my god
now i'm prepared
to work with you
now i'm prepared to work with you number
three the blair witch project budget 823
thousand dollars
i gave you back the map heather
i gave you back the map
haunted words a shaky camera and a
dysfunctional group of 20-somethings
sound familiar walla's concept isn't
quite as fresh anymore this film was
actually one of the first to popularize
the found footage sub-genre short over
just eight days the movie follows a team
of investigators as they face the
infamous witch in a cursed forest at the
time of the release the actors were said
to be missing as a way to promote the
authenticity of the footage and the
result was a massive box office hall
i'm scared to close my eyes
i'm scared to open them
it's a masterclass of generating tension
without the need of fake blood or flashy
effects and more than deserves its title
as one of the most successful
independent films of all time
number two the texas chainsaw massacre
budget
779 thousand dollars
sally i hear something stop stop
at a time when movie studios were still
unsure about the widespread appeal of
slasher films this legendary texas-based
tale found it hard to get distribution
reportedly some of the cast and crew had
to defer salaries until the film found
studio investment and it's easy to see
why that proved so difficult
even by today's standard the exploits of
this chainsaw wielding killer are
incredibly gruesome it may not have
found much investor faith before
production but it certainly found an
audience at the box office to the tune
of a legendary legacy and a spot among
the most infamous horror villains of all
time it seems the bloody mayhem was
worth the pay cut after all
[Applause]
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number one night of the living dead
budget 899
they're coming to get you barbara
stop it you're ignorant they're coming
for you barbara it's hard to picture
this legendary george romero film
looking any different but much of its
final cuts came as a result of budgetary
restrictions it was too expensive to
film in colour the costumes were
hand-me-downs many of the cast were
local stage actors and that's just the
start don't you know what's going on out
there this is no sunday school picnic
don't you understand my brother is alone
your brother is dead no
my brother is not dead
everything had to be considered with a
tight allowance in mind even as early as
the idea phase romero realized that such
a modest budget forbade the expensive
makeup required of aliens or monsters
and as a result zombies as we know them
were born as a cheaper alternative it
just goes to show that sometimes
budgetary limitations can lead to the
best kinds of creative breakthroughs
[Music]
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