Week 31: “The Horror of Jason Blum”
Anyone who has been following horror in the last few years
will know the name Jason Blum as he has been a force-of-one in regards to
low-budget horror that gets wide (and even limited) theatrical release while
also turning huge profits against
extremely low budgets. He’s behind some
of the most profitable franchises still going now from The Purge to Insidious to
Sinister to Paranormal Activity and has just added Ouija to that list. Whether
you like the films he produces (or in some cases acquires for distribution)
there is no denying the impact that he is having on the horror genre. Having already released nine films this year
and (at least) two more before the year is out he has one-handedly kept the
horror genre alive in 2015. I decided
that it was a good idea to catch up with some of his films from this year.
In January Blum had his first release which was the Jennifer
Lopez starring thriller The Boy Next Door. This is a thriller very much in the tone of Fear (1996) or The Crush (1993) except from the perspective of a teacher and her
younger student. Despite being directed
by Rob Cohen – The Fast & the Furious
(2001) and XXX (2002), this is a very
dry erotic thriller which doesn’t really break any new ground. The entire cast does a good job and its
interesting seeing Cohen do a smaller film after so many big budget event
films. The big did extremely well at the
Box Office grossing over $50 million worldwide against a $4 million production
budget. Also, of note is the fact that
Lopez is a producer on the film (who is better known for having produced a lot
of television rather than films) something she has done since Feel the Noise (2007) and El Cantante (2006), neither of which are
thrillers.
In February Blum’s The
Lazarus Effect was released. This is
a film more in line with the expectations of his company Blumhouse
Productions. Scientists experimenting
with life after death get more than they expected when they resurrect one of
them after being recently killed.
Needless to say, the scientist doesn’t return from the dead normal but
rather a non-stop killing machine. This
film has an excellent concept and setup but in the third act becomes a
senseless slasher film with echoes of Lucy (2014). This being sad it’s very entertaining and all
the cast do an excellent job with the material.
Do to the enormous amount of visual FX on display you’ll be forgiven if
you don’t realize that most of the film is in a single location (to keep
production costs down I’m sure). This
film was also a modest success grossing over $36 million worldwide against a
production of only $3.3 million.
Blum took a break in March with no films released but
returned in force in April with the better than expected Unfriended (for which he was an Executive Producer). This is a concept driven film as it is told
completely from the perspective and style of a chat room and found
footage. It has a very relatable and
convincing cast of young unknown actors which drives the film and is
suspenseful and engaging in the same mood and tone as displayed in the Paranormal Activity films. This film did phenomenally well at the Box
Office pulling in $62 million worldwide against a production budget of only $1
million. There is talk of a sequel which
may or may not have Blum’s involvement.
In May Blum gave his pal Oren Peli’s (director of the
original Paranormal Activity) latest
film Area 51 a limited theatrical
release at the same time as its VOD release.
I have yet to see this film but it grossed $7,556 domestically (as it
was not released theatrically in foreign markets).
June saw the release of the sequel to Blum’s most successful
franchise outside the Paranormal Activity
films which is Insidious: Chapter 3. This has been an extremely successful and
popular franchise with horror fans around the world and with the general public
who have been craving something new from your typical haunted house story. I’ve enjoyed all of the films in this
franchise not only because of the suspenseful stories that keep you on the edge
of your seat but also because of the cast of characters and the great acting as
well. These are high value horror films
done on very small budgets. This film
follows the secondary characters of the paranormal investigators from the
previous films in a prequel story that adds to the mythology crafted by writer
Leigh Whannell who has been with the franchise since the beginning and who made
this film his directorial debut. Despite grossing less than the previous film
in the franchise this film was still a huge success grossing $109 million
worldwide against a $10 million production budget.
July saw the release of The
Gallows, a found footage film that takes place in the world of a haunted
high school theater. This film had a lot
of good will coming off some success screenings at film festivals. Unfortunately, found footage films have been
ignored by mainstream audiences of late and this film only grossed $38.2
million worldwide but because the production budget was only $100,000 this is
an enormous success for the film and Blum again. This is a guilty pleasure film for me as I’ve
worked in the theater industry for almost two decades so seeing a horror film
that utilizes that allowed me to enjoy the film probably more than most people
with no background in theater. I found
it very entertaining and suspenseful which is the hallmark of a successful low
budget horror film.
August saw the release of my favorite of the 2015 Blumhouse
Productions which is The Gift. This is a film that gets it right on so many
levels. Despite playing as a thriller
there is so much going on in this film that I don’t want to ruin it but
needless to say that nothing is as it seems in this thriller about former
school friends who confront each other in the present bringing up the past that
one of them had thought forgotten and buried.
Written, directed and starring Joel Edgerton this is a tight thriller
that’s also atmospheric and suspenseful in a subtle yet eerie way that makes
your skin crawl. Jason Bateman and
Rebecca Hall (one of the most underrated and phenomenal actresses working
today) are fantastic together. This is
not just my favorite of Blum’s films this year but one of my favorite horror
films in general this year. Great word
of mouth pushed this film’s success to the tune of $46 million worldwide
against a $5 million budget.
August also saw the release of Sinister 2. Unfortunately, I
was not a huge fan of the original film and missed this one at the Box
Office. I’m sure I’m not the only one in
that camp as the film only grossed $27.5 million at the domestic Box Office (no
foreign release) against a much bigger budget of $10 million, so this is not
one of Blum’s more successful films and I doubt there will be an additional
sequel anytime soon.
More recent is the release of Blum’s acquired film The Visit which comes from M. Night
Shyamalan. This film has gotten some of
the best reviews of Shyamalan’s recent films with many claiming that he has
returned to form after the abysmal The Last
Air Bender (2010), The Happening (2008),
and After Earth (2013). I have yet to see this film but I am looking
forward to it because I’ve heard good things about it. Generally speaking, I’m still a fan of
Shyamalan and enjoy the fact that with each new film he strives to tell stories
different from everyone else in the same vein as watching a David Cronenberg or
John Carpenter film. This film is still
in active release but has grossed over $67 million worldwide against a $5
million production budget.
Blum has two more films being released this year which are
both this month which are Jem & the
Holograms and the final film in the Paranormal
Activity franchise Paranormal
Activity: The ghost Dimension (which will be released in 3D). Blum usually releases at least one non-horror
film a year (last year’s film was the highly praised Whiplash) so there shouldn’t be much surprise in regards to Jem
& the Holograms. What will interest
horror fans more is the final entry in the Paranormal
Activity franchise which has been one of the biggest horror franchises in
history. This last film will be in 3D
and finally explain everything that has come before in the five previous films
(excluding Paranormal Activity: Tokyo
Night). Being a huge fan of the
franchise I am very much looking forward to this film.
The one thing to remember about Jason Blum is that he may
produce low budget films but they are films shepherded by the creative minds
behind them instead of being dictated by the studio system. This is the reason why he can command so many
talented artist to work on these films for virtually nothing or backend
percentage points. Keeping the
production costs of his films down have allowed him more financial success and
less overall stress. Audiences all over
the world have been subjected to all types of new and innovative horror films
for which I hope he is able to continue to do so.
As a final note I’d like to list a few of his upcoming films
in order to give you an idea of what is next on his list for 2016 – Amityville: The Awakening, Ouija 2, The
Purge 3, Delirium, 6 Miranda Drive, The Veil, Stephanie, In the Valley of
Violence, Viral, and Hush, just
to name a few.
All box office information was obtained from Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com).
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