Why Writing a Horror Script Might Launch Your Career

Hi All,

It’s October, which means your Netflix queue is probably filled with scary movies and TV shows. Well, getting on the ‘horror bandwagon’ yourself might just help you break into Hollywood.

Up until recently Horror has felt like an under-appreciated genre - it almost never wins major awards, a lot of film snobs don’t even view horror as ‘true art,’ and most of our parents viewed horror movies as ‘pure garbage’. But, I think it’s safe to say, when Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” won Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars - we all started taking horror a lot more seriously.

Full disclosure, I’m such a wuss that I don’t watch much horror but, despite what I or you might feel about horror personally, there’s no denying it manages to “survive” no matter what.

Here are 5 reasons why horror is one of the best genres to help you get noticed as a screenwriter:

1. Monsters can have an Underlying Message

Horror movies have been layering social and political messages into their narratives for years, but, as I said, the most successful recent example of this is Get Out. Jordan Peele showed us that you can write about an issue that’s culturally important and still make the story fun, scary, and highly entertaining. But be warned: a great horror with a solid social message is a hard balance to strike. If your message is too ‘spelled out’ your audience will feel manipulated. Subtlety is key. Find ways to sew the message into the story so the ‘scares’ comes first. How could you take an issue that matters to you, that scares you (politics anyone?), and turn it into a horror?

2. The only ‘Not Scary’ part of a Horror should be the Budget

One of the reasons horror movies keep getting made is that they can usually be produced on a low budget and still be commercially successful. James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s movie Saw is a great example. Saw 1 had a budget of $1.2 million (for all of you who are not movie budget savvy, that’s crazy low) and was shot in just 18 days. It grossed over $100,000 million worldwide. Not a bad return on an investment. But what does this mean for an up-and-coming writer? Studios love films that can be made cheap. If you have a script that can be made for $5 million or less, it’s seen as a low risk investment because even if your movie tanks, the studio will most likely still get their money back. Plus, the horror genre has such a devoted following, that even if the movie isn’t the greatest, there will probably still be plenty of people who want to watch it. So, let’s talk about the qualities of a horror script that keep the budget low…

3. Budget friendly qualities of Horror

Let me preface this point by saying, you should start with a story you need to tell. I’m sure Jordan Peele was compelled to write, ‘Get Out’ for more personal reasons than ‘writing a low budget film that would get made’. But, once you’ve found a subject you’re passionate about, here are a few things to consider: One: fewer locations are your friend - a haunted house, a college dorm, a bomb shelter. Better yet, craft your horror story around a location you know you can get (like your childhood home). Less shooting locations means less days on set. Two: keep your cast small. Not only are fewer actors budget friendly, they are COVID friendly too. Three: blood and guts cost money. I know I keep using it as an example, but for good reason, ‘Get Out’ actually has very little ‘gore’; it relies on suspense and great writing to tell a scary story (and in my opinion, psychological horror is way scarier than a gory slasher flick). Four: set your story in modern day. Period horror on a relatively low budget is possible (like The VVitch), and if that’s what your gut is telling you to write, go for it - but convincing an audience they’re watching another time period will always cost more than modern day.

4. Genre is your ‘A-lister’

As I already said above, horror has a built-in audience whose main reason for going to a scary movie is… to be scared. Which means there are plenty of horrors that were successful without having a cast of ‘A list’ celebrities to draw people to the theatre (or these days, to their couch). Unfriended and The Blair Witch Project are great examples of movies that had zero star power. But that being said, all actors want to play great characters. If your script has a cast of interesting parts to play, you may get a notable actor or a dynamite rising star on board. Jessica Rothe’s break out role was in Happy Death Day and Sigourney Weaver became a major celebrity after her starring role in Alien. Throw your energy into writing a great story with innovative scares and compelling characters, and you never know who will want to be attached to your project.

5. The Possibilities are Endless

Psychological horror, horror comedy, body horror, slasher, supernatural horror, gothic horror, zombie film, teen horror, found footage… the list of horror subgenres goes on and on. There’s even a subgenre called ‘holiday horror’. The possibilities are endless and the genre is ever evolving. Whatever type of horror interests you the most - go for it! Maybe campy fun teen horror excites you, or maybe you’re more into the dark and psychological. Horror is a great genre to take some ‘risks on the page’ and create a frightening world that you would want to see. 

What horror movies inspire you? Let me know @CaroleKirsch!