2022: The Year of Original Low-Budget Horror

Ever since the post-pandemic reopening of many movie theaters in late 2021, critics and audiences alike have been eager to get back to watching films on the big screen. While 2022 saw many successful entries from iconic film franchises such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Top Gun: Maverick, there’s another film genre flying under the radar which had one of its most successful years in recent history.

2022 was a box office smash hit for the horror genre, with a variety of different films turning big financial profits, as well as positive reviews. However, while big-name horror movies like Halloween Ends and Scream 5 did well enough with their high budgets, the big winners of the year were the original horror movies. These movies didn’t have ties to franchises and worked with much lower budgets than the blockbusters, yet they surprisingly became some of the most talked about movies of the year. 

Although horror originals such as Bodies Bodies Bodies, Nope, and Terrifier 2 all had good theatrical turnouts, below are three of the year’s biggest success stories:

The Black Phone

The Black Phone was one of the first vastly successful horror movies of the year, releasing in late June along many summer blockbusters, with a smaller budget of $17 million. Even though the film had stiff competition at the box office, it definitely held its own, grossing nearly ten times its budget, $161 million in total. The film was a wild success among audiences as it followed an original screenplay, which was an adaptation of a short story of the same name. Entailing a plot in which a young boy must escape the evils of a mysterious kidnapper, the survival supernatural horror thrived off of the performances of the young protagonists in addition to horror veteran Ethan Hawke, who does a stellar job as the ominous villain of the film. Audiences had seen Hawke many times play the protagonist of a horror film in popular releases like Sinister and The Purge, but The Black Phone gives viewers a breath of fresh air with Hawke’s creepy portrayal of the masked kidnapper.

Smile

Another of the biggest surprises for horror fans in 2022 was Smile. The movie followed a basic “evil curse” premise seen many times before in films such as The Ring or It Follows. The movie was produced on a relatively small budget of $17 million and had plans to go direct to streaming. However, after multiple very successful test screenings, the director decided to push for a theatrical release. The production team went all out on the marketing for the movie, going as far as sending paid actors to MLB games, where they would sit and eerily smile for the entire duration of the game with the logo of the film printed on their shirt. The film had already created a lot of buzz even before the premiere, and once it was released, word of the movie spread like wildfire. The movie performed extremely successfully in theaters, making back its entire budget in just the opening weekend, and earning an astounding $216 million in total. What audiences presumed to be a cheesy premise was actually an intricate plot with enough twists and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Combining a great story, talented acting, and scares guaranteed to make you jump out of your seat, Smile is an absolute must watch for all fans of the genre.

Barbarian

Finally, the last movie on this list is possibly the biggest sleeper hit of the entire year, Barbarian. In his directorial debut, Zach Cregger’s script was turned down by pretty much every major production company in Hollywood. None of the big names wanted to produce the movie due to the absurdity of the script, and the unorthodox timeline of the story. However, just when he thought his script would never see the big screen, a micro-budget horror production company called BoulderLight Pictures decided they wanted to fund the movie. On a miniscule $4.5 million budget, Cregger was able to pursue his passion project, and eventually ended up making back the budget ten times over at the box office. Once again, this was another movie set to go straight to streaming services, but was saved by high praise from critics who saw early test screenings. As far as trailers and promotion went, the studio did their best to give very little of the movie away and left most of the plot for the viewers to figure out. In an age of spoilers, it’s best going into this movie knowing little to nothing, as it will make your viewing experience all the better. Masterfully mixing horror, comedy, and social commentary, it’s a movie you have to watch soon to avoid getting it spoiled.

The wildly successful year for original horror was no coincidence. After decades of seeing the same types of slasher movies with similar plots on the big screen, horror audiences were starving for original ideas once theaters finally reopened after the lockdown. The pure excitement of watching a horror movie that is able to break through the traditional tropes and deliver a fresh, unique story is simply an unmatched theater experience for moviegoers. With all of the box office success of the genre, even with the competition of major blockbusters, there’s no doubt that original horror will continue to thrill and impress the masses for many years to come. The future for original horror looks brighter than ever, and fans should be excited for what’s next.