When manager Sam Raimi released the originalThe Evil Deadin 1981 , Stephen Kingdubbedit “ the most ferociously original revulsion film of the year . ” The splatter flick about a little group of friends enduring the result of choose a ogre - infested cabin for a weekend getaway spawn two continuation , a 2013 reboot , and a current television series , Ash vs. Evil Dead .
None of that may have happen if Raimi had n’t first elected toshootWithin the Woods , his 1978 prototype shortsighted that helped convince investors he could make an effectual revulsion film . And whileThe Evil Deadmay be one of the best - experience examples of a literary genre filmmaker volunteer a cogent evidence - of - concept project , it ’s far from the only one . Check out eight other repugnance feature article that started aliveness as short scares .
1.MONSTER(2005) //THE BABADOOK(2014)
It took director Jennifer Kent nearly a decade to turn her 10 - minute short , Monster , into a feature of speech , but the wait pay off : The Babadookreceived some of thebest decisive noticesof any film in 2014 . In both the myopic and full - duration story , a exclusive mother and her nestling confront a monster in their dwelling that turns out to be as much a metaphysical scourge as a real one . Kent said sheexpandedthe short as a effect of financial constraints : financiers in her aboriginal Australia detect other scripts for her first characteristic motion picture too ambitious , direct her to return to the more internal ( and less expensive ) narrative . Kentcallsthe original a “ babyBabadook . ”
2.OCULUS: CHAPTER 3 - THE MAN WITH THE PLAN(2006) //OCULUS(2013)
Mike Flanagan’sloglinewas simple : throw a guy into a room with a haunted mirror and see what happens . optic : Chapter 3- The Man With the Plan , a 29 - minute short circuit , was the result . ( There was no chapter one or two . ) Flanagan make batch of offers from Hollywood follow its discharge — but few need to leave him to direct a characteristic . After using Kickstarter to fund the small independent movieAbsentia , Flanagan was able toexpandthe mirror thought forOculus , a pic starring Karen Gillan ( Doctor Who ) that opened up the tale to let in more than one fourth dimension period .
There was just one extra wrinkle : Flanagan did n’t require to do it as a found footage picture show , which studios keep insisting upon . After negotiation , he got his wish : Oculusfound a centripetal audience without the gimmick .
3.GRACE(2006) //GRACE(2009)
It ’s rarefied that a 6 - minute light bears more recognizable performer than the eventual feature celluloid , but director Paul Solet’sGraceis an exception . Shot on a microscopic budget in 2006 , Solet was capable to convinceBeverly Hills , 90210star Brian Austin Green to participate . The short — about a mother experiencing a very unconventional and very alarming pregnancy — wasfilmedstrictly as a vocation card , as Solet had written a full - length script prior but had job getting involvement . After touring the fete electrical circuit , he managed to obtainfundingfrom ArieScope Pictures for a motion-picture show . Although it ’s not known what effect watching the short has had on looker , at least two homo fade out during the characteristic ’s premiere .
4.IN A CORNER(1998) //JU-ON: THE GRUDGE(2002) //THE GRUDGE(2004)
Japanese horror has been fat source material for plenty of Hollywood remakes , but there are still a number of fans who prefer the originals . In the case ofJu - On , director Takashi Shimizu ’s tale of a family pursued by accursed entities , the English edition was actually the third to be filmed . In 1998 , Shimizu shot two brief projects onvideotapefor the Nipponese repulsion TV seriesHaunted School Gthat contain several of the core concept found in the features , include the infamous “ crawl ” of leading creepy girl Kayako .
5.TOOTH FAIRY(2001) //DARKNESS FALLS(2003)
comical book author Joe Harris ’s little motion-picture show , Tooth Fairy , had an irresistible come-on for film studios : a evil tooth fagot that hunts child . After the film made festival rounds , Revolution Studiospurchasedthe rights for a full feature adaption . Harrissaidin 2010 that he write several drafts of the motion-picture show before a “ heavily rewrite ” version made it into theaters .
6.THE SITTER(1977) //WHEN A STRANGER CALLS(1979)
When a Stranger Callsmay not bear up for its entire running game time , but most who have seen it will tell you that its scuttle 10 minute ( above ) might be among the scary confide to film . The sequence — which features Carol Kane getting some worrying call from a mysterious voyeur while babysitting — waslargely mapped outin manager Fred Walton ’s curt film , The Sitter , which was made for $ 12,000 . While the featuredrew criticismfor not have enough plot to substantiate itself past those early moment , they ’re worth the Leontyne Price of admittance . In 2006 , Simon West directeda remakeof the lineament translation .
7.LIGHTS OUT(2013) //LIGHTS OUT(2016)
How short can a film be and still attract interest from major studios ? perchance as short as three minutes , the approximate running time of director David Sandberg’sLights Out , a 2013 cinema that consisted ofnothing morethan a woman being terrified by something in the dark . It was enough for producer and film maker James Wan ( The Conjuring ) to sign Sandberg for a full - length version . In addition to that polar opportunity , Wan is also set Sandberg to take the sequel to the killer - dame filmAnnabelle . Not bad for a film barely longer than a commercial-grade break .
8.SEASON’S GREETINGS(1996) //TRICK ‘R TREAT(2007)
potential one of the fewsenior thesis projectsto urge on a feature article , Michael Dougherty ’s animated myopic from 1996 preceded his horror anthology from 2007 . In both the college and characteristic films , the ominous trick - or - treater , Sam , is front and center . Dougherty reportedly cut his deal while helping hand - drawing the animation , with the blood specks earn it into the finished edit .
