It has been said enough times that you don’t need a massive budget to tell a brilliant story, and throughout filmmaking history, many creators have proven that by giving us brilliant and fun movies that were made with a measly budget of $1 Million or even less than that. Some filmmakers make genre-defining horror movies that have influenced the whole genre to even this day and some filmmakers make a movie so bizarre that nobody can shut it off without completing it. So, if you also want to watch these brilliant movies made for under a million dollars here are some of the best.
Halloween
Synopsis: John Carpenter’s Halloween forever changed the face of horror. Admired and imitated for over 30 years, original masked monster Michael Myers remains one of the most terrifying creations in film history. In the dark past, on one particularly fraught-filled Halloween night, young Michael Myers brutally slaughtered his sister, terrifying a community and beginning a legacy of terror. Institutionalized for 15 years, Michael breaks out to fulfill his insatiable bloodlust. The only person who understands the murderer behind the mask is psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence, Escape From New York) who knows Michael is coming back to Haddonfield to wreak havoc and spill blood in the long dark shadows of Halloween. Also starring “scream queen” Jamie Lee Curtis (True Lies) and packed with cutting-edge special features, Halloween is evil intensified, a highly celebrated horror classic. 1978 Compass International Pictures.
Clerks
Synopsis: It’s one wild day in the life of a pair of overworked counter jockeys, whose razor-sharp wit and on-the-job antics give a whole new meaning to customer service. Even while braving a nonstop parade of unpredictable shoppers, the clerks manage to play hockey on the roof, visit a funeral home and straighten out their offbeat love lives. The boss is nowhere in sight, so you can bet anything can and will happen when these guys are left to run the store.
The Evil Dead
Synopsis: Demons possess five friends in a remote cabin leading to a bloody night of terror and bodily dismemberment in Sam Raimi’s 1981 horror classic. Bruce Campbell stars in this visually stunning masterpiece of gore. Written & directed by Sam Raimi.
Napolean Dynamite
Synopsis: From the rural town of Preston, Idaho, comes Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder). With a red ‘fro, his moon boots, and illegal government ninja moves, he is a new kind of hero. His family consists of fragile brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), who’s seeking his soulmate in online chat rooms; Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), who is stuck in his “glory” days of high school football; and Grandma (Sandy Martin), who enjoys going out to the dunes on her quad-runner. Napoleon spends his days drawing magical beasts, working on his computer hacking skills to impress the chicks, and begrudgingly feeding his Grandma’s pet llama. When his friend Pedro (Efren Ramirez) decides to run for class president, it is Napoleon to the rescue to help him triumph over adversity.
The Blair Witch Project
Synopsis: Found video footage tells the tale of three film students who traveled to a small town to collect documentary footage about the Blair Witch, a legendary local murderer. The project takes a frightening turn when they lose their way in the woods and begin hearing horrific noises.
