| Filmmakers have found the horror genre to be a | | | | and highly profitable. |
| potentially low budget, high profit way of breaking | | | | The film that most historians consider the worst |
| into the business. Standing in a long line at a | | | | ever made includes flying saucers hanging from |
| hardware store, Tobe Hooper imagined taking a | | | | strings, wiggling tombstones, and day scenes |
| chainsaw off the wall and cutting his way to the | | | | suddenly turning into night. It was originally called |
| front, inspiring his creation of The Texas | | | | "Grave Robbers From Outer Space" but the |
| Chainsaw Massacre (1974). George Romero found | | | | Baptist ministers who financed it objected to that |
| a local butcher in Pittsburgh to finance and provide | | | | title, so director Ed Wood changed it to Plan Nine |
| blood and guts for his zombie thriller Night Of The | | | | From Outer Space (1959), never explaining what |
| Living Dead (1968). Wes Craven combined a | | | | the first eight plans were. Four days before |
| nasty bully named Freddy that he knew in grade | | | | shooting began the film's intended star, the |
| school with a frightening old hobo he saw hanging | | | | morphine addicted Bela Lugosi passed away due |
| around his Cleveland neighborhood to create the | | | | to a heart attack. He was replaced by Wood's |
| dream killer Freddy Krueger for A Nightmare On | | | | wife's chiropractor, who was considerably taller |
| Elm Street (1984). And producer Val Lewton was | | | | and disguised his appearance by holding a cape |
| given credit for saving RKO studios (teetering on | | | | over his face. Being mistaken for others was |
| bankruptcy because of the overspending Orson | | | | nothing new for the temperamental Hungarian |
| Welles) by producing the highly profitable Cat | | | | thespian. Forgotten by Hollywood producers |
| People (1944), keeping the budget way down by | | | | (some who thought he had died years before) |
| showing shadows rather than cats. | | | | Lugosi had scraped by in the early fifties by doing |
| Low budgets can mean small paydays to horror | | | | one man shows as Dracula. One night he was |
| actors. Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle | | | | strolling through a small town when a young boy |
| became disenchanted by movie stars demands | | | | eagerly approached him with an autograph pad. |
| for perks and high salaries. Horror movies were | | | | "You see," he told a companion. "They know me |
| an antidote, if the Invisible Man or the Mummy | | | | everywhere." He took the pad from the boy then |
| demanded too much you could hire someone else | | | | hesitated before signing. "And what is my name |
| and the public wouldn't know the difference. One | | | | young man?" Without missing a beat the kid said," |
| casualty was Boris Karloff who endured having | | | | Boris Karloff." |
| make-up applied by Jack Pierce for four hours a | | | | Special effects in low budget horror films often |
| day to play Frankenstein's Monster. Although he | | | | take very creative turns. In The Incredible |
| loved the creature Karloff, who founded the | | | | Shrinking Man (1957) director Jack Arnold was |
| screen actors union, complained publicly about the | | | | stumped as how to show the effect of giant rain |
| Frankenstein movies," I was only in three of them | | | | drops falling around his protagonist, played by |
| but I get blamed for all nine." He also said," I get | | | | Grant Williams. Then he remembered as a kid |
| all the fan mail but somebody else gets the | | | | dropping water balloons out of his third story |
| check." Each Halloween Boris's resentment grew | | | | apartment building window and the impact they |
| when the neighborhood kids in Beverly Hills would | | | | made when missed their intended target and hit |
| ask him to go trick or treating. | | | | the sidewalk. Arnold gathered the crew around |
| Karloff's influence was felt in Berkshire, England | | | | and said,"Anybody here got a condom?" There |
| during the making of Hammer Film's The Curse | | | | was nervous laughter. "It's for an experiment for |
| Of Frankenstein (1957). Fearing that any | | | | the movie. Come on you guys." Reluctantly, one |
| resemblance to the Universal's Monster would | | | | of the men reached into his pocket. Filling the |
| cause a lawsuit, make-up artist Philip Leakey | | | | contraceptive with water and dropping it worked |
| worked hard to make Christopher Lee's creature | | | | perfectly on film. A few days later a female bean |
| gruesome and unique. Former cavalryman Lee | | | | counter from Universal's front office approached |
| became so angry at Leakey's painful experiments | | | | Arnold. "I was looking over the budget and was |
| on his face, he threatened to run him through | | | | struck by all the contraceptives you purchased. |
| with his sword. The make-up man disappeared for | | | | That's an unusual expense." Arnold said," Well |
| several days delaying filming. Later a calmer Lee | | | | everyone on the film has done such a great job I |
| lamented to his co-star Peter Cushing who played | | | | thought I would reward them with a big party." |
| Baron Frankenstein," Playing the creature is horrid. | | | | "Oh I- I see," replied the flustered woman. "Well. |
| I have no lines." "You're lucky. I've read the script." | | | | Carry on then. |
| replied Cushing. The film was horribly reviewed | | | | |