New York Comic Con 2023 was full of great panels and guests. One of the panels we were looking forward to attending was hands down the BLUM-FEST presentation. I knew the Master of Horror himself Jason Blum, would be there showcasing the present and future of Blumhouse. Not only were we lucky enough to participate in the panel, but we got to speak to the man himself!

Making Cost-Effective Horror Films

THS: Why does horror offer filmmakers the opportunity to spend less to make effective films?

Jason Blum: Well, one reason is horror really only works if it’s done practically. There’s very few visual effects in horror movies, and the ones that have a lot of visual effects usually aren’t that scary. So that’s one. The second thing is horror, the stories are very intimate. So they’re not very many characters. That makes it not too expensive. So that’s two. The last one is probably horror usually doesn’t take place if you’re in a lot of locations and the scope is broad. It’s not that scary. It’s much more scary to be enclosed and intimate and makes it claustrophobic. That’s also cheap. So it lends itself to inexpensive filmmaking.

Blum-Fest panel at NYCC 2023

Horrors Evolution

THS:  And then what do you feel may be the next evolution in horror?

Jason Blum: Boy, I wish I knew. I mean, I wish I knew. I hope I catch it, whatever it is, but I have no idea what it’s going to be. We’re looking at new movies all the time. There will be. There’ll be a new Paranormal Activity. There’ll be a new, you know, Smile to a certain degree. That was kind of a new iteration. We missed that one. But it’ll be soon Halloween.

Any News On That Other Franchise?

THS: Are there any updates on Friday the 13th?

Jason Blum: We’re working on it. I’m trying.

This has been a HUGE year for Blum. With MEGAN, INSIDIOUS: The Red Door, The Exorcist: Believer, Prime Video’s Totally Killer, BlumHouse is THE horror production company. And with Five Nights At Freddy’s coming out this week, this is a juggernaut that doesn’t look to slow down anytime soon.

For more on Horror, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

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