Garrett’s Grumblings – Ten Movies Which Were Unexpected Hits

Given that there was not an Aftertaste last week due to some crazy scheduling issues (sorry about that), I thought I would do a Grumblings column about a subject which has been on my mind for quite awhile. Hollywood is a crazy machine. One that is in constant need of repair, as every once in awhile, an ingredient gets in the machine and it has no idea of how to fix itself. Despite the consistent onslaught of fads which are easy to grasp onto (comic book movies, space movies, teen comedies), Hollywood has always had a ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality. By the way, that is not a criticism. It is just a statement on where their state of affairs really lie, as all their resources are used to outline when things like the next ten movies hit, and hit like buzzsaws, all but forcing those making the big decisions to take notice.

A year that revolves around one film, with an unexpected one coming up from behind and sweeping the masses off their feet, is always a beautiful thing. Stars are made, new directors have guaranteed careers, and there are films for the general public to chew on that they generally wouldn’t taste to begin with.

 

10) The Witch (2016)

Budget: $3.7 million

Box Office Gross (so far): $25.2 million

I’ll start with the most recent example first. The Witch had gathered some steam during a roll out on the festival circuit, receiving one good review after the other in the process. Also, much like he jump started the career of Clive Barker three decades ago, novelist Stephen King gave the movie cred to people who don’t normally read reviews. Daily, almost hourly, a sponsored ad from The Witch would show up on my Facebook feed with a quote from King saying it ‘scared the hell out of’ him. This endorsement was enough to make audiences cough up, at the time this article is written, a shade over $25 million at the box office. The word of mouth behind The Witch was outstanding, eventually leading it to become perhaps the surprise hit of the year. Of course, with outstanding word of mouth comes outstanding expectations, and some people felt let down by the subtle film which unfolded in front of them. Truth be told, if you go into The Witch with the only expectation of being entranced by a dark story with ever so slyly inserted supernatural elements, The Witch will keep you up at night. As for those who want ‘jolt scares,’ I point you James Wan’s way.

 

9) Juno (2007)

Budget: $7.5 million

Box Office: $231 million

Just what WERE the expectations of a film written by an ex-stripper whose random blog post became the basis for what was originally supposed to be a published memoir and nothing else? Well, Jason Reitman (son of Ivan) certainly saw potential in her subsequent script, as he took Diablo Cody’s words and turned them into the teen pregnancy film of the decade. Not that there was much of a competition for that title. Armed with parents played by masters at their craft Allison Janney and JK Simmons, Reitman just pointed the camera at his young star Ellen Page and let her go off. With dialogue which would make members of a Gilmore Girls writing session blush, Juno had just the right mixture of sentimentality and outright comedy to make it work. After grossing $231 million and garnering four Academy Award nominations (only winning for Cody’s Best Original Screenplay), Juno won many hearts and made Ellen Page a star, while establishing Reiman as a director to watch. Word is Reitman, Cody, and Charlize Theron (Young Adult) are reteaming for another project, already making it one of my most anticipated films.

 

8) Open Water (2003)

Budget: $500,000

Box Office: $52 million

Based on the true story of two stranded divers left behind by their tour boat, Open Water had the benefit of a kick ass trailer that some would argue built better suspense than its subsequent film did. Still, the impact the film had in its initial release is one that all independent filmmakers strive for. While I haven’t seen it for quite a clip, I remember really being into Open Water for its brutality on the characters’ senses. Once they were left behind, I imagined myself being out there amongst all the predators under my feet of the grand ocean below, and felt a sense of dread for them. Especially of note is how this was almost a stepping stone for Lionsgate, as the year after they would have a certified hit with a little film called Saw. And the rest, is history.

 

7) Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Budget: $125,000

Box Office: $42 million

In some ways, Night of the Living Dead is a misunderstood film. People seem to think that it was the first zombie film, which in essence is not true. There were plenty of zombie films out in the era, like The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake and Doctor Blood’s Coffin. However, these were almost takes on Frankenstein, as corpses were being brought back to life through someone else’s volition. There had yet to be a movie about an unknown phenomenon which made people into creatures thirsty for blood, and hungry for flesh. Enter George Romero’s classic dark tale, of which we are still feeling the after effect today. Before Night of the Living Dead, you would be hard pressed to find not only a little girl stabbing her own mother to death, but also a black protagonist. Earlier scenes of him slapping down Barbara notwithstanding, we as an audience are looking for a way, ANY way, for him to survive the attack. And the way the film ends, while not as shocking today, must have had audiences in 1968 running for the exits out of fear it was on their doorstep. Yet, over four decades later, they keep coming back for more.

 

6) Saw (2004)

Budget: $1.2 million

Box Office: $103 million

I mentioned this little ditty a few numbers back, so you knew it was eventually going to find its way here. Filmmakers dream of stories like this. Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell wanted nothing more than make a student film about two people locked in a stinky bathroom. If you watch the condensed version of the final film, it has the aura of being made by someone who would eventually make quite an imprint on the industry. Since Saw‘s groundbreaking release, Wan has gone on to make The Conjuring and last year’s billion dollar grossing Furious 7. While ripe with flaws (as outlined in my revisit of it from last year), Saw still has the power to get under your skin, and Wan’s quick cutting sensibilities are certainly on display here. It is not hard to see how a little more than a decade later, he would fine tune his craft toward blockbuster success.

 

5) Halloween

Budget: $325,000

Box Office: $47 million

Now, the name Halloween is synonymous with horror behind a spray painted white William Shatner mask. But before October 25th 1978, it was just a day where kids dressed up and got candy. Quite frankly, I find it hard to believe that it took Hollywood this long to make a film out of the potentially terrifying holiday of Halloween. After Psycho and Night of the Living Dead, there was only one horror movie whose story revolved around a holiday, and that was Black Christmas. We’ve all heard the story of how Halloween happened. Producer Irwin Yablans had an idea about a serial killer stalking babysitters on Halloween, wanting to (horrifyingly) call it The Babysitter Murders. Carpenter brought in his main squeeze at the time Debra Hill to help spice up the script. And the rest, as they say, is history. Halloween held the record for the most dollar for dollar successful horror film until 1999, when our next entry told the hiking story heard around the world and quite literally stole its mantle.

 

4) The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Budget:$60,000

Box Office: $248 million

I still remember the experience of seeing this movie like it was yesterday. I had just gotten off a long shift at a Berkeley resort and was looking forward to this film I had heard so much about. However, the way I found out about it was rarely, if ever, done in the late 90s. It is very hard to launch a viral campaign that captures the public’s imagination because for the most part, everyone is on to them. A particular one, with a scavenger hunt put on by none other than Heath Ledger’s Joker for 2008’s The Dark Knight, immediately springs to mind. Yet, in 1999, this type of marketing was unheard of. Somehow, maybe it was via the many entertainment magazines I read back then -which should have been an immediate tip off- I had gotten word that the Blair Witch was indeed real, and my interest had been spiked. I logged on my at the time dial up connection and scoured the internet, looking at photos of Heather and Josh, complete with full in depth stories about what happened to them, and building an in universe sort of unsolved mystery. Was this witch the cause of it? That was what I went into the sticky soda floored theater to find out. The movie in front of me did very little to solve the mystery, but the ride it took me on is something I will not soon forget. The fact the mystery was not solved, in some way, enhanced the experience.

A few years ago, while interviewing co-director Eduardo Sanchez on the matter, he told me the viral campaign was indeed the idea of studio Artisan Entertainment. Of course, word of this ‘little horror film shot in the woods’ got out, and pretty soon the entire cast destroyed the mystery by appearing daily on the talk show circuit. Still, the impact of The Blair Witch Project, much like Night of the Living Dead, is still causing rippling waves to this day.

 

3) Friday The 13th (1980)

Budget: $500,000

Box Office: $59 million

Much like Halloween, Friday The 13th started as just a brim of an idea. After a series of kids movies he made flopped, director Sean S Cunningham was at a crossroads of what to do. His experience producing the grimy and disturbing Wes Craven directed horror film The Last House on the Left gave him a little notoriety, and he used this fact to his advantage by taking an ad out of magazines and newspapers promoting Friday The 13th as the scariest movie you will ever see. After the ads gained a little bit of steam, Cunningham set out to make his little camp counselor film, and the result was a shoe string budgeted film that comes off as a generally more violent version of John Carpenter’s Halloween. Who would have thought, over 35 years, countless sequels, video games, and franchise crossovers later, Friday The 13th would still be going strong.

 

2) Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Budget – $400,000

Box Office – $46 million

2004 was quite a unique year for indie filmmaking, as obscure hits were almost the norm. First there was Saw. But when you talk about obscure. you have to mention Napoleon Dynamite. The movie is undoubtedly one of the most unlikely hits to ever happen. Its cast is made up of mostly unknown actors. Yet before the world knew it, Napoleon Dynamite was a cultural phenomenon. T-shirts asking people to ‘Vote for Pedro,’ action figures of Napoleon with a tether ball, and bumper stickers with ‘Give me some of your tots’ printed on them were being sold everywhere. The film is an interesting watch, with no real narrative driving the story, instead using nonsensical situations involving Napoleon and his ‘friends’ to move the plot forward. As much as I like the film, I still wonder to this day how it caught on. There is no real likable character to speak of, and this includes the title character. Yet, from the moment he wins the talent show crowd over with his unusual dance, to him finally getting to play tether ball with what I concluded to be his future female companion, Napoleon Dynamite, for what it lacks in structure, makes up for it with a hell of a lot of heart.

 

1)  Rocky

Budget – $995,000

Box Office – $225 million

Now, Luke Norris and I have spewed many, many words about this film, and entire franchise. So I am not going to talk TOO much about it here. But I would be remissed if I didn’t mention the sentimental piece of meat beating populace film known as Rocky. A grimy, down and dirty sports world fairy tale, Rocky‘s onscreen story is far from an unfamiliar one. But how writer/star Sylvestor Stallone was able to edge his way into the role, even as millions of dollars were being flashed in his face to turn it over to any one Hollywood star, is a model which needs to be commended. Rocky didn’t have to be as low budget as it was. But Stallone’s insistence on using his integrity instead of his money hungry hand added on to the film’s entire experience. Watching Stallone in Rocky is like watching Hugh Jackman in X-Men or Daisy Ridley in The Force Awakens. We are watching a star being born, and with it, a character that would continually remind us what successful independent filmmaking can accomplish when done right.