10 Awesome Movies That Cost Nothing To Make

2. El Mariachi (1993)

Budget: $7,000

Robert Rodriguez is famous for his ‘one-man-crew’ style of filmmaking, often being credited as director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editer, composer and more. This DIY style of filmmaking was born in his very first film, ‘El Mariachi’. It tells the story of a young man simply named El Mariachi, who arrives in town with his guitar looking to perfect his craft as a mariachi player. However a local crime boss mistakes him from an assassin who hides his weapons in a guitar case, and sends his men after him.

Famously, Rodriguez subjected himself to drug testing in order to fund the film, reportedly having written much of the script while under observation in the laboratory. It’s probably a good thing then that the film became an exercise in spending as little money as possible.

Rodriguez made use of what he had, namely a guitar case and a bus, to create a low-budget action movie which looks like it cost a lot more than it actually did. To achieve this, Rodriguez cut whatever corners he could, such as enlisting his actors who weren’t on screen to act as the crew, and using wheelchairs and clip-on desk lamps instead of a dolly and professional lighting. Such is the influence of this film that low-budget guerilla filmmaking is now popularly known as ‘Mariachi style’.