10 Great Horror Movies That Started Out As Short Films
1. The Evil Dead
A young Sam Raimi was desperate to make a horror movie, so recruited his best bud Bruce Campbell to make a short proof of concept film in order to attract interest and funds for the real thing.
The result of their endeavours - which also starred Ellen Sandweiss - was Within the Woods. This 32-minute reel follows four teenagers staying in a remote cabin, before they end up disturbing a sacred artefact and battling demonic possession.
Sound familiar?
After picking up some traction at a local cinema, the film helped generate enough funds for Raimi to make his feature debut. He retained Campbell and Sandweiss' services for a similar premise, albeit this time one that incorporated the work of H. P. Lovecraft, and when it was all said and done, he was left with a little movie called The Evil Dead.
The franchise, Raimi, and Campbell are all major names now, all thanks to a dinky little short shot by a teenager on a budget of just over $1,000. The success of Within the Woods goes to show that, no matter how small you start out, there is no limit to how big you can get.