10 Low Budget Horror Movies That Dominated The Box Office
6. Night Of The Living Dead
After George A. Romero spent several years making commercials, he thought he was competent enough to headline a feature film. Inspired by the novel, I Am Legend, he decided to make a zombie film called Night of the Living Dead.
Even though he had the budget set for $6,000, it eventually skyrocketed to $114,000. Romero was worried he wouldn't earn his money back since the film's gore could turn off potential viewers, and when Night of the Living Dead premiered, the scathing reviews seemed to justify Romero's suspicions that the film was doomed.
Thankfully, the critics' rants had little effect on ticket sales since Romero's directorial debut went on to earn $30 million, which was 263 times its budget. It became the most successful independent horror film at the time and the top grossing film in Europe the following year.
Night of the Living Dead isn't just landmark movie because of its influence on the zombie genre - it proved cheap horror by indie directors could dominate the box office, which inspired the creation of many other iconic horror films. Including...