10 Movies Only Directed As Experiments

8. A Movie Shot Entirely On An iPhone - Unsane

The Experiment

Steven Soderbergh is one of the most dynamic and surprising filmmakers working today, and never one to rest on his laurels, he decided to take a deep plunge into the world of low-fi filmmaking with his self-funded 2018 psychological horror film Unsane.

Soderbergh's long-term frustrations with the expense of a Hollywood production prompted him to shoot the film on an iPhone 7 Plus in a mere two weeks with a minimal cast and crew, while allowing him to test how far kitchen sink, no-budget filmmaking has come.

How Did It Turn Out?

Impressively. Not only did Soderbergh's film actually get a significant theatrical release around the world, it proved that a compelling story and strong performances will always matter more than how slick a film looks.

Yes, the low-grade cinematography is evident throughout - especially when viewed on the big screen - but it's nevertheless a stunning testament to the results the iPhone can produce.

Financially things were trickier, as though Unsane went on to gross almost $15 million worldwide on a $1.4 million budget, a $20 million marketing spend and wide release meant it needed to be far more profitable to be truly successful.

This clearly didn't deter Soderbergh, though, as he shot his recent sports drama, High Flying Bird, on an iPhone 8, and managed to avoid the box office issue entirely by selling it to Netflix.