10 Terrible Movies That Were Actually Groundbreaking
1. The Possession Of Hannah Grace Was The First Feature Film Shot On A Mirrorless Camera
The Possession of Hannah Grace is a supernatural horror film which quickly came and went in 2018, releasing to near-universally negative reviews yet grossing an impressive $43 million at the box office against a mere $7.7 million budget.
A big part of the reason that director Diederik van Rooijen was able to keep the film's price tag so low was his decision to shoot the film not with a conventional cinema camera like an Arri Alexa, but a mirrorless full-frame camera which any punter could quite conceivably buy in a store - the Sony α7S II, to be precise.
This made the film the first feature ever to be shot on a mirrorless camera, in turn proving that "prosumer" camera products could absolutely stand up to far more expensive options.
The α7S II launched for $3,000 in 2015 - just a fraction of what renting an Arri Alexa with all the necessary equipment would cost for a few weeks - and yet, looking at the final film, you'd never guess it was filmed on something an audience member might realistically own.
While Hollywood as a whole hasn't started using mirrorless camera en masse - because, comparatively, cinema cameras are more user-friendly and can stand up to far more abuse on a film set - The Possession of Hannah Grace did show what was possible with comparatively inexpensive gear.
Just recently, Gareth Edwards shot The Creator on a Sony FX3, which launched for around $4,000, and even accepting the many millions of dollars spent on lenses, lighting, and visual effects, that such a low-price camera sensor captured the image itself is astonishing.
Yet it was this critically panned horror film which first paved the way.