The Rise of Indie Sci-Fi Horror: Hidden Gems of 2022
The blended genre of science fiction and horror has become huge in the film industry in the past decades, with an excellent selection of noteworthy entries every year. And it’s not just with the mainstream big studio releases, but also in the independent filmmaking landscape. Did you know that David Twohy’s Pitch Black (2000) was initially developed as an indie project before Universal Pictures bought the production company? Believe it or not, Paul W. Anderson’s Resident Evil (2002) also started off as an indie project under Constantin Film, but only until Sony Pictures and Screen Gems took over the franchise. Over the course of the next two decades, a lot of indie sci-fi horrors came to surface. Some earned critical acclaim and huge financial success, while others ended up exactly the same way they started: in obscurity. The hard truth is most indie sci-fi horror films in any year never really earned much success, but a select few always did attain well-deserved recognition from the general moviegoers and critics alike. Take the following indie sci-fi horror films from 2022 as examples.
Brightwood
If you’ve been searching for a fine example of how a plucky indie produced with micro-budget can prove to be a sci-fi horror masterclass, look no further than Brightwood. Just to give you an idea of how small the budget was, the movie was written and directed by Dance Eclar, who doubled as a cameraperson. Also, the film only featured a couple of actors.
Brightwood opens with Dan (Max Woertendyke) and Jen (Dana Berger) jogging in the woods and bickering as they go. They’ve been married long enough to really know and hate each other. It turns out that Jen is listening to a how-to podcast about getting a divorce, whereas Dan gets irritated because she doesn’t want to take the earbuds out for them to have an actual conversation. Jen is furious about all his flirting and drinking issues. Dan is also having a terrible hangover, by the way.
It’s a painful interaction to watch. You want the scene to either stop entirely or get way more interesting and perhaps lead to a surprising development. Although it never actually stops, at least now you know they are caught in a time-and-space loop. They’re wrapped up in their toxic dynamic so that they take a little while to realize the surreal experience. And to make things worse, there doesn’t seem to be any simple way out of the circular path.
Time loop is admittedly a standard sci-fi feature. But that Brightwood allows you to experience everything through the couple’s psychological lens makes it much more intense that what it appears to be.
Something in the Dirt
Inside an otherwise ordinary apartment complex, John and Levi witness quite a lot of extraordinary things happening around them. It seems like they’re in the middle of unexplainable anomalies where things levitate and cast mesmerizing patterns on the wall. And the anomalies happen not only inside the apartment, but outside as well. Something in the Dirt is an invitation to cultist beliefs and conspiracy theories, from freemasonry and magic to doomsday belief and time travel.
Before halfway through the film, you can’t help but notice that maybe there isn’t exactly a storyline at all. The two men initially believe that everything is some kind of ghost apparition, but then the conversation gets even weirder as they talk about creating a documentary and landing a deal with Netflix.
The Harbinger
It makes good sense to deliver a horror story in which people are isolated in a claustrophobic set. They can’t escape and have no choice but to accept all the terrible things that might just happen. Give it a COVID-19 reference, and you get an on-point sci-fi horror flick where all events are contained within the context of a pandemic. All the over-precautionary measures now fit perfectly into the storyline, as the plot is limited by size and location use. That’s exactly what The Harbinger does.
Mo is now stuck inside a bubble in upstate New York, along with her father and brother. The pandemic rages everywhere to where going nowhere is the best thing she can do to stay safe. When her friend, Mavis, calls for help because she has been suffering from recurring nightmares that force her to inflict self-harm to escape the torture, Mo just has to travel to Queens and lend a hand. Together, they will try to break the spell of The Harbinger.
We think micro-budget filmmaking offers a lot of interesting challenges for the writer, director, cast, and cinematographer to produce quality work with all the limitations. But it also gives quite a lot of advantages because there aren’t many things that can go wrong. Movies with more resources can easily support the characters with plenty of cinematographic elements, including CGI and expensive props, but indie films are as restricted as they can be. If done right, however, indie films – regardless of the genre – might be real gems for everyone to cherish.
Do you think indie films can be more successful than their mainstream counterparts? What do you think is the best sci-fi horror movie ever? We’d love to hear from you.
Other Things You Might Want to Know
What is an Indie Film?
An independent film refers to a movie produced without involvement of any major studio. It has no big financial backing or any kind of well-funded marketing campaign. Most times, you’ve never heard of any indie film at all until the release date. Nearly all indie films rely on word-of-mouth marketing, as they don’t have the luxury of theatrical release.
Some of the most successful indie horror films:
John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Paranormal Activity (2007)
What exactly is the upside of making an indie film?
Since the filmmakers are not aiming for mainstream release or financial success for that matter, they usually have the freedom to take on various topics that are not typically explored by mainstream films. Without interference from big stakeholders, the filmmakers have full control over the direction of the film.
