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A Dark New World : Anatomy of Australian Horror Films

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A Dark New World : Anatomy of Australian Horror Films A dark new world: Anatomy of Australian horror films Mark David Ryan Faculty of Creative Industries, Queensland University of Technology A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), December 2008 The Films (from top left to right): Undead (2003); Cut (2000); Wolf Creek (2005); Rogue (2007); Storm Warning (2006); Black Water (2007); Demons Among Us (2006); Gabriel (2007); Feed (2005). ii KEY WORDS Australian horror films; horror films; horror genre; movie genres; globalisation of film production; internationalisation; Australian film industry; independent film; fan culture iii ABSTRACT After experimental beginnings in the 1970s, a commercial push in the 1980s, and an underground existence in the 1990s, from 2000 to 2007 contemporary Australian horror production has experienced a period of strong growth and relative commercial success unequalled throughout the past three decades of Australian film history. This study explores the rise of contemporary Australian horror production: emerging production and distribution models; the films produced; and the industrial, market and technological forces driving production. Australian horror production is a vibrant production sector comprising mainstream and underground spheres of production. Mainstream horror production is an independent, internationally oriented production sector on the margins of the Australian film industry producing titles such as Wolf Creek (2005) and Rogue (2007), while underground production is a fan-based, indie filmmaking subculture, producing credit-card films such as I know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer (2006) and The Killbillies (2002). Overlap between these spheres of production, results in ‘high-end indie’ films such as Undead (2003) and Gabriel (2007) emerging from the underground but crossing over into the mainstream. Contemporary horror production has been driven by numerous forces, including a strong worldwide market demand for horror films and the increasing international integration of the Australian film industry; the lowering of production barriers with the rise of digital video; the growth of niche markets and online distribution models; an inflow of international finance; and the rise of international partnerships. In light of this study, a ‘national cinema’ as an approach to cinema studies needs reconsideration – real growth is occurring across national boundaries due to globalisation and at the level of genre production rather than within national boundaries through pure cultural production. Australian cinema studies – tending to marginalise genre films – needs to be more aware of genre production. Global forces and emerging distribution models, among others, are challenging the ‘narrowness’ of cultural policy in Australia – mandating a particular film culture, circumscribing certain notions of value and limiting the variety of films produced domestically. iv CONTENTS Page Key words iii Abstract iv List of tables and figures vii Statement of originality viii Acknowledgements ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Australian horror films – no longer a ‘curious beast’ 1 Research questions 4 The Australian film industry in transition and two tiers of horror production 5 Horror films and Australian cinema studies 9 Methodology 16 Chapter breakdown 21 Chapter 2: Globalising film production and the renaissance of the horror genre 23 Horror as a genre 23 Horror sub-genres 26 The globalisation of audiovisual production and distribution 31 Global horror markets 36 The renaissance of the horror genre in global markets 38 Fan cultures, the expansion of DVD markets and the long-tail 41 The worldwide spread of horror production 45 Independents and the horror genre 49 Conclusion 50 Chapter 3: A history of Australian horror films 52 Horror films and Australian cinema 52 Australian cinema discourse, genre and internationalisation 56 The 1970s: Experimental beginnings 63 The 1980s commercial horror push 68 The 1990s: An underground existence 73 Conclusion 78 Chapter 4: Contemporary Australian horror production 80 The boom in contemporary horror production 80 Horror production budget ranges and average Australian film budgets 83 The films: Aesthetic groupings, themes and characteristics 86 The 2000s: The national and global mainstream breakout 94 Two phases of development 100 The first phase: Australian horror production in the early 2000s 100 The second phase: Post-Saw and Wolf Creek 106 Enterprise characteristics 111 Commercial film practices and exploitation 114 Conclusion 116 v Chapter 5: Financing, production and distribution models 117 Mainstream production 118 High-end indie production: Overlap between mainstream and underground production 122 Underground horror production 124 Co-productions and internationalisation 130 The crossover between mainstream and underground horror production 136 Mainstream distribution 139 Underground distribution models 140 Horror films and public funding structures in transition 146 Conclusion 154 Chapter 6: Returns, markets and fan/subcultures 155 The ‘success’ of contemporary Australian horror production 155 Returns and release patterns 158 The new economic model for horror producers 164 Evaluating the commercial performance and viability of contemporary horror production 166 The significance of horror subcultures and fan cultures 170 Fan-based production 177 Conclusion 178 Chapter 7: The future of Australian horror production – sustainability and policy 180 Forces driving contemporary horror production 180 The sustainability of production and distribution models 181 The limitations of cultural policy 186 Policy and industry development 190 The horror films of Australian cinema 192 Conclusion 196 Appendix 1: Australian horror films by decade – a chronological breakdown 201 Appendix 2: Budget expenditure on Australian horror production: 2000-2008 204 Appendix 3: Australian horror films by budget range 205 REFERENCES 206 vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Tables Page 1 Interviews and correspondence with filmmakers involved in horror production 20 2 Major horror sub-genres: international and national examples 30 3 Films released by majors and their subsidiaries 33 4 Lion’s Gate top 10 grossing movies of all time 35 5 Genre trend analysis: the % of Top 20 movies in US markets, five-year averages, 1967–2004 36 6 Top-grossing genres in the US market, 1995–2007 37 7 Horror’s year-by-year market share of the US box office 39 8 Examples of commercially successful international horror titles 46 9 The growth and decline of Australian horror production by decade 80 10 International comparison of local box office share and production Rates in selected countries 82 11 Average Australian film budgets and Australian horror films budgets 83 12 Proportion of feature films in various budget ranges: 2000/01–2006/07 84 13 Investment in Australian feature film production and co-productions 85 14 A typology of contemporary Australian horror films 86 15 The top 10 Australian movies on video in 2007 (total retail sales) 97 16 Budget ranges for credit-card horror productions 125 17 Australian horror film co-productions 130 18 Village Roadshow horror co-productions 132 19 The box office records of Australian directors behind successful international horror films 135 20 2005 Australian feature film production budgets and local box office returns 149 21 FFC investment in Australian horror films 150 22 Examples of non-FFC publicly funded horror films 152 23 AFC Script development funding 2004–06 153 24 The performance of horror films at the Australian box office, 2007 157 25 Returns from cinema markets 158 26 Returns in home-video markets and international sales 159 27 Australian horror film releases 2003–08 161 28 A breakdown of Australian horror film release patterns: 2000–07 162 29 Australian horror films securing international video release only 163 30 Total profits for contemporary Australian horror films 167 Figures 1 The tier structure of Australian horror production 6 2 The long-tail 44 3 Production models and horror production’s tier structure 117 4 The long-tail and market segments for horror films 140 vii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I, Mark David Ryan, certify that the ideas, findings, analysis and conclusions presented in this thesis are entirely my own work, except where otherwise acknowledged. I also certify that the work is original and has not been previously submitted for any other award. Signature: ________________________ Date: ________________________ viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a thesis on Australian horror films, I received numerous responses when explaining to someone for the first time the nature of my study. The horror fans usually smiled and said something to the effect of ‘that’s cool’. Some people laughed. There were those who were slightly puzzled, perhaps wondering how someone could write about such ‘vile’ subject-matter, and others who explained they couldn’t watch horror films because ‘they’re too scary’. Then there were those who looked at me blankly and said they didn’t know Australia made horror films. But overall, many were highly supportive of this project, and there is a long list of people who offered valuable assistance. To anyone who is not named here, my sincerest apologies, and my thanks. Stuart Glover provided invaluable advice, supervision and guidance during this study’s infancy; Harvey May was a good friend and source of encouragement; and Sharn Treloar was a horror film encyclopedia always on hand. I must thank the Australian Film Commission’s statistics team for their help with
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