How To Support Indie Horror Even When You’re Broke!- Fitz of Horror

Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror) January 13, 2019

In a time of remakes and Hollywood churning out unoriginal garbage (for the most part) in the horror genre, there is an untapped wealth of talent to be found in the indie horror community and the only way these artists are able to fund their projects is to ask for help from the fans. The most common form of “crowdfunding” is either Indiegogo or Kickstarter.

Both of these formats have been lifesavers and difference makers in the careers of some of the gifted directors out there and they have also smashed the dreams of prospective filmmakers by not reaching their goal.

How does crowdfunding work? 

Crowdfunding is a way for people, businesses, and charities to raise money. It works through individuals or organizations who invest in (or donate to) crowdfunding projects in return for a potential profit or reward. Investing this way can be risky, so make sure you know what you’re doing.

Nearly 20,000 projects were funded on Kickstarter last year. Which sounds exciting! Like it’s easy to get funded.

But in reality, less than 41% of approved Kickstarter campaigns get funded — and Kickstarter tells me another 20% of projects submitted are rejected, and never see the light of day. So really, it’s closer to one-third of all attempted campaigns that get funded.

So what this tells me is that when one of our fellow horror friends starts an Indiegogo or Kickstarter campaigns is that they need all of the help they can get, both financially and via word of mouth. This brings me to my point about helping these filmmakers without having enough money to survive let alone contribute to a project that if funded you won’t see a return on your investment until the project is completed (but so damn satisfying when it is).

What I have been seeing lately is that people are just expecting other people to donate money or share the campaigns and these campaigns are falling short of their goal in some cases. If we don’t have money to donate then share the campaign and share the campaign often from the start to the finish. Unfortunately, Facebook algorithms will allow people to see things you share only 3 out of 10 times so we need to be diligent when trying to help spread the word for these films. Tag friends when you share to increase visibility, tag the film if possible and share more than once!

Supporting indie horror comes in many useful forms and possibly just as useful as the money to make the film is the word of mouth we horror fans can generate. Simply sharing a campaign or information about an upcoming or current indie horror film is huge for those involved with the film. With campaigns especially, when a producer or director are trying to raise funds to make a film, of course, the money is the key to the campaign but even if YOU  don’t have money to contribute YOU can still help by simply sharing the campaign with your friends, on a Facebook page or in a Facebook group. Someone you know could be looking to invest in something or maybe they will share as well.

From here you can back, like or share the campaign

It is exciting to help these films get made because those involved are so accessible and almost always willing to interact with the fans so when some of these films get made, its a great feeling to know that you have contributed in some small way. There are several indie horror films that are better than most new Hollywood backed horror films and it is our duty to make sure these films are given a fair chance to be made and seen.

Also, when you watch an indie horror movie, head to IMDb or  Amazon (if applicable) and leave the film a short review. Let people know you have seen it and whether you like it or not. Some honest negative reviews may give the next person all the reasons he/she needs to want to watch the film for themselves. Just think of when you are scrolling through films on Amazon or IMDb and you see a film you aren’t familiar with so you just glance at the number of stars it has. As with the campaigns, don’t just let other people do all of the work to spread the word, step in and share your thoughts because how many times has a film you loved had 3 out of 10 stars on IMDb or 2 out of 5 on Amazon?

I personally know the pain of being too broke to donate and have also nearly gone broke donating to various campaigns to help filmmakers, so sometimes it’s more cost effective to write an article about the film, share their campaign/film/social media outlets or even just “like” their posts to help share and spread the word for the people involved. It is a powerful tool that we all have at our fingertips daily and how we choose to use it can make a huge difference in the lives of filmmakers and actors alike.

My personal Indie horror collection…..So far

To keep up to date with indie horror news and reviews I highly suggest following Pophorror.com, Horrorfuel.com, The Horror Syndicate and Fitz of Horror on Facebook (There are so many more great sites to follow but I work closest with these great people). We write reviews to help spread the word on indie horror films and sharing our articles will help the filmmakers as well.