Essential Low-budget films
For the low budget filmmaker, here are some essential films to check out, whether it be for inspiration or method studying.
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- DirectorStefan AvalosLance WeilerStarsDavid BeardLance WeilerStefan AvalosA film crew ventures into the forest in search of the mythical 'Jersey Devil'.$900
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.$4,000
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.$7,000
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBrian O'HalloranJeff AndersonMarilyn GhigliottiA day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.$20,000
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsCarlos GallardoConsuelo GómezJaime de HoyosA traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.$7,000
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.$300,000
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsRichard LinklaterRudy BasquezJean CaffeineA day in the life of Austin, Texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated, the social misfits, the outcasts and the oddballs.$22,000
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.$300,000
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsTerry PotterPete O'HerneCraig SmithThe population of a small town disappears and is replaced by aliens that chase human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food chain.$30,000
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.$114,000
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.$6,000
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsJeremy TheobaldAlex HawLucy RussellA young writer who follows strangers for material meets a thief who takes him under his wing.$3,000
- DirectorJeremy SaulnierStarsMacon BlairDevin RatrayAmy HargreavesA mysterious outsider's quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.$420,000
- DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.$100,000
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.$74,000
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBen AffleckJoey Lauren AdamsEthan SupleeHolden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.$250,000
- DirectorTyler WrightStarsTyler SowdersTyler WrightNathan HaleyA documentary following a Texas-based high school metal band on their road to success and all of the problems they face while trying to make it big.$460
- DirectorElliott LesterStarsDavid OyelowoBarlow JacobsHeather StormA lonely war veteran psychologically unravels ahead of an old friend's impending visit.$38,000
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.$300,000
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDennis WeaverJacqueline ScottEddie FirestoneA business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.$450,000
- DirectorWayne WangStarsWood MoyMarc HayashiLaureen ChewTwo cab drivers search San Francisco's Chinatown for the mysterious Chan, who disappeared with their $4000.$20,000
- DirectorJames Ward ByrkitStarsEmily BaldoniMaury SterlingNicholas BrendonStrange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.$50,000
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDan O'BannonDre PahichBrian NarelleIn the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong.$60,000
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsAaron EckhartMatt MalloyStacy EdwardsTwo business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.$75,000
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsCandace EvanofskiDonald HoldenDamian Jewan LeeA group of children, in a depressed small town, band together to cover up a tragic mistake one summer.$42,000
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsAmy SeimetzFrank MosleyShane CarruthA man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.$32,000
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsMichael FassbenderLiam CunninghamStuart GrahamIrish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.$500,000
- DirectorGary JonesStarsGunnar HansenRon AshetonSteve DixonA violent massacre caused by human-sized mosquitoes forces the lone survivors to band together in a fight for survival as the mosquitoes continue their onslaught.$200,000
- DirectorS.S. WilsonStarsFred WardChris GartinHelen ShaverEarl Bassett, now a washed-up ex-celebrity, is hired by a Mexican oil company to eradicate a Graboid epidemic that's killing more people each day. However, the humans aren't the only one with a new battle plan.$3 million
The script warranted a $15 mil budget, so while the budget is easily the largest on this list, the fact that the film ended up getting made with a fraction of the budget is phenomenal. This film is especially good for studying when it comes to low budget filmmaking, mainly because it shows new filmmakers how manage big action and special effects on a tight budget. - DirectorRob SitchStarsMichael CatonAnne TenneyStephen CurryA working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.$19,000
- DirectorMike CahillStarsBrit MarlingWilliam MapotherMatthew-Lee ErlbachOn the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.$130,000
- DirectorGareth EdwardsStarsScoot McNairyWhitney AbleMario Zuniga BenavidesSix years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion, a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.$50,000