Customer Reviews

Horror Business

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HORROR BUSINESS REVIEW BY GEORGE A. ROMERO , POSTED BY CHRIS

"[Horror Business] is a terrific flick. Christopher Garetano has completely succeeded in describing the passions, the adventures- and the misadventures- of crazy people like me who, somewhere along the way, decided they... needed to make movies. Anyone who wants to write or direct should see this film. Those who have never dreamed of being filmmakers should see it for its humor and its pure entertainment value. Two thumbs up- both of them mine because, like the others Garetano has portraited, I basically work alone."

-George A. Romero

Chris Garretano is a genius filmmaker who has a real gift for documentary direction. I love horror films and am always interested in the behind the scenes info. This great showcase captures the hopes, dreams and challenges of a handful of some really colorful filmmakers as they break into the mainstream market. There is some great commentary by well known horror actors and industry people. A few of the subject filmmakers are just wacky and funny to watch, and then there are some who are definitely serious and obviously very talented, like David Stagnari. The clips from his film are visually stunning and he is compelling to watch. I can't wait to see more from him and from the director of this documentary. I'm buying copies of this for all my horror fan friends as gifts this year for birthdays and the holidays!

I applaud Chris Garetano for hanging in through all the ups-and-downs to complete his documentary on these hell-bent dreamers. Are these folks obsessed? Sure. You have to be. It's that simple. Just as Garetano was--if you want to make a dream or two happen. How heavy is the toll paid along the way? Very. Still, life is short--and you only get one shot at it--so follow your heart, man: win, lose or draw.

It was also great to see the incomperable Mr. Ed Neal (Hitchiker from the original TCM) do a cameo here.
Check out the extras.

Can't wait for Son of Horror Business, as well as South Texas Blues. I truly hope you can pull it off--because it's about time someone, anyone, did a film about the hellish experience making the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was.

After careful consideration, I realized that while I took issue with the style and views of the filmmakers portrayed in Horror Business, the documentary itself certainly contained valuable information regarding a particular genre within the horror industry. Christopher P. Garetano clearly knew his subject matter. Horror Business was a reflection of the struggling filmmaker trying desperately to get his/her projects to an industry dominated by the tired formulas of Hollywood.

Well, befitting the fact that most of the filmmakers interviewed are making extremely low-budget movies, this documentary has a very low-budget feel. Essentially, the person or folks putting this documentary together went and interviewed a bunch of people working on horror movies with tiny budgets to find out about what drives them to make films, especially such low-budget fare then switches off back and forth between different parts of their interviews.

In the end, it's pretty okay. Maybe made more for the hardcore horror fan or for fans of extremely low-budget horror directors more so than mainstream fans or the general public?

For what it was, it was alright. I don't know if there were any awe-inspiring insights gained by the end of the documentary, but the various stories and anecdotes seemingly add up to slightly more than the sum of their parts.

This is an entertaining look at some of the makers of Lo or No Budget Horror Films. The Title says Horror Business but the Movie is not a look at the business end of movie making or Horror movie making for that matter. What it is is a loose look at the trials and tribs of making movies. It was very good to see Mark Borchardt from "American Movie" fame and what he is doing lately but I miss his friend Mike Schank, who I could watch for hours and is not in this movie. But getting back to business, if you are looking for some insight to the business of movie making, it isn't in here. Maybe all you can learn is that it is hard and you have to love it to do it. Great advice indeed but not enough to help you get your movie to market or even how to get the funds and how best to spend the funds. This would be helpful. Still I liked what was there.