Trying to remain within one’s budget constraints is no doubt one of the most complicated and strenuous parts of being a director — one often hears about disputes between directors and producers, directors and executives, even directors and studio heads over money, but you don’t always hear about those who were able to do a lot with only a little. Sometimes, especially when it comes to these films listed below, it’s arguably more impressive when a director does a lot with a little compared to doing a lot with millions of dollars. It’s a noble thing, directing a low-budget movie — but one that ultimately worked out for the best for these films.
Oftentimes, showing producers and studios that you can direct a movie with a microscopic budget is a great thing. As is the case with many of the directors below, doing a lot with a little eventually gives you the opportunity to move onto much bigger budgets and much bigger projects. Still, that’s probably at the very back of these filmmakers’ minds — they just want to make a movie, and they only have a limited budget, but they all make it work out in the end.
El Mariachi
Director Robert Rodriguez, who would eventually go on to direct big features like Sin City and Spy Kids, was able to make his debut feature on a budget of less than $7,000. He did a sequel a few years later, but it’s hard to deny the charm and appeal of watching the first film — an inspired and revolutionary display of low budget filmmaking in action. El Mariachi was a great success, both financially and technically.
Primer
Indie director Shane Carruth was another person who was able to make his debut feature for only $7,000. Critics and audiences alike fell in love with Carruth’s knack for filmmaking. His talent is obvious, after all: who else would be able to not only make a movie work with less than what would typically be spent on a camera but to come out on the other side with overwhelmingly positive reviews?
Halloween
For $300,000, John Carpenter was able to create the movie that gave us one of the most iconic characters in film history—not just for the horror genre, but for the entire medium as a whole. It seems unbelievable (the 2007 remake was given nearly 50 times that, almost 15 million), but Carpenter made it work. He’s inspired countless films, both sequels to his film and others based on his, but all relied on much bigger budgets than he did.
Clerks
It seems like making a successful movie on a low budget is a recipe for cult classic status. Kevin Smith was able to make one of the most iconic and quotable movies of the 90s on a budget of less than $30 thousand. The film led to a sequel, a cartoon, and potentially even a third film somewhere in the future.
The Evil Dead
Falling in line with the horror movie trend, Sam Raimi’s cult classic The Evil Dead was made on a budget of only 300 thousand dollars. Relying heavily on homemade sets and friends-of-friends to make up the cast and crew, Raimi and Bruce Campbell created something truly special back in the 80s. They spawned a few sequels, a reboot, and even a television series.
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