Halloween is approaching — which means it’s Blumhouse: Welcome! time. A collaboration between Jason Blum’s production company Blumhouse and Amazon Prime, these collaborations consists of two double features, courtesy of four different directors, all under one branded umbrella. The first quartet was released in October 2020. The second edition was released earlier this month over two weekends. It’s an ambitious way for the Hollywood horror juggernaut to expand its scare-centric empire. We need to know a little about the origins of these projects in order to fully understand their impact.
The studio’s eponymous founder built the house of Blum by making smart, cheap bets on horror movies that had the potential to reap massive returns thanks to low overhead. The company eventually released its first film, despite spending an absurdly small sum. Paranormal Activity It was founded in 2007 and has been one of the greatest numerical success stories ever. Combining the economics and franchises like Insidious And The Purge with a few savvy bets — notably the Oscar-winning Whiplash The paradigm-shifting and revolutionary Get out — and you have yourself an industry darling that’s synonymous with scaring asses into seats. Blumhouse took another smart move as TV has reached cinematic heights of prestige and captured the attention audiences unwilling to leave their screens. They decided to engage in branded partnerships with digital players to churn out offerings that aren’t quite TV but aren’t quite feature films, either. First, the anthology series. The Darkness,Each month, Hulu delivers a holiday-themed new entry to viewers. Last year we also saw the debut of Blumhouse is open to you.(The studio was just inked Make a deal for EpixYou can also order straight-to-service meals.
The Welcoming offerings feel like they meant to be a tier above the studio’s previous small-screen endeavors as far as resources provided to filmmakers. But after watching the latest batch, it’s hard to shake the feeling that regardless of their distribution partners, the studio is content to keep its hired gun directors making movies while walking through wet concrete. To fulfill contractual slots, some really impressive talent was enlisted. Like any anthologized undertaking, mileage may vary on individual results. You could assess the merits of each film and find a few that are more noteworthy than the rest. But when you scrutinize the project as a whole, it begins to feel like each installment sets directors up to succeed in spite of — not because of — the resources Blumhouse provides. Shooting schedules are short, and directors aren’t guaranteed the ability to pick their own crews. It’s a system made exponentially more frustrating when you look at the apparent dual purpose of this project. The names of the involved suggest that the studio views these TV movies as a solution to its diversity problem in its filmmaking lineup. In theory that’s neat. It just reveals the fragility of the proposition in practice.
Blumhouse’s lobby is decorated with photos of directors who made movies for them. The number of non-white faces and women in Blumhouse is very low. Welcoming to The BlumhouseThe other is anything but a bunch white dudes. Veena Sud, Emmanuel OseiKuffour Jr. and Zu Quirke directed the 2020 releases. The pair Elan Dassani and RajeevDassani also directed them. (Osei-Kuffour Jr’s Black Box Could be toe to toe avec the best Black Mirror episodes, and Sydney Sweeney marching through a school campus in Quirke’s NocturneAs I gripped a tampon in my hand, it was Her fingers ooze blood This was the best thing that I saw last summer! This time around you’ll find Gigi Saul Guerrero, Maritte Lee Go, Ryan Zaragoza, and Axelle Carolyn behind the lens.
It’s an extremely exciting crop of filmmakers, and regardless of how well any given Welcoming selection plays, it’s great to see ensembles of older actors, including stars like Barbara Hershey and Adriana Barazza, chewing scenery in The Manor And Bingo Hell. It’s also heartening to see a Blumhouse product addressing the insidiousness of colorism in Black as NightYA vampire story about gentrification in New Orleans and state-sanctioned black people’s neglect. To see the conceit as darkly tragic and tragically timeless, please visit MadresThe story of Mexican farm workers who were subject to racism in a most horrific form was a refreshing shift from the sea of whiteness that is often displayed.
Blumhouse is a specialist in good-time horror. It’s a huge honor for a company of its size to be able to endorse sensitive and important topics that reflect the everyday horrors of life and let filmmakers who are the true stewards of these stories. Blumhouse could have treated these films more as content streams, and instead of opportunities to invest in emerging artists. These films are full of goodness. It is easy to see why this whole venture makes you wonder how the company could have done it if they had more faith in their work.
These filmmakers should be credited. Because this is a high-value market, they deserve to be Blumhouse-approved horror movie producers. They are entitled to the release and platform that collaboration with Amazon Prime provides. They all deserve better, but they are not the only ones who should be treated well. Great directors perform at an elite standard, regardless of the obstacles. (It’s the chef, not the kitchen, etc.) But what about when? Welcoming is the studio’s biggest sign of investment so far in marginalized filmmakers, it signals less that they are serious about these movies as a kind of farm circuit for pipelining directors into features at a Universal Pictures scale And more that they aren’t willing to invest the money and time — for shooting and development — to really let them flex.
It’s true that, but for a select few directors, everyone’s working on slim budgets for Jason Blum. Sequels and IP-based movies get more money from the start. Exceptions might be made for originals from heavies like Leigh Whannell or Christopher Landon, but that’s generally the spending model across the board. The studio doesn’t have anything left to prove in regards to whether or not its system makes profits. But it does have a lot to prove — just as every company putting out film and television in Hollywood does — when it comes to giving a damn about really opening up the entertainment landscape to new voices. For a company that rose to prominence because of its business acumen, it’s baffling that they keep leaving money on the table by giving short shrift to their most consistent showcase so far for diverse talent.
Blumhouse: Welcome!The studio could have an amazing chance to disband and/or promote emerging directors if it put the same amount of effort and care into these films as it does the filmmakers. Its insufficient investment in anyone other than a few guys who look like the executive leaders is a sign of anarchy. MoreThe investment in the company’s clear plan to change the PR narrative is a testament to its commitment to these filmmakers beyond a mere tip. It’s a move that would be able to shift the plates of horror once again by committing to a future of equity, which has the pleasant effect of courting new paying customers and helping them compete again as the market leader in fresh ideas. Shops like A24 or Neon, however are enjoying that meal unaffected by Blum.
Of course, the studio is a small business. That’s an intentional decision, and it helps keep the founder’s “don’t lose”Philosophy is alive and well in practice. But another benefit to being efficiently sized is that you don’t have to turn at the speed of an aircraft carrier, shedding a century of studio bullshit and baggage just to catch up with the rapidly changing times. The studio has shown a keen ability to not just chase trends in genre but set them, which means it’s time to stop hedging with the black and brown and queer and non-male directors it employs. If anyone in the House even purports to care about changing up the look on that wall o’ directors in the lobby, it’s time to swing bigger for a win. We get a third round. Blumhouse: Welcome!Call the shot and aim for the clearing of the park. You’ve got a lot of great directors right there in your pocket. You can bet on them.