Some of the most famous and genre-defining movies in modern cinema cost a fraction of what huge blockbusters cost today. Throwing enough money at something doesn't always guarantee amazing results, and these movies prove that you don't need a sky-high budget to create a classic.
Many well-known directors made their first films on low budgets, with some movie becoming surprise hits and others classics for the ages. Viewers have probably seen most of these films, but may be surprised to learn just how little some of these movies were made for.
10 Primer - $7,000 (2004)
Shane Carruth's twisty time travel movie about two friends who stumble onto the secret of time travel gained a cult following since its release. The film is noted for its technical detail and mind-blowing way of dealing with the subject of time travel.
This one will have most people scratching their heads, but it's undeniable how effective this film is at giving the audience a new and innovative take on time travel so easily bungled by other, more expensive blockbusters.
9 Badlands - $300,000 (1973)
Terrance Mallick's directorial debut, Badlands, stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as star-crossed lovers on the run from the law. An ethereal and breath-taking tale with a not-so-subtle satirical look at the media's role in the glorification of criminals. This film would go on to inspire others such as Natural Born Killers and True Romance and is arguably one of the most important films to come out of the 1970s.
Based loosely on the real-life murder spree in the 1950s of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend, Mallick adds in pastoral, almost haunting visuals of the vast Badlands of Montana as the couple attempts to escape the cops while battling Kit's (Martin Sheen) self-destructive tendencies.
8 Eraserhead - $10,000 (1977)
David Lynch launched his career with this bizarre and pretty disturbing film about a man looking after his deformed child in an industrial dystopian hellscape. As with most of Lynch's other works, it's best to leave logic at the door as the dream-like structure of the narrative unfolds in front of viewers.
The strange tale focuses on Henry Spencer daydreaming and tending to his monstrous offspring after his girlfriend, Mary X, leaves both of them because of the child's non-stop crying. This one takes a foray into body horror and contains disturbing imagery. Once watched, never forgotten.
7 Texas Chainsaw Massacre - $140,000 (1974)
Staying firmly on the disturbing side of things, this film directed by Tobe Hooper about a group of friends that stumble upon a family of cannibals in the backwoods remains shocking, even today.
Remembered mostly for having one of the most iconic villains in cinema history, Leatherface, the seemingly unstoppable chainsaw-wielding maniac that chases after the hapless group of friends. This film would go on to be banned in several countries due to its disturbing subject matter. Despite this, or because of it, the notoriety attributed to this movie made it an inspiration for the entire slasher genre.
6 Paranormal Activity - $15,000 (2007)
A supernatural horror about a couple and the unruly poltergeist that resides in their home. This movie used the found footage subgenre and twisted it, in an innovative way, by presenting the bulk of the main story through a camera that has been set up in the couple's bedroom to capture the demon's activities while they sleep.
Brilliantly using the mundane to heighten the horror, with half-heard creaking noises and objects slightly moving on their own to suggest the demonic force at work, the movie eventually escalates into full demon-possessed fury. It is also one of the most profitable films ever made due to the massive return on its minuscule budget.
5 Mad Max - $350,000 (1979)
George Miller's dystopian vision of a ruined Earth began here, with Mel Gibson starring as Mad Max, the last good cop in a rotten world. Far from the firmly post-apocalyptic later outings, the first film in the series has more of a 'world on the brink of collapse' feeling to it. There is still a barely functional civilization on display and a family which Max tries his best to protect from roaming gangs and a world going mad around him.
Featuring trademark frenetic energy and high octane action that would become a staple of the series, this film would go on to become a phenomenon that would culminate in the incredible Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015.
4 Blair Witch Project - $300,000 (1999)
The film that started the found footage subgenre, this movie follows three wannabe filmmakers who are putting together a documentary on the Blair Witch, a local legend of the Burkittsville area. The three go missing in the woods and the film we are watching is presented to us as a real recording of what happened to them.
Using unknown actors to heighten the realism and utilizing the forest setting to ratchet up the tension to glorious effect, this film left audiences gasping as they watched the amateur film crew get drawn further and further into the witch's web.
3 Clerks - $25,575 (1994)
Kevin Smith arrived with this lightning in a bottle film about a day in the life of two store clerks that work at a dead-end strip mall. A black comedy that introduced the world to Smith's unique style and memorable dialogue, it also began his View Askewniverse, the collective term for most of the films in his canon, that are connected by several recurring characters, including Jay and Silent Bob, who cameo and co-star in a number of Smith's later films.
Cleverly using the tedium of everyday life as a backdrop, the characters veer wildly from philosophical musings to sequences of knockabout slapstick humor. The film was made on such a tight budget that Smith had to make the film in black and white to lessen some of the costs of post-production.
2 Mean Streets - $500,000 (1973)
Scorsese's trademark style is recognizable even in his first film. Viewers follow Charlie (Harvey Keitel) as a low-level hoodlum, going about his day, trying his hardest to get ahead while protecting those closest to him from the harm that life brings.
This film features an electric performance from Robert De Niro as Johnny Boy, Charlie's best friend who just can't stop getting himself into trouble due to his self-destructive ways. As many Scorsese films would later go on to explore, this film features characters that are trapped in the criminal life but are also devoutly religious, highlighting the paradox of how a person can be morally corrupt and still keep the faith.
1 Halloween - $325,000 (1978)
John Carpenter's entry into the slasher genre is as responsible for the popularity and explosion of these types of films in the '80s as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was. This is the movie that took a genre and defined it for decades to come, also giving the world the iconic Michael Myers in the process.
The movie follows Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut) as she evades death from the seemingly supernatural presence of a masked killer in her quiet suburban neighborhood. A stroke of genius by John Carpenter, by using the everyday locations of supposedly safe and secure suburban homes he puts the danger where the audience lives, all but ensuring that this became a horror classic.