Just got my first feature article on Hollywood.com... below is the beginning of it. Visit the link to check out the whole thing:

The Mechanics of Fear

“You're probably wondering where you are. I'll tell you where you might be. You might be in the room that you die in.” -- Saw, 2004

We all like to be scared, right? Well, okay, some of us more than others. Based on box office results from the past few years, however, it appears that number is growing. Usually shot at break-neck speed, with low budget in mind, horror films are now reaching out to wider audiences--expanding beyond their long-time core teen audiences to a more diversified population.

Horror flicks have long been one of Hollywood’s safest bets. From low-budget Corman-esque slashers to studio-friendly, supernatural, Japanese remakes, these films consistently fill theater seats without breaking the bank. Take, for instance, the 2004 Halloween hit The Grudge, the picture ended up being made with its cost around $10 million. And, after a successful Halloween-season run, it raked in upwards of $110 million. Along the same lines, the teen-friendly Final Destination boasted a modest budget of $25 million, and doubled its worth at the box office--bringing in over $50 million. And we’re not even counting what these films did overseas, on DVD, or on cable.

But perhaps the horror genre’s most impressive trait is its ability to reinvigorate franchises over the course of time--just look at movies like The Fly or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A recent 2003 remake of the grisly 1974 original took Leatherface to new heights--bringing in a whopping $80 million and generating an entire new generation of fans. The franchise not only survived the long break, but it actually flourished. Film business folks have long been aware of this upward trend--just look at other successful franchises such as Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street--and most recently, Saw, a claustrophobic thriller surrounding the frenzied solving of a puzzle. Within a year of Saw’s reported success, Saw 2 is already making its way to the screen. And, in each of the three noted franchises, the original film has successfully spawned a sequel release within the last two years. In fact, two of them teamed-up for a super-sequel: the lucrative 2003 double-punch installment, Freddy vs Jason, in which the horrific leading men face-off.

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