Blumhouse is easily the most recognizable brand in horror, likely the only production company in cinema that can use its name as a selling point. Their eclectic mix of content includes some of the best and worst that genre fiction has to offer, but there are a few unusual hallmarks of their output.
Those who haven’t glanced at the full output of Jason Blum’s production company might not notice this, but there aren’t a lot of monsters in their catalog. Theirbiggest franchise is all aboutthe horror of mankind’s inhumanity in the face of total freedom and most of their other series are about ghosts. Though they don’t resort to old-fashioned monsters often, they have had a few good outings with the idea.
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Dark Skies
Are aliens monsters? Who’s to say? The way this 2013 film frames its extraterrestrial menace certainly gives them the weight of a movie monster, despite their classic design. Scott Stewart of unusual religious horror filmsPriestandLegionwrote and directed this strange sci-fi horror piece. The story follows the Barrett family, who are in the midst of dealing with financial strife while their children begin exhibiting some unusual behavior. As strange happenings convince the family they’re in danger, they become more reclusive and paranoid. It’s a bit ironic that Stewart is both writer and director because he’s considerably better at the latter than the former. While the screenplay is trite,Dark Skieshas some solid performances and a great sense of atmosphere that makes it worth seeking out.
The Bay
The scariest part of Barry Levinson’s 2012found-footage eco-horror filmis the eerie feeling of parity with the real world. The film takes place in the Chesapeake Bay, where a sudden and unexplained outbreak ofCymothoa exigua. This real-life monster is a tiny isopod that attacks fish by destroying and replacing their tongues. When the host dies, the isopod, also known as the tongue-eating louse, moves on to its next victim. In the film, the louse has evolved to affect humans, and it wreaks havoc on a small town in the Bay Area. As people suffer and die en masse, the government’s response swiftly turns away from helping and toward preventing panic. It’s a political polemic, inside a monster movie, in the style of a mockumentary. Slightly modifying real animals to create horrific movie monsters is a time-honored tradition, andThe Bayis one of the smartest examples yet.
Black as Night
In October 2020 and October 2021, the studio put out itsWelcome to the Blumhouseanthology series of films. Like theInto the Darkseries, it’s a group of otherwise unrelated small-budget projects made specifically to land on streaming services.Black as Nightis the sixth film released under that label, part of a group on “institutional horrors”. The filmblends supernatural horror withteen melodrama, alongside a healthy dose of social commentary. The plot follows Shawna, an anxious and self-conscious young lady who gathers a team of fellow teens with tenuous bonds to hunt vampires. The text is more than happy to referenceBuffy the Vampire Slayer, and it earns the comparison. It’s a take on the teen vampire hunter that seeks to interrogate race and class alongside its stylish violence. The dialogue ofBlack as Nightdefinitely feels a bit dated in that distinct “teens written by adults” way, but the film has heart.
The Vigil
Keith Thomas’s directorial debut waspicked up by Blumhouseafter its successful premiere at TIFF in 2019.The Vigilis a supernatural horror film that is deeply tied to Jewish demonology and ritual. The plot follows a miserable young man who accepts the responsibility of watching over the corpse of a member of his community. While trapped by ritual in that grim scenario and with only the dead to keep him company, strange and terrifying happenings begin to take place. The film’s unique terror is something between ghost and demon, barely meeting the general qualifications of a monster. The Mazzik,a malevolent spirit capableof shape-shifting becomes a uniquely personal threat to the film’s dubious hero as dark secrets are revealed.The Vigilborrows a lot from other supernatural horror films, but what it brings to the table is a nightmarish sense of dread that simply doesn’t let up.
Sweetheart
Director J. D. Dillard, the mindbehind the unique 2016 superhero filmSleight, brings the best monster movie in Blumhouse’s catalog by far.Sweetheartis an underrated heavy hitter in Blumhouse’s long history. The film is refreshingly simple, a few castaways wash up on a tiny island, only to find a tense battle for survival against a sea monster. Vastly different from the typical horror from the sea, this film’s monster takes a humanoid shape along with many deeply unpleasant sea creature features. If fans of Blumhouse’s output are looking for a straight-up monster horror movie, look no further thanSweetheart.
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