Blumhouse Would Have Rejected A Quiet Place

[Black Panther]

Producer Jason Blum doesn't think he would have produced A Quiet Place if the project had come his way. Blumhouse has come to dominate the modern horror scene in the last decade, with the production company's business model favoring high concept ideas produced on a low budget, which typically peak at $5 million. This method has paid off beautifully, with the company being behind franchises like The Purge, Insidious and the Oscar-winning smash Get Out.

Despite Blumhouse's success, Blum sticks rigidly to the low budget model, and even their high-profile Halloween sequel is being made for a modest $10 million. The company is also known for being director friendly and hands-off, and they insist that if a sequel is being made to one of their movies, then the original creative team must return. This is also why they brought back Jamie Lee Curtis and John Carpenter for the latest Halloween.

Some moviegoers might have seen horror hit A Quiet Place and assumed it was a Blumhouse production, but it was actually produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes. The budget of the movie was over $20 million, which is around double the price of even the most expensive Blumhouse production. Blum reveals this is the reason he likely wouldn't have made the movie in a new Variety interview.

I could not have pulled it off. I would have loved to produce the movie, but I don’t think we would have done it as well as they did it, because it’s a totally different space that we operate in. It’s a big movie.

 

The producer reveals the extensive creature effects in A Quiet Place would have been the major issue, and that Blumhouse wouldn't have been able to afford such nice-looking monsters.

The effects in that movie were spectacular. Effects in horror movies are almost impossible to do well and that’s why you rarely see them in our movies. You get a good look at the monster, which is usually a real no-no in horror. It’s a no-no, because every time you get a look at it, it’s often much less scary than what you could have imagined. That’s not true in this movie, and that’s to their credit.

The unique concept of A Quiet Place - combined with the movie's mix of scares and emotion - carried it to critical and financial success. The movie also showcases some freaky looking alien monsters, and as the story progresses, isn't afraid to let the camera linger on them. It's possible Blumhouse could have retooled the project to feature fewer scenes with the creatures or show them in shadow, but like Blum himself states, that may have worked against the movie.

A Quiet Place was such a success it may spawn an unlikely franchise, with director/star John Krasinski stating a sequel might focus on new characters. Blumhouse in the meantime has a typically full plate, with some of their upcoming projects including prequel The First Purge and eagerly anticipated sequel Glass.