Bang for Your Budget
Low budget films worth watching
Fun fact: making movies tends to be pretty expensive. The Electric State, a 2025 direct to Netflix movie that you may not have even heard of, had a budget of $320 million. Even a “smallish” movie like Black Bag this year had a production budget of around $60 million. Knowing how prohibitively expensive it is to make a movie, I’m always incredibly impressed when a good movie is made on a significantly smaller budget. I’ve been watching some “micro-budget” films recently, and it made me want to share some of my favorites. All of these films were reportedly made on production budgets of $200,000 or less.
Bad Taste (1987) directed by Peter Jackson
You read that correctly. This movie was directed by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame. This is a horror/action/science fiction/comedy made on a shoestring budget of only $25,000. It feels like the kind of movie you’d make with your buddies in high school, but it looks so much better than it has any right considering the amount of money spent on it. There are wild alien prosthetics, shootout sequences, and gore galore. If you have any appreciation for how films are made, then this is a must watch.
El Mariachi (1992) directed by Robert Rodriguez
Another directorial debut from a director who has gone on to make quite a name for himself, El Mariachi was Robert Rodriguez’s first foray into the action movie genre. Reportedly made for a mind boggling $7,225, it contains all of the stylized action we’ve come to expect from Rodriguez in movies like Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, and Machete. In fact, Desperado essentially works as a remake/sequel of El Mariachi. It’s an impressive technical achievement that is also wildly entertaining.
Clerks (1994) directed by Kevin Smith
This was an obvious one to include. Made on a production budget of $27,575, Clerks is the movie that made Kevin Smith a household name. It’s the ultimate slacker comedy about a pair of clerks (one working at a convenience store and one working at a video rental store) who hate their jobs almost as much as they hate their customers. It has all of the hallmarks that we come to expect from Kevin Smith movies: crass language, absurd situations in typically mundane scenarios, and very wordy dialogue that somehow feels natural.
Habit (1997) directed by Larry Fessenden
I had to put a Larry Fessenden movie on here. He is basically the modern king of low budget movies. Not only does he make lots of low budget movies himself, but he also produces plenty of low budget films through his Glass Eye Pix production company. Fessenden wrote, directed, and stars in this movie about an alcoholic who gets into a relationship with a woman who might not be entirely human. Made for $200,000, it maximizes its budget by really leaning into its New York City setting and relying on strong performances from its cast.
Pi (1998) directed by Darren Aronofsky
I just covered this movie for Pi Day, so I’ll keep this brief. Pi is an ambitious science fiction/psychological thriller from Darren Aronofsky about a paranoid mathematician who is trying to figure out a way to predict the stock market. It’s highly stylized with a manic tone that was made for only $134,815, and it launched Aronofsky’s career.
The Blair Witch Project (1999) directed by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick
This was another obvious addition to the list. This $60,000 horror film was so successful that it spawned an entire subgenre of horror called “found footage” that persists to this day (I know that The Last Broadcast came first, but The Blair Witch Project was far more influential). The film relies on a less-is-more approach by keeping the horror contained to the audience’s imagination and letting its cast sell the fear.
Primer (2004) directed by Shane Carruth
Hot take: I think Primer is one of the greatest hard science fiction films ever made. The fact that it was made for $7,000 just enhances its appeal in my mind. Written, directed, and starring Shane Carruth, Primer is a time travel movie that attempts to be as scientifically accurate as possible while not bothering to try and provide any exposition to hold the viewer’s hand. It’s the only movie I’ve ever seen where I had to look up diagrams and flowcharts to try to get a better grasp on what I had just watched.
This is definitely not a movie for everyone, but it’s a great film for anyone looking to break their brains on some great science fiction concepts.
The Roost (2005) directed by Ti West
This is one of the movies produced by the aforementioned Glass Eye Pix for $50,000, and it helped launch the career of Ti West (The House of the Devil, X, Pearl, MaXXXine). It’s a fun little twist on vampire movies with West’s attention to detail being used to maximize its small budget. It also features Tom Noonan in a fun role, so it’s worth watching if only for him.
Baghead (2008) directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass
Baghead is a low budget horror-comedy about a group of low budget filmmakers that also satirizes low budget filmmakers of the era. It was made for $60,000, and it’s one of the standout examples of mumblecore indie films that were growing in popularity in the latter half of the decade. As an added bonus, it stars Greta Gerwig.
A Horrible Way to Die (2010) directed by Adam Wingard
A Horrible Way to Die is the first feature film from the director and writer duo of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett (You’re Next, The Guest, Blair Witch). Made for $75,000, it’s the story of an infamous killer who has escaped from prison and is searching for his ex-girlfriend who has been trying to build a new life for herself. It’s a tense little horror film with some really strong characters and performances.
The Wolfman’s Hammer (2011) directed by Brad Michael Elmore
I’ve interviewed Brad previously about this film, and it still blows my mind that he made it for only $10,000. It functions as both a character drama and revenge thriller with actor Greg Hill turning in an excellent performance as the meth dealing metalhead protagonist. You can also watch the entire film for free on Brad’s YouTube channel.