‘Horror’s New Wave’ Is a Detailed Deep Dive into Blumhouse’s First 15 Years [Review]

‘Horror’s New Wave: 15 Years of Blumhouse’ is an excellent distillation of one of horror’s biggest movers and shakers that’s a must-read for film aficionados.

If one were to name some of the biggest horror movies of the past two decades, it’s not uncommon for titles like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Get Out, The Invisible Man, and The Purge to dominate the conversation. These movies, while quite different, all share one thing in common that they’re Blumhouse pictures. Blumhouse has had its finger on the pulse of horror for nearly two decades, the likes of which have been beautifully compiled in Horror’s New Wave: 15 Years of Blumhouse by Blumhouse and Dave Schilling.

Horror’s New Wave is a fantastic celebration and examination of Blumhouse’s first 15 years and over 20 standout films. However, it’s also a beautiful deconstruction of horror trends from the past two decades, how Blumhouse became such an arbiter of talent in the area, and why they’ll continue to revitalize the genre over the next 15 years.

It’d be very easy for Horror’s New Wave to be a glossy coffee table book that looks great to mainstream audiences, but leaves devoted horror fans who scour online communities and production notices cold and wanting more. Fortunately, there is genuine knowledge to gain that becomes a deeper examination of the horror genre’s perseverance and evolution instead of just a checklist through Blumhouse’s many hits (and misses). I’m someone who is deeply tapped into the horror industry and takes pleasure in learning about the smallest of production details, yet there were still things about these movies that I was learning for the first time. The info here isn’t just superfluous aggregations of what you’ve seen before. These are highly concentrated knowledge nuggets that are geared to surprise and delight the most devoted of Blumhouse fans and horror aficionados. 

After a charming foreword by Jason Blum himself, Horror’s New Wave segues into an assortment of playful Top 10 lists that span the Blumhouse filmography, copious interviews with directors, screenwriters, actors, producers, and talent that make this a powerful first-hand account of these movies, rather than an outsider’s assessment of the filmography. Literally every person who you’d want to hear from on these projects is assembled here, from Ethan Hawke to Octavia Spencer to James Wan to Jordan Peele. Horror’s New Wave tells a powerful story between Blumhouse’s humble origins with Paranormal Activity, to taking over iconic franchises like Halloween and The Exorcist. Blumhouse understands the value in pioneering its own franchises, like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and The Purge, while also establishing relationships with some of the top names in the horror genre, such as Scott Derrickson, M. Night Shyamalan, Leigh Whannell, and Mike Flanagan

Horror’s New Wave includes a brilliant anecdote regarding how Jason Blum “tricked” the studio to purchase and distribute Paranormal Activity through the ruse of a remake that he knew would never come to pass. It’s a great story that’s emblematic of the gumption behind Blum’s innovative producing style. It’s also just a happy coincidence that Blumhouse’s first film happened to be a record-breaking, genre-busting success. Blumhouse has reached the point where it’s tackled a successful video game adaptation that has a sequel on the way, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and a remake of a classic Universal Monster, The Wolfman. In many ways it feels like Blumhouse has ended at the opposite end of the spectrum, starting with ultra low-budget indie found footage movies to flashy IP grabs, yet both of these films – and everything in between – beautifully represents Blumhouse’s creative ethos.

There’s just a single page on Blumhouse’s illustrious non-horror efforts, such as The Normal Heart, BlacKkKlansman, and Whiplash. It’s understandable that these titles that progressively became off-brand for Blumhouse wouldn’t be spotlighted in a book that needs to be selective in its choices that are most representative of the production company. However, it still would have been nice to get a little more information on this side of Blumhouse’s story.

Each of the 19 entries in Horror’s New Wave features a cheat sheet breakdown of the film’s stats like release date, cast, budget, and box office. There’s also a more playful Death Stats breakdown that includes details like the number of jump scares, a kill count, and other interesting oddities, before moving into a plot synopsis, introduction, and focused breakdowns of relevant elements, such as the found-footage genre in the case of Paranormal Activity or dystopia films for The Purge. The rest of each entry is made up of behind-the-scenes documents and interviews with the people involved with the film who unpack various aspects of the movie, like its development, the killer, the kills, casting, and any especially haunting setpieces. It’s an effective way to chew through each Blumhouse entry in a manner that feels substantial, but without being indulgent; economical without being rushed (although plenty of these movies could be broken down to much greater detail and it feels as if Horror’s New Wave just scratches the surface of their legacy). 

This structure works well enough and celebrates each film’s identity and individuality, without ever feeling rote or contrived. There’s enough variety between films that Horror’s New Wave never feels like a repetitive endeavor. The content is as entertaining and shocking as the films that are under discussion. As fun as it is to get unfettered access into huge Blumhouse hits like Sinister and The Invisible Man, it’s also a blast to get 20 pages on more incidental titles like Truth or Dare. The book doesn’t discriminate when it comes to its Blumhouse breakdown and each entry is creatively explored, even if the end product didn’t manage to change the genre. 

Horror’s New Wave has a lot to offer when it comes to its production documents and original goodies. This includes storyboards, the Myers House blueprint from Halloween, and Mike Flanagan’s insistence on filming Oujia: Origin of Evil with period-accurate equipment in order to capture the same cinematic feeling as The Exorcist from 1973. Other production gems detail a gonzo meta New Nightmare-esque sequel pitch for Truth or Dare, the studio’s freaked out reactions upon seeing Split’s surprise ending, Happy Death Day’s first life as an abandoned Rogue Pictures script that Christopher Landon was brought on to rewrite, and the original ending to Halloween Ends that Jamie Lee Curtis pushed back against. 

This all contributes to an impressive tone that’s informative and celebratory, but also humble and earnest enough that it never feels masturbatory and like a hollow tool that’s designed to push Blumhouse product. Horror’s New Wave may subscribe to corporate synergy, but this is a book that’s filled with passion from people who are behind the camera, in front of the camera, and just genuinely love horror and the craft of cinema. That’s abundantly clear on every page of this glowing compendium that has more reverence for blood, guts, murderers, and monsters than the Necronomicon.

Horror’s New Wave: 15 Years of Blumhouse is an insightful deep dive into one of the horror genre’s greatest modern disruptors. It’s a gold mine of first-hand knowledge that’s strengthened through sleek packaging and immaculate layout and design elements that are simultaneously polished and gritty. It makes for an impressive item even without any of the horror industry gems that are contained inside. There are cherished stories and anecdotes that seasoned horror fans have likely heard before, yet the inclusion of rewarding never-before-seen production documents makes sure that it doesn’t just repurpose old materials. It’s a satisfying read and the perfect companion piece as horror fans work their way through the Blumhouse filmography this Halloween.

Horror’s New Wave: 15 Years of Blumhouse will release September 30.