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This list of the top 10 indy films is for films that anybody could make. You see their budgets are sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but so what? because these films could have been made for much less.
If you disagree with any of these films being ranked here, you better comment it out on social media.
The Top 10 Indy Films That You Could Have Made For A Few Dollars:
1. Kids. (Pictured on the right side of image up above) I’m putting it right at the top despite the actual $1.5 million budget. Why? This is the ultimate Indy film. Everything about the esthetic, cast, writing and locations showed viewers that even teenagers interested in film could go out and shoot a film just like this. Any 16-year-old sitting on a couch watching this film with friends saw that they too could make a big full-length film, if this was what a film could be. A lot of the films on this list, despite being cheap to make, required some experience, some intelligence, some special skill like writing to have achieved. Kids doesn’t seem to have required anything. Kids became very successful and launched writer Harmony Korine and several of the young cast into long acting careers. It was the first film directed by Larry Clark, and got a lot of attention — or hype — for its controversial subject matter.
It was filmed on city streets, parks, a public pool, a house, apartments and a club. The production may have had something to it the large budget, but it seems minimal when watching the film. The camera is hand held, and this was something mainstream audiences hadn’t really seen before in 1995.
2. Swingers. (Pictured at left) Results! Anyone — or maybe any GUY — around in 1996 or the few years after that will probably remember how much of an important movie this was. Other films of the time were more popular, grossed more, and maybe were more guys “favorite film” (although a lot of guys listed Swingers as their favorite), but guys recommended this film to each other, and when they talked about it, there was a special meaning to it.
It was filmed in locations you could easily shoot in: apartments, bars, a car on the highway, a trailer, a diner, a casino. The story didn’t have a traditional hollywood plot, but it definitely took you somewhere, and took you somewhere different from where you started from, and whatever the message is, it’s seemed worthy.
3. Buffalo 66. (Pictured center) Somber, sober, absorbing. Christina Ricci is at her most beautiful blonde, voluptuous, sensitive self here as she reacts to the tension and simple complexity of the states of mind traveled through with actor and director Vincent Gallo.
The cast is small: 4 or 5 main characters. The locations: a dance studio, driving around in a small car, a hotel, a house, a restaurant. The script does not have a lot of dialogue. Again, the arc is not a traditional Hollywood one, but some of the scenes are unforgettable and it definitely takes you somewhere.
4. Blair Witch Project. (Pictured background) How many of you were waiting for me to write that. This film exploded when it was screened in art house cinemas and then exploded in mainstream movie theaters. A lot of its success came, like Kids, from the hype surrounding it. It made $250 million: Yes, $250,000,000, and cost $35,000 to make, but you could see how you could make this film for nothing over a weekend with minor adjustments. It also resulted in a sequel film and a lot of associated products.
It was shot on a cheap (and low-quality) video camera bought from Wallmart (and returned after use — there WERE no phone cameras at that time). The settings: houses, trailer parks, the woods. The script: there was one, but most of the film was improvisation done by the three main characters. Like Kids, this film shows anyone they can make a film.
5. Clerks. A story about some people in a town. Watching this film anywhere in the world, you may think “it’s just like normal life.” This film was made for $25,000 by Jay and Silent Bob. It was picked up quickly by Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein who saw something in it that would make it succeed with a wide audience. Like Woody Allen, there is a lot of dialogue. Everything is done with dialogue. And it is funny. The jokes, because the film is level of the common man, are jokes that could be made about most people’s lives and social circles. People laughed out loud at this film, and you’re never going to fail if a film does that. It appealed to a certain demographic as well — like Kids and Swingers — and was kind of in the vein of a lot of TV shows and pop culture things at the time.
Clerks was filmed in a basement and a convenience store. There were no stars or outstanding beauties (as there were in Jay and Silent Bob’s later films). Did I mention it was successful despite being in black & white?
