Investor Info

You see, if you've come to this page, it's because you're interested in an investment that's a little bit off the beaten path. We're not the stock market, and (despite the fact that we're headquartered in Las Vegas), we're not the craps table. We know that making money and contributing to the culture don't have to be mutually exclusive. If you're here, you probably realize that too; and that's the type of person that we want to form strategic business partnerships with.

Scared-E-Cat Pictures President and Strategic Business Development Manager Erick Adam is a third generation business owner and entrepreneur. Having been involved in business management in the film, marketing, technology, and service industries for 30+ years gives him a unique perspective on how to earn the greatest return on investor's dollars, which many filmmakers (who are artists only) don't have access to. Our executive team has also spent nearly a decade fostering relationships and partnerships with production companies, studios, producers, cinematographers, actors, and all the players in the film industry in Detroit, Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Miami, Toronto, and all across North America. It's access to these networks, a sharp business sense, and a keen awareness of our responsibility to our investors that allows us to make a more serious commitment to yielding a high return than other independent film production companies in the market.

Let's take a quick look at some real-world examples of how investment in independent horror can represent a huge ROI:

• Paranormal Activity - Produced in 2006 for just $15,000, this film made creative use of artistic style and a clever, low-cost guerrilla marketing campaign, yielding gross revenues of $193,355,800 [source].
• Zombieland - A prime example of what can happen when Hollywood budget meets the Independent spirit. Between theatrical release and DVD sales, this film has grossed over $100 Million - nearly five times it's production budget - in less than 18 months [source].
• Cabin Fever - Director Eli Roth's debut film was an independent horror production budgeted at $1.5 Million. The film earned over $10 Million in it's opening weekend, and went on to gross over $33.5 Million, launching several prominent film careers along the way [source].
• The Blair Witch Project - Shot for approximately $500,000 in a style that was previously unseen in cinema, the films aggressive and clever marketing campaign earned it a worldwide theatrical release, and a gross revenue of nearly $250 Million [source].
• The Evil Dead - Back in the early 80's, a then-unknown filmmaker by the name of Sam Raimi convinced a small network of private investors to poll together just over $350,000, and shot The Evil Dead. The film went on to gross roughly $30 Million, and launched a cult following, spawning an entire multimedia franchise, and the life long careers of some of the biggest names in Hollywood today [source].
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - One of the most celebrated and influential horror films of all time, and arguably the founder of the "slasher" genre, this indie project (produced for just $83,532) went on to gross over $30 Million [source].
• Night of the Living Dead - In the late 1960s, now legendary director George A. Romeo raised $114,000 from several small donors (many coming in at just $600 each), and utilized this investment capital to produce a cult classic which grossed $42 Million in box office revenues (equivalent to over $250 Million in 2011 dollars)! The movie is also widely recognized as the genesis for the modern zombie film movement - a massive sub-genre which has generated incalculably large revenue streams in the past 40 years [source].

A final point to consider when discussing funding efficiency in independent filmmaking, is the role that technology plays in driving production costs down. 25 years ago, the sheer cost in film stock alone made funding a film a daunting process. Filmmakers would have to utilize short ends, student film discounts, super 16 film enlargement, and various other tricks just to get celluloid into their budgets. Many a reel of film was developed surreptitiously in the middle of the night by a friend of a filmmaker who was desperate to avoid processing costs. Today, the digital film revolution has almost completely leveled the playing field. Entire HD cameras can be bought for a fraction of the cost of one reel of 35 mm film stock, and can produce a cleaner, higher resolution image than traditional film. Non-linear editing systems allow our editors to do in minutes what would have been impossible just 15 years ago. And modern solid state storage allows for free, on demand dallies, mere moments after the director yells "cut", eliminating the need for costly reshoot days when mistakes go unnoticed. Being a small, nimble, and cost sensitive organization has allowed Scared-E-Cat Pictures to stay at the forefront of this technological revolution, even as the bigger institutions are struggling to play catch up; and we look forward to the opportunity to leverage this technical expertise into an increased return on your investment.