Universal buys horror movie based on teaser trailer

Posted Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 4:41 PM Central
Last updated Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 11:06 PM Central

by John Couture

Traditionally, you film a movie and then release a trailer to help generate interest in said movie in the general public. But first time writers Brandon Bestenheider and Allen Bey took a novel approach.

They created a teaser trailer and leaked it online to generate buzz for their project before securing financing. The trailer, which can be seen below, did the trick and Universal secured the rights to Grim Night according to Deadline.

The horror film centers around one night each year when mysterious creatures called Grims attack randomly and kill to the tune of 97,000 and counting. So, the world becomes paralyzed during that one night and everyone shutters themselves up in their homes.

The film's story follows one family in a small town on a particular Grim Night who has to fight for their lives when they are targeted by the Grims. The timing couldn't be better for the writers who perfectly timed the release of their trailer during the week that similarly low-budgeted film Paranormal 3 made a killing at the box office to the tune of $54 million.

The trailer itself evokes images of both the Paranormal movies and District 9, although it's still too early to tell if Universal will follow the look and feel of the teaser or go in a completely different direction with the final product.

Either way, the trailer has my interest piqued and that's a good thing for a movie that hasn't even started shooting yet. Let us know what you think.