Lessons From Indie Horror Filmmakers

During the 2026 Chicago Fan Expo, I attended the Indie Horror Roundtable. I share their top points for any aspiring filmmakers.

The moderator was Liz Marr, the main host and co-creator of the Stabby Time podcast. She had filmmakers Stephen Tramontana (Killer Piñata), Sean Limak (Volatile) and Ashley Thomas of Good Candy Films.

Where can you find their films?

They first shared that Tubi hosts a lot of their films. Stephen recommended to definitely get into Film Hub. With an account, you can own your work.

Among the different streaming services, Shutter is hard to get into but they do treat their artists well.

They all agreed that it never hurts to reach out, never assume that you will not get in. You can always submit your film on Shutter, Fangoria, etc and let them give you the decline.

They all agreed that short films has almost a non-existent return on investment financially, but it is a great way to get experience and to get your work out there.

Horror is the best genre to experiment in.

If you are wanting to be a filmmaker, start with a horror film. The audience is so supportive and every horror movie finds an audience.

Stephen noted that his film’s idea of a murderous pinata is pretty stupid but if pulled off, people will go with it. They had 30 days to film it. The next project was a short film of a man stuck in a porta potty shot entirely with iPhones.

Sean shared what inspired his short film, Connection at the End of the World was after he watched Past Lives on a plane. Upon landing, he spent the evening just writing.

“Horror is such a great community and sandbox to play in.” = Sean Limak

Networking is important

People are ready to suspend disbelief for horror or sci-fi or fantasy which is so helpful. And while it Is a niche market, it is not a small market.

With that in mind, networking and collaboration is so important. For instance, another film set asked Stephen how they filmed the porta potty with lighting and sound.

“You’re only in competition with yourself” = Stephen Tramontana

Sean mentioned that he loves the production company, Rustic Films’ slogan, Make movies with friends. So keep that in mind.

And that is just a taste of how to get started in film, why to start in horror and just how much you can gain from the experience, even if it is not views or money.