Horror Producer Jason Blum Wasn't A Horror Fanatic

Jason Blum was never a fan of horror movies, despite making his name in the genre.

The 50-year-old producer has served on a number of horror films, such as Hush and Happy Death Day, as well as being the founder of Blumhouse Productions, which has produced successful franchises in the form of Paranormal Activity and Insidious.

But the filmmaker admits that he was never into the horror genre. His latest, Fantasy Island, a horror re-do of the classic '70s TV series, starring Maggie Q and Lucy Hale, opens on Feb 13.

In an interview with Total Film magazine, Blum said: "I really love all kinds of movies, but I wasn't a horror fanatic at all." Blum also admits that Hollywood has misconceptions when it comes to horror directors.

He said: "I think Hollywood thinking is you have to have made a good horror movie to make another horror movie, but I'd much rather have someone who's made a great drama direct a horror movie than have somebody who's made an okay horror movie direct another horror movie.

"I've always thought sort of thought that the scares are the easy part. The tricky thing about making a horror movie is getting the drama and the story to work, so that the audience believes what's happening in between the scares."

Blum suggests that Blumhouse prefers to judge a filmmaker on their "body of work" rather than just their most recent film, using 2015's The Visit, helmed by M Night Shyamalan, as an example.

He explained: "We're always interested in filmmakers who people are not paying attention to because maybe their last movie wasn't as successful as their other three movies.

"When we did The Visit people were not very interested in working with M Night Shyamalan, but I think often Hollywood looks at someone's last movie. I'm more inclined to look at their body of work." — BANG

Blumhouse's Fantasy Island opens Feb 13.

Photos: Jason Blum (TPG News/Click Photos), Sony Pictures Entertainment/Christopher Moss