The producers of an indie horror movie called “The Perfect House” are breaking new ground by using Facebook as a exclusive distribution channel.
Starting today, Facebook members can rent the one-hour, 22-minute thriller, marking the latest attempt by filmmakers to tap the power of the 800-million-member social network.
But this one-hour, 22-minute film from independent directors Kris Hulbert and Randy Kent is marketed as the first made-for-Facebook movie.
It could start a new trend for indie filmmakers, who have traditionally had to scramble to get their work seen by a wider mass market audience.
“Going forward, we want to release all of our movies this way,” said Hulbert, founder of North Hollywood’s Gratwick Films, which produced “The Perfect House.” “Our goal is to establish ourselves on Facebook first so people know where to find us.”
Hulbert wrote the movie about newlyweds touring a supposed dream home that has a bloody, violent past. According to the movie site IMDB.com, the movie was made with a budget of about $155,000.
Technically, the movie has already made a screen debut, but in the grassroots way that is more typical of indie films that don’t have big budgets or major theatrical distribution deals.
Hulbert and his team just returned from a tour – they loaded a movie projector into a 1973-vintage recreational vehicle, then drove across the country to show the movie a few times at film festivals, universities and restaurants.
Hulbert said the company didn’t chose Facebook just because it couldn’t land a distributor – using the social network is Gratwick’s long-term business plan.
“This is actually our first and primary choice,” he said. “If we can execute on responsible film making, then we can control our own destiny.”
The company already has plans for two “Perfect House” sequels and has plotted out other projects for the next decade.
Gratwick is using Social Cinema, a social networking viewing and sharing platform from Milyoni Inc. of Pleasanton.
The technology has been used to bring blockbusters like “The Big Lebowski” and “The Dark Knight” to Facebook.
And for Halloween, Social Cinema is also being employed to rent other thrillers, including “Saw,” “The Blair Witch Project” and “Leprechaun,” which starred a pre-”Friends” Jennifer Aniston.
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