Which is the better genre - horror or drama?

Drama is carried by characters and the actors that play them. The best actors cost a lot of money. If your actors aren't known, or, worse still, they're not very good, your film will suffer. Your cinematography will need to be as perfect as possible to mask the lack of well-known or very good actors.

Horror is carried by the thrills and chills, the blood and gore. Those things can be achieved cheaply. Fans of the genre (like myself) may well look past bad acting, bad lighting, bad sound, bad effects, so long as there's something there (the story, the cool-looking monster, the inventive kills...) to keep them engaged.
 
It depends on your sensibility as a filmmaker. In general I find horror films to fit more within a broad category of the "genre film" which are more plot-driven and must adhere to common conventions of the genre. I have always found horror films to be among the most expressive in their use of lighting, sound, and cinematography, where I feel like these formal elements of the cinema are more important to a horror film than the script itself. Horror can also achieve greater effects with a lot less than other films do.

Drama is a very vague 'genre' that can include more conventional dramas such as the typical Oscar films, but it can also include more idiosyncratic forms in arthouse cinema. The conventional drama relies heavily on script and acting, though of course other elements are important in order to ground the film in realism. I think that like the horror film, it is possible to achieve great effects with a lower budget but you'd have to be lucky to get really good actors or find ways to extract great performances from so-so actors (which is really difficult to do!).

Again, I think it comes down to sensibility. I know we always have to take into account our audience, but I think that in order for audiences to 'buy' our work, they have to know that we are making sincere expressions of cinema. In other words, I'm happy to see a horror film by George A. Romero or John Carpenter or many of the masters in that genre because through their work I can see that they love the genre and their sensibility fits with the conventions of the genre and expands them as well. I'm also happy to see drama films that are made by filmmakers who are passionate about what they are creating as well. First think about what suits you best, do you prefer telling horror stories or more dramatic stories, or something in between? If you're thinking about seriously making a film, I think you should find a way to fit your sensibility with your project while being aware of your audience. If it's purely an attempt to just start making films to start practicing then it is more important to think about your resources rather than your sensibility. Would your potential collaborators be more willing to work on a horror film or a drama film? Do you have a great concept for a horror film or a drama film? What kind of locations are available to you? These are a few of many questions that you can ask yourself.
 
Personally I like dramas better as more of my favorite movies are dramas. Horror is very popular in the indie market. At the festivals I have been too, almost all the entries were horror, and I don't think there was one drama. However, I find that the horrors have weaker scripts, weaker acting a lot, and the plots just don't hold together as well as a lot of dramas.

V/H/S for example was hugely popular, and I thought it was one of the worst movies I have ever seen, mostly cause the plot does not hold together. I understand how you have to suspend your logic sometimes but a lot of horror movies seem to have weak scripts deliberately, as if they are saying it's okay to have a holed story with weak characters cause we are horror. I just cannot stand that deliberate lack of effort. But that's just me. However some horrors I really like, like The Silence of the Lambs, Alien (the original), The Excorcist, Carrie, The Fly, and the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was pretty creepy.

However, I find these horrors to be much better written than the ones at these festivals. They are just more ambitious and a lot of horrors lack ambition.

Now you ask for a new filmmaker which genre is better. I guess the people have spoken and that it's still horror perhaps.
 
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what is the best and most successful genre to make a film in? Horror or drama?

Between the choice of Drama or Horror, the path of least resistance is horror, though a well written, well packaged drama is more likely to sell. Horror tends to be a director/producer led market, where drama tends to be a talent led market. Both markets are highly competitive and it's hard to stand out.

If you're looking at your first film, neither are great choices unless you're happy to lose money. IMO, both have about the same chance to lose significant money. Horror tends to allow you to have a smaller budget and still have a chance of distribution, where with drama you either need to hire multiple tier 1 stars or you need to do well at a top tier festival to have a chance of distribution.
 
I really think you should make what you want to make. Make a movie that YOU want to see, and cross your fingers that other people share similar tastes with you.

Both genres have an audience. On one hand, there are a lot of fans of the horror genre that don't just forgive lesser production standards, but actually kinda appreciate them. On the other hand, it's really easy to point to recent examples like Lena Dunham and the Duplass bros. who found a way to break into big-budget Hollywood filmmaking by making tiny-budget talky dramas.

Which genre do you think YOU are better equipped for?
 
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