Can male nudity hurt a horror movie?

I am have started on the script. There is a scene where the killer is going after the main character, and since horror fans seem to like nudity, I could make the main character run for his life naked. Even though he's a man, would it be appealing to the female members of the audience, the same way with male horror fans?
 
Lol wow.. Um... Okay man, you ll be completely killing your targeted audience. Have you ever heard a group of girls standing in front of a movie theater and debating: "hmm, what to watch, what to watch. Oh, lets go to this terrifying blood glory horror movie about people getting murdered. I heard there is so much d**k in this movie!"

With male nudity you re killing off your main target audience (which is young male) and tuning off majority of the girls by scarring them off with a 15 foot tall red bloody d**k and balls that flop in the air as the ude gets brutally murdered.
I don't think girls would be satisfied with that.
 
It depends if I was doing it.

If I were the nude character, it would definitely hurt your audience numbers. It would be an entirely different kind of horror...
 
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I am have started on the script. There is a scene where the killer is going after the main character, and since horror fans seem to like nudity, I could make the main character run for his life naked. Even though he's a man, would it be appealing to the female members of the audience, the same way with male horror fans?

It didn't hurt 28 days later, but they also didn't do it for the sake of being gratuitous. Gratuitous nudity is a hallmark of trash horror.
 
In recent times, male nudity has been used for comedic effect. See Euro Trip, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Bruno. If you want to go for laughs, it might be a way to go. But if you want to appeal to women, a well build guy in shorts is all you really need.
 
Lol okay. Well I have an idea for a horror, but all the killer's targets have to be male, for reasons of the plot. But I also want to appeal to target audiences, and after going to some low budget horrors at a film festival, it seems audiences like nudity in them. Half the audience members were women though.
 
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You're an amateur.

Stop thinking about audience. Do what you like.

Nice way to encourage someone to stay amateur. He's thinking on the first step along the right lines.

The next line though is: What does a distributor want to see? What can they sell? What sells better? What is the likely minimum return on this concept? How can I make my hook stronger while keeping a strong story?

I know you're not looking at mainstream but there's a trend away from nudity (and even strong non-nudity sex scenes) in mainstream movies these days. Having nudity can effect your ability to get top dollar returns for your film. Male nudity can be even worse for censors. I'm not saying don't do it, though I'm saying I'd avoid it like the plague until attitudes change.

I also asked an opinion of a female horror fan whether this would appeal. Her answer was no. Keep the pants on and make him well built and that'll appeal more. Though this is just an opinion from one female, you should perhaps ask more yourself of what appeals to women.
 
Nudity does bring out the vulnerability of the character. But for me it would be like Costner in "For the Love of the Game". I really didn't need to see that.
 
Horror films have a very definitive audience base, primarily heterosexual male, 15 to 25. They LOVE gratuitous female nudity to go along with the gratuitous violence; lots of raging hormones at that age.

Females of most any age are not into gratuitous male nudity, although they really appreciate a very handsome, well-built male figure. Girls/women are more into romance than straight sex when it comes to film. But they are not your target audience, unless by "horror" you mean vampires, which has become a specific genre all unto itself.

When it comes to your particular question the target audience will be turned off by full frontal male nudity. They might possibly tolerate a backside shot. You haven't given any clues as to your script, but if your evil protagonist is female you may get away with some male nudity.

What you really need to do is decide if you want to make money or be an artist. They are two very different things, although not mutually exclusive.

It's a tough call to make, and it's very hard to do either one successfully. Satisfy the audience and you are cliché and pandering, chasing the almighty dollar. Be an artist and you are self absorbed and self serving; no one will invest because you will never make them a dime.

Where's your short? We still haven't seen it.
 
Also think about how this affects how many actors you'll get to audition. You'll be limited only to actors that are open with doing frontal nudity. Now think of all the great actors that would want to be part of your vision, then read about the nudity part and decide it's not the right gig for them. Yeah you could get an incredible actor, who's heart is so in it, and he'll do nudity, but I still think you'd be cutting down the amount of actors wanting to audition.
 
Well I want to make stuff that will build towards the intention of making money. Success. I went to this horror movie marathon of new horror movies at a local film festival. People were voting on which was the best, and the ones with female nudity, gratuitous female nudity really, were getting the most votes. Half the women in the audience were female so not sure how many of their votes were positive. But maybe they liked the movies for different reasons, other than the nudity.

It's hard to ask my friend's opinions cause they mostly like big budget thrillers and action films, and not into the genre as much. I am trying to get more into it, since it's the most popular on the indie circuit it seems.

As far as my short, it will be a while, as some parts may just may be un-edit-able cause of mistakes. I think I need to concentrate on new things, and my judgement on my short is just burned out and unclear. I realize my mistakes now, and will make something I can finish very likely next time. Especially since next time, I hope to hire people under contract, rather than relying on volunteer collaborators, who are less committed.

That's true about actors auditioning for nude roles. But if it's not what the public wants then forget about it. I was willing to do one of the roles myself and be nude but not if it's going to be worth it lol.
 
As far as my short, it will be a while, as some parts may just may be un-edit-able cause of mistakes. I think I need to concentrate on new things

Don't even think about abandoning your short and just moving on. :angry:

Get it done. Finish it. Learn from mistakes, but get that closure in.
 
Well right now I am working on other people's projects so I will have to put it on hold as of the moment. I have been having trouble cutting it quicker, cause either I need more practice at my editing, or I just need to find away around the flaws. But too busy right now. I did learn from the mistakes though.
 
It's hard to ask my friend's opinions cause they mostly like big budget thrillers and action films, and not into the genre as much. I am trying to get more into it, since it's the most popular on the indie circuit it seems.

If you're ok with it, I'm willing to take a crack at editing it. I've got some free time and wanting to garner some experience in cs6.
 
Nice way to encourage someone to stay amateur. He's thinking on the first step along the right lines.

I beg to disagree. I'm not not encouraging him. But there are a gazillion steps to be completed before even thinking of audience and I don't think h44 is that far into filmmaking.


On a side note, I really think one should make films to his own taste and likingabove all and not try to please others at any cost. Especially when you're just starting.
 
I suppose we will agree to disagree. I believe thinking of the target audience(s) is one of the initial steps and an important one too.
 
to answer the question the title of the thread asks...

yes. the only people male nudity gets over to are gay males, and gay males probably aren't too likely to be watching independent horror films.
 
Okay thanks. It seems all my female friends went to see Magic Mike, and almost everyone at the theater was female, and no guys I know, wanted to see it. So I thought that as well, might be cause females just want male nudity a lot more, but they could have went to see it for different reasons of course.
 
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