Indie films are those with low budgets and not released under any big studio name. These films can be a great opportunity for actors to begin their careers, but they can carry big costs. In fact, cast and crew are often deferred payments and can face hazardous risks while filming in unsupervised conditions typical of most indie productions.
Catherine Corcoran, who plays Dawn in the Terrifier 1, recently filed a lawsuit, exposing the Terrifier franchise, a notoriously known indie series, for exploitation. The franchise is most known for its over-the-top death scenes; Corcoran’s character is no exception, as she is held upside down in a scene where the antagonist, Art the Clown, saws her in half. Corcoran stated in Variety that, during the filming of the brutal scene, she was held upside down for over ten hours, half-naked, in the freezing cold. Due to these dangerous and unregulated shooting conditions, Corcoran was later diagnosed with cranial swelling and eardrum damage.
Corcoran feels she has not been properly compensated for her troubles. She claimed that although she was promised 1% of the total film franchise profits, including merchandise profits, she has yet to be fully paid despite the film’s financial success.
Corcoran’s lawsuit also states that she was required to perform the scene nude without having properly consented, which was required by her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) agreement. The SAG is a labor union that represents actors going into filming, negotiates contracts with employers, and actively works to protect actors’ rights.
While it is believed that the producers of Terrifier did not mean to cause harm, the conflict reflects the difficulty of navigating certain regulations when working on intense productions as such. In fact, Corcoran’s story is just one of many examples.
Additionally, the tight budgets of indie productions cause actors like Corcoran, as well as other crew members, to be deferred payments or profit shares. According to Hollywood in Toto, ”films can do amazing on the festival circuit, get a cushy distribution deal, and still nobody is paid on the cast and crew.”
Because of the poor supervision and planning, many safety hazards emerge for the cast and crew, such as Corcoran’s medical conditions due to being held upside down for too long.
Another example was in 2021, when Halyna Hutchins, a crew member on the low-budget film Rust was killed by a prop gun. The people in charge of this film did not enforce the necessary measures required for safely operating a weapon on set, resulting in the tragic accident. Making matters worse, from the start, crew members had reported being concerned about the unsafe conditions. According to Los Angeles Times, it was reported that two prop guns had already misfired three times before the staff member was fatally shot.
Indie films can be great projects, bringing in money and helping aspiring actors reach the big screens. However certain measures must be put in place. Labor unions like SAG and other programs like Actors Equity Associations aim to protect actors’ rights on set to prevent what happened to Corcoran and other actors from repeating, but conflicts continue to arise and must be dealt with precaution.
