With the horror genre continuing to dominate the box office — No, Smile, Screaming, Barbarian, Halloween is over and black phone were among the top 40 releases of the previous 2022 M3GAN premieres the new year with a $30 million opening — James A. Janisse eagerly rides the bloody wave.
The content creator founded the popular YouTube channel Dead Meat in 2017 and has seen his subscriber count hit 5.94 million by the end of 2022, up from 4.5 million two years ago. there. The content — which includes interviews with directors and actors, podcasts, and sublime films — has racked up more than 2 billion views.
A Detroit native who moved to LA in 2012, Janisse (also known as Dead Meat James) is not only the host but also the president and executive producer of Dead Meat, which he co-owns. with his wife, Chelsea Rebecca, who founded the podcast Dead Meat. His approach combines a love of horror with a sense of humour, creating entertainment while also being educational for devoted horror fans and horror curious.
Directed by Mike Flanagan (Haunted house on the hill, sleeping doctor) is a fan. “It’s not just commentary, it’s not just criticism, but it’s great entertainment in its own right, and beautifully produced by James and Chelsea,” he said. CHEAP.
Janisse – the attribution Screaming for drawing him into the genre (although when he first watched it as a child, “the opening scene was so terrifying that I ran out of the living room and out of the rest of the movie,” he said) – he believes that horror is so popular today because of “the high quality of horror movies over the past five years.” Janisse continued: “It all started in 2017 when the critical success of Get outand the commercial success of It brought double attention to the genre. Horror seems to be gaining popularity when the real world feels scariest. There are so many reasons people find ways to express their fears in a safe, cinematic way.”
The most popular show on Dead Meat is Number of kills, a series of videos in which Janisse tells the story of deaths in a film while introducing the behind-the-scenes facts, helping viewers deepen their understanding and appreciation of the art and technique of horror. Recently received movies Kill Count Treatment includes prey, Gremlins, Malignant, Chucky’s Bride and Dude Bro Party Massacre III.
Janisse, 33, shares that 60% of Dead Meat’s annual revenue comes from YouTube ads; Other sources of income include sponsorship deals (25%), donations from supporters on Patreon (8%), and advertising and sponsorship of the Dead Meat podcast he started in 2018 (5 %).
Last year, streaming service Shudder sponsored the first Dead Meat Horror Awards (chosen by Janisse and Rebecca), in which horror stars like nuns‘s Bonnie Aarons has announced the winners. And Dead Meat is developing a horror comedy directed by Max Deleo and written by Nick Skardarasy, “focusing on growing up and what that means for old college friendships,” he says. speak. As for why Dead Meat continues to grow, Janisse notes that “thriller fans can sense someone is a true fan. They can tell that I really love what I’m talking about.”
This story first appeared in the January 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to sign up.
