Horror often feels like one of the few storytelling genres that’s willing to take true risks with the types of movies that are made and the trends that are embraced. The genre covers monster movies, intense serial killer stories, or psychological dramas that examine the loss of one’s self. Among this endless variety is a love for sequels, franchises, and ways to extend these horror stories.

Admittedly, sequels and trilogies can be cases of diminishing returns that lack passion and cater to commercial interests. Many horror movies can only properly come into their own after they expand their scope across a trilogy. As a result, there are many great horror trilogies for fans to enjoy.

Updated October 9, 2023 by Daniel Kurland: This horror list has been updated to include a wider selection of movies with 15 highlighted films rather than 10. Additionally, a broader view has also been taken with these selections so that horror trilogies from many different eras–both old and new–are under deconstruction. The list’s general structure has also been updated to fit with CBR’s modern style while the same is true for its cross-section of links, which now showcase newer CBR content.

Related
10 Must-See Horror Anthology Movies
Horror anthology films can offer spine-chilling stories for the Halloween season. From Ghost Stories to All Hallows' Eve, these movies merit viewing.

15 [REC]

The [REC] trilogy are three Spanish found-footage films that depict a harrowing zombie outbreak in a rundown apartment complex. The first two [REC] movies are smart companion pieces that play with structure and artifice in creative ways. [REC] 3: Genesis takes the prequel approach and chronicles this virus' start.

While there is technically a [REC] 4: Apocalypse that's set immediately after [REC] 2 that concludes the series, it ditches the trademark found footage aesthetic and expands to a full-on zombie apocalypse, which is a far cry from the trilogy's more humble, intimate designs.

14 Fear Street

Netflix's Fear Street trilogy draws inspiration from R.L. Stine's series of young-adult horror fiction, but it tells an original story rather than direct adaptations of Fear Street books. Released in weekly installments, Fear Street uses its trilogy format to shine a light on three distinct time periods for its cursed community--1994, 1978, and 1666.

This allows each movie to tackle different types and eras of genre references as these specific stories also collectively contribute to a grander whole. It's a strategy that proved to be incredibly successful, and it'd be a surprise if they don't do more with the Fear Street property.

13 Sleepaway Camp

Sleepaway Camp is a heightened horror franchise from the '80s that follows Angela Baker, a troubled camp counselor with murderous impulses towards those who defy the sanctity of summer camp. The first Sleepaway Camp is more of a whodunit when it comes to its killer angle, which is dropped in the sequels.

The original Sleepaway Camp is also genuinely unsettling in several areas, especially its freeze-frame surprise ending. Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland are considerably campier affairs, but they still rise to the occasion with their premises and include a wide variety of camp-based kills.

Related
10 Best Horror Movie Twists of All Time
Many horror movies shock audiences with grisly and bloody deaths, but some of them also surprise with twist endings that no one sees coming.

12 Poltergeist

Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist is an all-time horror classic that's become an iconic haunted house story. Poltergeist's sequels are largely unknown to general audiences, but they both explore compelling themes and are full of haunting setpieces. Both Poltergeist II: The Other Side and Poltergeist III submit the Freeling family to more paranormal encounters with the young Carol Anne at the heart of it all.

Poltergeist III makes a curious, but effective pivot towards Zelda Rubinstein's medium, Tangina, who takes center stage in the final part of this trilogy. Poltergeist's depiction of the Other Side feels like an early precursor to cinematic realms like Insidious' The Further.

11 Candyman

Clive Barker's Candyman was a standout '90s slasher series with a socially-conscious message at its core. The urban legend of a hook-handed murderer takes on a life of its own as this arbiter of justice delivers grisly retribution.

There are some diminishing returns in Candyman's sequels, particularly in Candyman: Day of the Dead, but they all bring something special to the table and benefit from Tony Todd's continued involvement. Even Nia DaCosta's 2021 Candyman doesn't get enough credit for the needle it threads and its evocative kills.

10 The Omen

Richard Donner's The Omen is an iconic piece of horror cinema. The Omen follows an adopted child who's actually the Antichrist, and is perfectly suited for subsequent installments. Each Omen movie follows Damien Thorn, the Devil's offspring, at a different pivotal period in his life.

Damien: The Omen II looks at Damien as a 13-year-old and Omen III: The Final Conflict is set two decades later with Damien in his thirties and ready for a showdown with a returned Jesus Christ. While there's technically an Omen IV, it's ostensibly a reboot that now looks at a female Antichrist.

Related
10 Horror Sequels That Ruined Their Franchise
Even the most beloved horror movies, like Jaws and Hellraiser, have sequels that were so bad they ruined the overall quality of the franchise.

9 Basket Case

Basket Case is often considered to be Frank Henenlotter's signature movie and its success even spawned two sequels. The movies follow Duane Bradley, a conflicted man who carries around his severed twin, Belial, in a wicker basket.

A psychic link is shared between these two brothers that festers into a toxic codependency and a slew of murders. The Basket Case sequels go to much bigger places as Duane and Belial are taken into a home for similarly troubled outcasts. These new characters, along with Granny Ruth, are excellent additions that push Basket Case's practical effects to truly impressive places.

8 Alien

Ridley Scott’s Alien set a new standard for horror and science fiction hybrids. The Xenomorph remains one of the most iconic monster designs and it’s helped the franchise remain relevant for more than forty years. The initial Alien is a claustrophobic exercise in tension, while James Cameron’s sequel cleverly swaps genres and delivers more of an adrenaline-pumping action film.

Alien 3 is much moodier material that’s all about stripping Ripley down to her core essence. Alien: Resurrection exists, as do the Prometheus films, but the original Alien trilogy tells a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end for Ellen Ripley.

7 Cube Trilogy

The locked room death game subgenre has gained a lot of momentum over the past few decades through properties like Saw, Squid Game, and Escape Room. Cube is an independent Canadian film from the ‘90s where a group of strangers wake up in a peculiar labyrinthine prison that has unique deadly traps in each room.

The first Cube benefits from the mysteries that surround its world, which gives the following entries plenty of material to build upon. Cube 2: Hypercube is a fairly conventional sequel, but the next entry, Cube Zero, is a fascinating prequel story that runs parallel to the first movie and gives it greater depth.

Related
The Success of Horror Movies Draws "Franchise Fatigue" Into Question
Saw X and The Exorcist: Believer are making a killing at the box office in 2023, making it questionable if franchise fatigue is real among moviegoers.

6 The Evil Dead

Sam Raimi is a legend in both horror and superhero movies, but none of it would be possible without The Evil Dead. Raimi creates the perfect cabin-based horror movie before he goes on to completely subvert the genre and poke fun at its own ideas.

This reaches its peak in the third film, Army of Darkness, which sends Ash Williams back to the 1300s and becomes a passionate tribute to Ray Harryhausen. Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy is the series’ gold standard but Ash and the Necronomicon have had a rich life in comics, video games, and a canonical television series. It’s an iconic trilogy that's inspired several modern reinventions.

5 Slumber Party Massacre

The Slumber Party Massacre trilogy is pure '80s bliss. There's a very simple structure in place for each of the movies, which deal with a group of unassuming high school students getting hunted by a vicious killer who wields a drill as his weapon.

The Slumber Party Massacre films are largely unrelated other than the driller killer element, but they're all strong horror subversions. This trilogy may look like it's full of empty horror clichés, but each movie is written and directed by women and there's a self-aware nature to its gender politics.

4 Psycho

A sequel to a well-respected project like Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho practically seems destined to fail. However, against all odds, Psycho II and III are gripping character studies that use Norman Bates’ mental state in inspired ways.

Psycho II doesn’t come until two decades after the original. It challenges the audience’s perspective over whether they want to see Norman succeed and if he’s perhaps a victim instead of a villain. Anthony Perkins reprises his role as Norman in all three films (and even directs Psycho III) and his work is even better than in the original.

3 Maniac Cop

Maniac Cop follows a perished police officer. He returns as a zombie cop who rebels against the corrupt hypocrisy that fuels the city. Maniac Cop is surprisingly effective, but it works even better when viewed as a double feature with its sequel.

Maniac Cop 2 picks up immediately after the events of the original movie and also fills in many blanks that retroactively makes the original better. Admittedly, Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence is the weakest of the lot and stoops to voodoo magic to bring Matt "Maniac Cop" Cordell back for more murderous antics. It's still a fun, silly way to conclude the series.

Related
10 Best Vampire Films From the Past 10 Years
Blood-sucking vampires are a celebrated horror staple and the past decade has featured some creepy and creative takes on vampire films!

2 Re-Animator

Loosely based on a H.P. Lovecraft short story, Re-Animator, Bride of Re-Animator, and Beyond Re-Animator are the three films of Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna's horror trilogy. The movies riff on the classical Frankenstein's Monster narrative courtesy of Dr. Herbert West's special drug that can revive the dead.

The films key into the perfect level of camp and prosthetic, practical effects. 2003's Beyond Re-Animator is the weakest of the lot and brings the least to the table, but Jeffrey Combs remains captivating as Herbert West and Brian Yuzna's trademark effects do not disappoint.

1 Night Of The Living Dead

Zombies have become one of the horror genre's most popular supernatural creatures. These undead menaces take on many forms, but George A. Romero is frequently considered to be the forefather of the genre thanks to Night of the Living Dead, which helped popularize the term "zombie" in the first place.

Romero uses a trilogy of zombie movies, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead, as insightful social commentary on the respective woes of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. They’re formative zombie films that each have their own distinct energy.