The movie industry continues to feature exciting innovations and developments that push the medium of entertainment forward, but horror franchises remain at the forefront of creativity and ambition. There’s been an ongoing fascination with the horror genre and its ability to connect in major ways through the theatrical cinematic experience.
However, the horror genre is also particularly vulnerable to series that get milked dry through excessive sequels. A run of middling chapters in a horror franchise is often a death sentence, but there are also some encouraging examples that are able to return to glory and reclaim their greatness after a dud entry.
10 Friday The 13th Has Given Jason Voorhees Many Facelifts To Varying Success
Friday the 13th helped kick off the tradition of horror franchises that get swallowed up by endless sequels. They just can’t resist more entries in the series.
There are some growing pains early in the franchise and Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning is an especially contentious entry due to how it puts forgettable Roy Burns behind the hockey mask instead of Jason Voorhees. However, Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives is one of the strongest entries in the entire series and it gets the slasher franchise back on the right track.
9 Saw Spins Its Wheels As It Searches For An Exit
Saw is an undeniable horror success and it largely popularized the ultra-violent variety of horror that dominated during the 2000s. Saw helped quickly prove James Wan’s expertise as a filmmaker and the original trilogy tells a consistent story.
It’s after Saw moves past John Kramer that it begins to struggle and Saw IV and V represent the torturous series at its worst. There have been frequent attempts to soft reboot the Saw series and while they’ve been largely unsuccessful, they’re still better than the series’ middle entries and kept the franchise from ending at its lowest point.
8 Halloween Survives Its Needless Cult Of Thorn Mythology
Halloween is another fundamental slasher series that’s far from perfect, but its lows are highly regrettable considering John Carpenter’s exceptional start to the franchise. Halloween struggles as it tries to decide if it wants to lose Michael Myers or not and the fourth entry is actually unfairly maligned.
It’s Halloween 5 that’s the beginning of the end and its successor, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, is absolutely abysmal regardless which version of the movie is seen. Halloween: Resurrection is another low point, but Halloween somehow always seems to bounce back and return Michael Myers to glory.
7 Puppet Master Can Barely Pull Itself Out Of The Past
Full Moon’s Puppet Master series never pretends that it’s high art, but there’s a surprising level of charm and fear that’s present in the first three movies. Even Puppet Master 4 and 5 mess with the formula, but still feel like justified evolutions of the property. It’s after this point that Puppet Master embraces the Third Reich and there are now endless sequels needlessly set in the time period.
Curse of the Puppet Master is barely a movie, but the “Axis Trilogy” is also lazy and embarrassing. The latest entries in the franchise at least hint at some promising changes.
6 Paranormal Activity Hits Diminishing Returns The Longer That It Goes On
Paranormal Activity is a masterpiece in minimalism and its mark on the found footage horror genre is nearly equal to The Blair Witch Project. Paranormal Activity 3 is largely viewed as the standout entry, but Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, is a disappointment.
The series’ sixth entry, The Marked Ones, is an improvement over its predecessors, but still struggles to tap into the power of the first three entries. With a new film on the way, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, it’s possible that a resurgence could be on the way— or that this new entry permanently buries the series.
5 Predator Has Taken Its Most Rewarding Risks With Its Later Entries
The Predator series firmly tows the line between action and horror, but the space that it often shares with the Alien franchise tends to push it more into the latter. The original Predator introduces a classic movie monster, but Predator 2 already begins to struggle.
Granted, Predators and The Predator are far from perfect, but it feels like there are considerably better films that got lost through endless studio interference. Nevertheless, Predators teases more compelling ideas, and with an all-star cast, that doesn’t just trump the two Alien vs Predator movies, but also Predator 2 as well.
4 A Nightmare On Elm Street Sleepwalks Through Its Later Entries
Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street is such an iconic horror series because of how it turns its deaths into such exaggerated spectacles thanks to the impossible dream powers of Freddy Krueger. The initial premise is frightening enough, but Freddy Krueger grows into more of a wisecracking caricature with an unnecessary backstory.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 is a highlight in the franchise, but the fifth and sixth entries, Dream Child and Final Nightmare are a truly weak finish. It’s exactly why Craven made the reflexive follow-up, New Nightmare, to redeem Freddy and make people afraid again.
3 Child’s Play Just Won’t Quit & Chucky Has Become A Horror Icon
Child’s Play is a brilliant take on the killer doll subsection of horror. The first two entries are incredible, but Child’s Play 3 is when the faults begin to show. It was a stroke of genius for Child’s Play to shift into dark comedy with The Bride of Chucky. This tonal pivot has allowed the franchise to not only continue to turn out new entries, but there’s also a television series that maintains the franchise’s continuity.
Child’s Play and Chucky have even survived through a franchise reboot that didn't take and saw the franchise go back to its original canon immediately after. Seed of Chucky is another franchise low, but The Cult of Chucky saves face.
2 Final Destination Succeeds Despite Constantly Tempting Fate
The five Final Destination films actually represent one of the most consistent modern horror franchises. Not only are they all fairly comparable in quality, but they all tie together in a cyclical fashion that’s far more brilliant than it deserves to be.
The fourth entry isn’t bad, but it’s considered the weakest of the lot and it’s even called The Final Destination because it was so sure that it’d be the last chapter. Final Destination 3 is the best, but Final Destination 5 is an extremely satisfying return to form that perfectly wraps up the horror franchise.
1 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Becomes Too Fascinated With Leatherface
Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre is still deeply disturbing. Its sequel takes some wild swings and veers into the blackest of comedy, but it still has many fans. Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 is when the material starts to turn and self-parody begins.
The fourth film in the series, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, has its share of haters, but it actually engages in an ambitious meta narrative that deconstructs the nature of horror. The modern remakes, while flawed, are also the strongest of the horror reboots of that generation.