There are certain types of movies that fade in and out of favor with audiences, but there appears to always be an appetite for horror. There’s nothing quite like the communal experience of getting frightened by a film and there is such a diverse nature to horror that often means that there’s something for everyone to enjoy, even those who are faint of heart.

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Horror movies are also quite accommodating to copious sequels that repeatedly put its villain in fresh scenarios or continue to test the series’ survivors in new ways. The immediate success of a movie can trigger a slew of sequels, but some of these horror franchises are products of their time that no longer hold up.

Updated on January 2nd, 2023 by Daniel Kurland: Horror continues to receive more support than ever before, whether this comes in the form of completely original projects or passionate love letters to lost franchises. Both of these approaches have their advantages and horror audiences are usually pretty forgiving when it comes to sequels and series with diminishing returns. However, mainstream sensibilities can transform in major ways in a short amount of time and what was once entertaining can now come across as dated, boring, or even offensive. Time has not been kind to several horror franchises, some of which can now make for a painful rewatch.

15 Halloween’s Legacy Sequel Trilogy Wastes Its Potential

Michael Myers kills Corey's bullies in Halloween Ends

Legacy sequels that do away with a franchise’s cumbersome sequels and operate as direct follow-ups to the original classics have become increasingly popular in horror. Audiences were thrilled for 2018’s Halloween, which would bring back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode.

Halloween isn’t a bad sequel, but Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends make some wildly polarizing decisions that conclude the trilogy on a sour note. Not only is there barely enough material to sustain three films, but the events of Halloween Ends belittle what previously worked in 2018’s Halloween and only highlights the lack of a cohesive vision.

14 Sleepaway Camp’s Scares Are Driven Forward By Inappropriate Impulses

The counselors argue over the campers in Sleepaway Camp

The original Sleepaway Camp remains notorious for its big twist and the jarring visual that the movie goes out on. There are several Sleepaway Camp movies, all of which trivialize the trauma of the original movie and make troubling generalizations about Angela’s killer character in the sequels.

It shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise that these films from the 1980s are tone-deaf when it comes to gender. However, even the original Sleepaway Camp is incredibly inappropriate with some of its dialogue and what’s implied about its campers and counselors.

13 Saw’s Tenuous Twists Become Its Greatest Enemy

Jigsaw's victims with buckets on their heads in Jigsaw

James Wan’s Saw series is practically synonymous with the violent torture that filled 2000s horror even though the original Saw is a largely restrained movie. The first few Saw sequels continue to effectively build upon its world, but after nine movies and several soft reboots, the franchise’s universe has become increasingly incredulous.

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All of these movies become harder to revisit once a new piece of lore gets forced into the puzzle and even less makes sense. A tenth Saw installment is on the way, but it's unlikely that this 2023 horror release will suddenly redeem the sloppy sequels and neglectful narrative.

12 Jaws Gets Beached Early In Its Run

Shark swimming through the water in Jaws 3-D

To be clear, Steven Spielberg's Jaws remains a masterpiece in filmmaking and it hasn't aged poorly in the slightest. If anything, Jaws holds up just as well as it did nearly 50 years ago, which is a testament to its artistry. The same is not true for the three Jaws sequels that follow, all of which are especially difficult to return to now.

Jaws 2, Jaws 3-D, and Jaws: The Revenge were never seen as high art, but Jaws 3-D is essentially pointless to watch now outside of its original 3D context and is quite laughable when held up to modern 3D standards.

11 The Purge’s Politics Are Already Growing Dated

Purger held at gunpoint in The Forever Purge

The Purge deserves credit for actually trying to say something with its atrocities and this five-film franchise is the perfect example of a modern horror series that's consumed with the past decade's political and societal upheaval. The first Purge is a tight home invasion movie.

However, the series' scope grows increasingly larger by the time 2021's The Forever Purge concludes the chaotic franchise. The Purge attempts to bite off more than it can chew, and decisions to play around with chronology and put greater weight in the films' lore only disappoints audiences when it fails to come together or amount to much substance.

10 Children Of The Corn’s Crop Quickly Goes Out Of Season

A sacrifice is considered by the kids in Children of the Corn

Based upon a Stephen King short story, Children of the Corn tackles the creepy concept of a town that's seemingly run by children, all of whom seem to worship a harvest-based deity. Children of the Corn II and III are surprisingly strong horror films that are even superior to the original in certain ways.

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However, there’s an extremely steep drop-off in quality between Children of the Corn III and IV. It’s at this point that any of the previous movies’ charm disappears and they devolve into a bunch of easy clichés. It’s also not easy to find child actors who can rise to the occasion in these movies.

9 Leprechaun’s Evil Antics Begin To Turn Into A Parody

Leprechaun on a pogo stick in Leprechaun.

Leprechaun has surprisingly grown into a robust franchise, largely through Warwick Davis’ gleeful performance as the mischievous, murderous Leprechaun. It’s hard to not find some level of entertainment in the showmanship that goes into Davis’ performance as he mixes executions with silly limericks.

That being said, a franchise is clearly running out of ideas when it sends its murderous monster to Las Vegas, outer space, and “the hood.” The Leprechaun movies always try to be in on the joke, but there’s too much offensive dialogue and shameless nudity to justify what does work about these weird movies.

8 The Howling Runs Out Of Fresh Takes On Its Transformation Tale

The werewolf transformation scene from The Howling movie

A good werewolf movie is no easy feat and there's a tremendous amount of pressure on the quality of its transformation sequence. Joe Dante's The Howling does not disappoint, but there's also a very sick sense of humor that helps set this werewolf movie apart from others.

Unfortunately, there are seven sequels that don't have nearly as much to say and become progressively sloppy. The female-centric pivot in Howling II is the only interesting subversion, but it's not enough to elevate this franchise that's full of gratuitous nudity and regrettable, outdated tropes.

7 Puppet Master’s Dolls Double Down On The Wrong Ideas

Blade peeks around the corner in Puppet Master

Killer dolls have been a fascination of the horror genre long before Annabelle and Chucky accumulated body counts. The Puppet Master series started in the late 1980s and the original few films that detail an eclectic group of killer toys are actually quite impressive for their time.

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However, there are now more than a dozen Puppet Master movies, as well as spin-offs, that have progressively turned the eponymous puppets into allies instead of monsters. The Puppet Master franchise has also increasingly embraced World War II and Nazis since they tie into a pivotal piece of the series’ lore. This fascination with the Third Reich feels especially tone-deaf today.

6 A Few Strong Elements Doesn’t Fix Phantasm’s Shortcomings

Mike Pearson faces an orb attack in Phantasm

Don Coscarelli's Phantasm horror series spans five films. There's a certain reverence for these movies due to their iconic imagery, like the frighteningly sterile floating orbs and Angus Scrimm's dedicated performance as the mysterious Tall Man. It's appreciated that the Phantasm movies maintain consistent casting, but this might actually be one of the franchise's biggest hurdles.

There's not much to hold onto beyond Phantasm's beloved touchstones and these shortcomings are even more obvious today. The whole young underdogs against an evil force angle is a perfect fit for the 1980s, but the ways in which the Phantasm sequels attempt to raise the stakes come across as goofy, not intimidating.

5 The Amityville Horror Has Mortgaged Itself Beyond Recognition

The Lutzs pose in front of their new home in The Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror is viewed as one of the prototypical haunted house stories and it’s even creepier due to the fact that its general massacre is pulled from a real-life family tragedy. The first Amityville Horror holds up and Amityville II: The Possession is actually an impossibly bleak prequel that chronicles the original carnage that puts the events of the first film in motion.

These movies don’t shine as brightly as they once did. The original Amityville Horror franchise gets shaggy after its second installment, but the “brand” has been pushed to increasingly incredulous heights that exploit the Amityville name, like Amityville Dollhouse and Amityville in Space.

4 Silent Night, Deadly Night Begins To Exploit Its Grim Themes

Ricky freaks out while in a Santa costume in Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2

A killer Santa at Christmas is a cherished holiday horror trope that's been around for decades. There is still no shortage of murderous Santa movies as well as subversive spins on the idea, but for years Silent Night, Deadly Night was considered to be the apex of this sub-genre.

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There are five movies in the franchise (as well as a modern remake), but they quickly go off the rails and feature other holiday-based horror beyond the killer Santa motif. Silent Night, Deadly Night is maybe fun if someone has never seen another horror movie about Santa, but otherwise it wears out its welcome fast.

3 Hellraiser’s Elegance Gets Lost In The Endless Cenobite Shuffle

The cenobites make a proposition in Hellraiser

Clive Barker's Hellraiser is frequently put in the pantheon of horror legends, largely because of the nightmarish design for Pinhead and the rest of the Cenobites. Hellraiser trades in gothic horror and philosophical questions that are frequently absent in the genre.

There are ten original Hellraiser films, but the majority of them are direct-to-video fare that get lost in the unnerving Cenobites and fail to recognize the gory austerity of Barker's original works. David Bruckner's 2022 Hellraiser remake has rebooted the series in an encouraging way that hints towards a bright future, but it doesn't erase its messy past.

2 It’s Increasingly Hard For Newcomers To Appreciate The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Leatherface stalks his prey in Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a pivotal horror movie that helped the genre evolve and embrace grittier aesthetics. However, so many of these movies are dependent upon the audience buying into the Sawyer family’s tense atmosphere. Any franchise that’s this heightened needs to take that into consideration.

The identity crisis that the franchise has experienced over the past few decades also hasn’t helped. Endless Leatherface origin stories are attempted to no avail and the recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre legacy sequel left even the most apologetic of fans feeling like they were watching a parody.

1 Friday The 13th Is More Gratuitous Than Groundbreaking

Jason Voorhees attacks campers in Friday the 13th

Friday and the 13th and its murderous mascot, Jason Voorhees, is one of the biggest slasher icons of all time. There’s a scary simplicity to Jason’s hockey mask attire, but Sean S. Cunningham has never hidden the fact that the movie intentionally mimicked Halloween to capitalize on its success.

Jason remains a legend, but he’s almost a character that’s stronger out of context. A dedicated rewatch of these movies only highlights their weakness and rampant tactics to draw in teen audiences. The middle entries are subjected to incessant MPAA censorship and interference, which also defangs these films.

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