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Top 10 Horror Film Franchises

With many horror sequels, remakes, and reboots on the horizon ala “Candyman,” “Spiral,” and “Halloween Kills,” I thought I’d make up a list of my favorite horror film franchises (in no special order). There are a few that almost made the cut like Alien, but the last 2 abominations effectively annihilated any interest I ever had in that series. Anyway, on with the list!

1. Friday The 13th- Are the F!3 films great cinema? Absolutely not, but they are all (mostly) very rewatchable, atmospheric, and entertaining. Note: The first 4 and “Jason Lives” are easily the best. 

2. A Nightmare On Elm Street- Since we collectively disown the remake, we don’t need to talk about that one. As for the rest of the series, there are some dopey sequels, but this is the rare series in which fans are always debating which one is the best- the original, Dream Warriors or even New Nightmare.

3. Halloween- There’s no doubt this franchise has had many ups and downs, but I’m always game to see the next entry (which happens to be “Halloween Kills”). For me, the best in the series are 1, 2, 4 and H20.

4. Final Destination- Aside from “The Final Destination (AKA the fourth one no one ever talks about), this is a very consistent horror franchise that offered up a nice twist on the slasher formula (not to mention some of the most haunting death sequences ever filmed). 

5. Scream- Aside from the messy “Scream 3,” this is a fun meta slasher franchise. Obviously the first is the cream of the crop, but 2 and 4 are worthy sequels. Heck, I even liked some of the TV series (even though they are not really related). Hopefully the rumored fifth installment will happen someday soon.

6. The Evil Dead- I’m not a fan of the remake but the trilogy and “Ash Vs. Evil Dead” are horror comedy at its finest. Hail to the King, baby. 

7. Child’s Play/Chucky- It’s not uncommon for certain horror franchises to have a switch in tone from horror to horror-comedy, but this one did it in arguably the best way. The first 2 “Child’s Play” films are good old fashioned traditional horror, but “Bride of Chucky” turned the franchise on its head with its clever spoofs on genre conventions. None of the sequels are what I would consider bad although some are definitely better than others. Even the remake had its moments. I’m most intrigued by the forthcoming TV series though which has a ton of potential if done right. 

8. Frankenstein (Universal Classic Monsters)- We all know 1931’s  “Frankenstein” is one of the all-time great horror films, but, in terms of sequels, it doesn’t get much better than “The Bride of Frankenstein” and “Son Of Frankenstein.” Sure, some of the later sequels were mediocre, but that 3 film run is as good as any around.

9. Godzilla- You can argue this is more of a sci-fi franchise, but Godzilla is a monster so I think it has merit being here. However you categorize the Big G, the franchise is easily one of my favorites. It may have its ups and downs, but I love seeing how it evolved over the decades and what sort of topics and time period specific subjects the franchise covers be it pollution or humanity dealing with disasters.

10. The Shining- I have no idea if we will see another sequel, spin-off or TV series in this universe, but one thing is certain- “The Shining” and last year’s deeply underrated “Doctor Sleep” are among the best horror films ever made.

June 9, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | List | A Nightmare On Elm Street, Best Horror Film Series, Child's Play, Chucky, Doctor Sleep, Final Destination, Frankenstein, Friday the 13th, Godzilla, Halloween, Horror Film Franchises, Horror Film Series, Scream, The Evil Dead, The Shining, Top 10 Horror Film Franchises