Horror Franchises

[JayTL]

Happy (Early) Halloween!

I was listening to a Podcast that ranked a ****load of horror franchises. And they said some things I liked and some I didn't, so let's (try to) have a nice civil discussion.

Do you consider the individual parts of the franchise when talking about franchises? Or the whole franchise as one piece?

How much weight do you put on the best movie, as opposed to the worst?

Are disconnected films a part of a franchise? Is "The Living Dead" a franchise, as opposed to a few separate movies made by someone?

What would your top 5 be? Top 10?

What about remakes? Do you take into account the Poltergeist remake when thinking about the franchise? TCM? Halloween? Etc

Is Alien a Horror Franchise?

[Batman1980]

Alien is not a horror franchise, it is a sci-fi franchise with some horror elements in the first 2 films.

[JayTL]

I consider Friday the 13th the best horror franchise. While I wouldn't consider any of them in my top 5 horror movies of all time, it's consistent enough throughout the entire franchise enough to put it over the top. Where in I think Texas Chain Saw, Halloween, ANOES, etc have had some very bad entries that make me rank it lower.

The fact that TCM has a great first movie, and 'okay' to very poor films make me drop it off the top 5, which surprised me when I did my rankings.

Originally Posted by Batman1980

Alien is not a horror franchise, it is a sci-fi franchise with some horror elements in the first 2 films.

I'd say Covenant is pretty much a horror movie, and Alien/Alien3 have enough horror elements. I'd argue about half of the franchise is more horror, while some are action

1. Friday the 13th
2. The Living Dead
3. Halloween
4. Alien
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by JayTL

I consider Friday the 13th the best horror franchise. While I wouldn't consider any of them in my top 5 horror movies of all time, it's consistent enough throughout the entire franchise enough to put it over the top. Where in I think Texas Chain Saw, Halloween, ANOES, etc have had some very bad entries that make me rank it lower.

The fact that TCM has a great first movie, and 'okay' to very poor films make me drop it off the top 5, which surprised me when I did my rankings.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by JayTL

Is Alien a Horror Franchise?

Yes.

[JayTL]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

God, it had some good ideas. But that execution.

[Cremildo]

Alien is synonymous with sci-fi to me.

[vertigop1ayer]

Naturally it's highly subjective, but I consider each individual film in a series or franchise a unique work that may or may not fit into particular genres. Alien and Alien: Covenant, for example, are horror films in my view. Similarly, Deadpool was a comedy where New Mutants or Logan were not.

My personal rating of a total franchise is kind of focused on the best of its content because to me that demonstrates the peak of what that franchise/series can be.

Anything as part of a brand is part of that franchise in my opinion, for better or worse.

[CreasyBear]

I had a tough time deciding, at work, where to put Alien and Aliens. Do I put it in Horror or Sci-fi? Ultimately, I decided to put them in the Sci-Fi section. If we're just talking the first film, it's absolutely a horror movie first and a sci-fi film second. The sci-fi element is just the setting, but the tone and goal is a horror film. But the rest of the series is definitely more sci-fi.

[JayTL]

Originally Posted by vertigop1ayer

Naturally it's highly subjective, but I consider each individual film in a series or franchise a unique work that may or may not fit into particular genres. Alien and Alien: Covenant, for example, are horror films in my view. Similarly, Deadpool was a comedy where New Mutants or Logan were not.

My personal rating of a total franchise is kind of focused on the best of its content because to me that demonstrates the peak of what that franchise/series can be.

Anything as part of a brand is part of that franchise in my opinion, for better or worse.

Agree. Halloween being my favorite slasher of all time, makes it a top 5 franchise. But honestly, I'm not a huge fan of...maybe half the franchise? But the original movie is just that good.

[Batman1980]

1. Friday the 13th
2. Scream
3. Halloween
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

[CreasyBear]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

1. Friday the 13th
2. Scream
3. Halloween
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

[JayTL]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

1. Friday the 13th
2. Scream
3. Halloween
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

I can't put Scream that high. I really liked the first one... the rest were okay in my opinion

[vertigop1ayer]

Originally Posted by JayTL

Agree. Halloween being my favorite slasher of all time, makes it a top 5 franchise. But honestly, I'm not a huge fan of...maybe half the franchise? But the original movie is just that good.

Funny you mention that. I only in recent Octobers began working my through Halloween (not really a slasher movie person). The original was an excellent film, and I liked the sequel and 2018. Movies 4-8 have been entertaining but I bet I will struggle to differentiate them once time has passed. Fans dislike it and it was executionally not good, but the third movie was more interesting in its premise given what Carpenter and others were hoping to do with the franchise at that point.

And since Alien has been mentioned in the thread, I think the quality of the first couple of Alien movies (and frankly I enjoy Prometheus for what it COULD have been the beginning of) keep the franchise relevant to me.

[plissken99]

Originally Posted by JayTL

Agree. Halloween being my favorite slasher of all time, makes it a top 5 franchise. But honestly, I'm not a huge fan of...maybe half the franchise? But the original movie is just that good.

This is a good example of how I feel about franchises. Individual films from them can and should be taken aside and weighed separately. Then it’s fun to take a look at all of them and compare to other franchises. Remakes are different animals all together. Sci fi is sci fi, though this is a very blurry line. I’d have a hard time deciding where to put Event Horizon for example, though it’s horror. For me a sci fi movie becomes horror once supernatural elements take over. As at that point you’re beyond the science.

For me you can’t beat A Nightmare on Elm Street as a horror franchise. Though the sequels definitely vary in quality, none of them are cookie cutter. Seen one Friday the 13th you’ve seen em all, Freddy movies always try something different. Cool/weird thing I noticed last time through them; Freddys victims are all sympathetic, there’s no toxic jocks, bullies or even annoying kids you can’t wait to get it in any of the movies.

[JayTL]

Originally Posted by plissken99

This is a good example of how I feel about franchises. Individual films from them can and should be taken aside and weighed separately. Then it’s fun to take a look at all of them and compare to other franchises. Remakes are different animals all together. Sci fi is sci fi, though this is a very blurry line. I’d have a hard time deciding where to put Event Horizon for example, though it’s horror. For me a sci fi movie becomes horror once supernatural elements take over.

For me you can’t beat A Nightmare on Elm Street as a horror franchise. Though the sequels definitely vary in quality, none of them are cookie cutter. Seen one Friday the 13th you’ve seen em all, Freddy movies always try something different. Cool/weird thing I noticed last time through them; Freddys victims are all sympathetic, there’s no toxic jocks, bullies or even annoying kids you can’t wait to get it in any of the movies.

We have the same thought process, but different mentalities. You say FT13 are cookie cutter, but that consistency is what makes me rank it that high. Where the highs of NOES are high, but the lows are very low IMO

I will agree with the victims though. Most of the NOES aren't bad people. It's not like FT13 had too many bad people (although it definitely had more than Nightmare). That was my issue with the Friday remake. Everyone sucked in it. Only thing missing was them playing Fortnite or something.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by plissken99

or even annoying kids you can’t wait to get it in any of the movies.

Part 3 has a few.

[filmbuffTX]

Final Destination is one of the most consistent horror franchises. One of the many reasons I enjoy Friday the 13th so much is its consistency. 1-6 are very consistent and 7 & 8 just barely miss the mark. It makes for very easy and fun marathoning. Each film just flows into the next. You can't say that about too many horror franchises or franchises in general. For example Halloween and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre have so many ups and downs as far as quality goes and the varying story lines.

[plissken99]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

Part 3 has a few.

..maybe the wanna be actress(a realistic 16yr old girl back then), DnD rules so know you don’t mean The Wizard Master.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by plissken99

..maybe the wanna be actress(a realistic 16yr old girl back then), DnD rules so know you don’t mean The Wizard Master.

Bingo.