A Bloody Good Time 10.8.09: The Twenty Greatest Horror Franchises (Part 2)

Posted by Joseph Lee on 10.08.2009

Evil comes in all shapes and sizes.

Logo courtesy of Benjamin J. Colón (Soul Exodus)

Welcome again to A Bloody Good Time.

First of all, I'd like to link you to Trevor Snyder's Zombie-Thon. He does this every year and it's always a great read. Check it out.

Next, there would be feedback, but most of the comments were just praising me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but it would be kind of boring to reply to messages of "This is a great idea!" over and over. So let me just say thank you for the kind words and be sure to reply with whatever you have. I enjoy hearing from my readers. Let's see if there is anything I can reply to.

Michael L gives his thoughts on the Final Destination franchise: Having seen all the Final Destination films, I agree that the first two are definitely superior to the second two. However, I think FD 3 was actually entertaining in its own right, while FD 4 was just plain godawful, for two main reasons. First, it essentially violates its own rules regarding the order of deaths and what happens when or if somebody gets saved. Also, the character are even more one-dimensional here than they are in FD3. Not that charactarization has ever been a big part of the series, but I couldn't find anything compelling about most of the main characters, with the exception of the black security guard who wants to die anyway because his wife passed away years prior. Other than him, the rest of the cast is going through the motions while waiting for the next death.

I agree with this, except I don't like the third entry. The Final Destination's guard was a good character, and I enjoyed the fact that he couldn't kill himself. You die when Death decides, not by your own hand!

Jeff Albertson had a crazy idea: Dude. I have read all of your stuff, and outside of the Ed Wood deal its all been great. The horror franchise list is a great idea and i cant wait to read the rest. i am sure that we can pick the front runners, but im reading anyway. I pray every night to the god of horror movies[ that wouldnt be satan would it?]that some one has the balls to remake destroy all monsters using the greatest horror villians of all time. my god this movie would rock and you wouldnt even need a plot. Just put the charchters on an island[ you can even make it isla nubar if you really want to] put the villains in 3 teams, led by Dracula, Freddy, and Damien thorne bring all the big names in[even a few jobbers like dr. giggles] and unleash hell. If anyone ever makes this movie i will wait in line for days to see it. for an added twist surround the island with all of the Sharks from every shark movie [good and bad]

A giant Destroy All Monsters battle between the modern monsters would be something special, but it'll never happen. The reason Toho pulled it off was because they owned all the characters. Universal did similar films in the 1940's. No one has a horror monopoly anymore so giant mashups can't happen.

Just in case you didn't read last week's edition, I'll not only link you to that (click here) but I'll be repeating the introduction for each part so you know my thought process going into it. If you've read it before, just skip ahead to the next part of this month-long countdown!

The 20 Greatest Horror Franchises

There are a lot of franchises out there. Hollywood tries to make a sequel out of anything, sometimes even if it's not successful. Who would have thought Wrong Turn would be a trilogy? Not that I have any problems with that movie. Did anyone think that the terrible Pulse remake would get it's own trilogy? So anything can be a franchise, and there are many out there to choose from. But what are the best?

What I've done is take three things into consideration when choosing these twenty. The first is how much success the franchise has had. It doesn't have to be huge financial success, as there have been quite a number of low-budget franchises (like anything from Full Moon) that keep getting made because of a small but loyal fanbase and enough success to warrant more entries. Some of them may be hated by fans and critics alike, but somehow keep making money. That's a successful franchise.

The second factor is critical acclaim. I don't mean critical acclaim as just from the critics, but the general consensus of the quality of the films. Some franchises can be half and half, some can have a series that completely sucks and in some rare cases, have one film that's unquestionably great but have a series of bland, uninspired sequels to drag it down. You will see a variety of franchises here, and they will all have different qualities that may have you question why there are on here. But if they are successful or have one really good movie, it's enough to earn a spot.

The final factor is my own personal preference. I'm not going to hide it from you. Every single list I've ever written for 411 has been my own personal opinion. In fact, this is the only time where I've taken other considerations into account. I may think Leprechaun is the greatest series of horror films ever produced (I don't), but this time that's not going to slide. I'm taking the franchises success and quality into account, as well as my own tastes.

So last week we had The Tall Man, Death, Hammer's Dracula and a giant shark all make the list. Which monsters and their franchises will turn up this time? Let's find out with the second part: #16-13.

#16


Reign of Terror: 1989-2009
# of Films: Ten
Total Theatrical Gross: N/A
Recurring Stars: Guy Rolfe, Gordon Currie, Chandra West, Teresa Hill
Story: A series of films about a group of puppets that kill for good or bad, depending on who is in control of them.

Some of you may question putting this franchise on the list of all, especially ahead of Phantasm. Well I'm going to get into why it's here but personally I have a soft spot for all of these movies, even the really bad ones. Sure, you could argue they're all bad but let's not. In my opinion there are two good movies and the rest are varying degrees of quality, but they're all cheesy B-movies and I love them. How could you not love the antics of Blade, Tunneler, Leech Woman, Pinhead (no not that one) and Jester?

There would be other puppets later, and some puppets would die, but that is the core group. They're smaller than Chucky, so most realism is out the window, but they do have weapons, magical abilities and strength in numbers to give them an edge. The later puppets were even stronger, such as Six-Shooter and Torch with some more firepower. I don't know why it is that I love these films, I just do. They're really fun to watch, even though they have bad special effects (outside of the puppet effects), worse acting and the continuity between films is a pain in the neck.

There have been nine films to date, with a tenth coming at the end of the year. This franchise is still going strong because of a continuous devoted fanbase. Full Moon's tried to make other films before into potential franchises...remember Head of the Family? Some are more successful than others and Puppet Master is the biggest name on the roster. There are lesser-known franchises that are also successful (Trancers and Subspecies) but when you think of Full Moon, it's likely the foot-tall puppets that your mind goes to.

What kinds of stories could involve a series of puppets for ten films? Well the first is an origin story as a group of psychics explore a hotel. This is where the rules of the puppets are established as well as their powers. For example, it doesn't matter if you are the current Puppet Master, you do not anger the puppets. The later entries focused on a resurrected Andre Toulon, either back from the dead in 2, through a prequel in 3 or possessing a doll in 4-5. The later sequels were more origin tales (Retro Puppet Master), brand new stories (Curse of the Puppet Master, or just a clip show in tribute (Puppet Master: The Legacy). There was also a made-for-tv crossover with the Demonic Toys, but it wasn't created by Full Moon and it's really, really bad.

The next film, Puppet Master: Axis of Evil will attempt to fill in the years between Andre Toulon's death and the first film. So yes, it's another prequel of puppets vs Nazis. But the fact that twenty years after it's beginning there are still movies about killer puppets says that this franchise is more than deserving of it's spot.




#15


Reign of Terror:1979-2010
# of Films: Eight (one in production)
Total Theatrical Gross: $1.01b
Recurring Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Lance Henriksen, Kevin Peter Hall
Story: One series featured a group of acid-bleeding aliens that try and kill and use varying groups of humans for reproducing. The other series featured a tribe of hunter-aliens that would hunt humans for sport. Eventually both series combined into one with a couple of films in which the two species fought each other.

Yes, it's kind of a cheat to throw the Alien and Predator franchises together as one, but seeing as how they sort of combined into one after Alien vs Predator and the following sequel, I'm going to go with it. This is a series that since the first Alien film, has been around for thirty years. So it has longevity on it's side. There's very few franchises that have been around for quite that long. Some come close, and some do tie.

This franchise also has a staggering lifetime gross of over one billion dollars. Yes that's because of eight films, but also because of the enormous popularity of the two characters. It makes sense, both the Xenomorph and the Predator are two very cool-looking (if also ugly) creatures and they have a mystique about them. What is their nature? Where do they come from? These are answers never really revealed in the course of the films. All we know is that they don't like humans very much. Okay, we know a little more than that, but you get the idea.

The Alien series actually makes up a little more than half of the franchise's gross, while the Predator and Alien vs Predator films make up the other half. The Aliens have been around longer, but the Predators only needed two single films to leave their mark. The other big aspect of the Alien films, aside from the creatures, is Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. She's become an iconic film heroine and one of the greatest film characters of all time. The Predator films never really had one singular hero, although both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover did battle with the creature.

Then, of course, the two monsters collided in 2004 with Alien vs Predator. Fans were in an uproar because of a PG-13 rating (although, honestly, it's been well established that films don't have to have an R-rating to be good), and when the movie came out, they hated it for everything else. The Alien vs Predator films have been generally looked at as a low point in both franchises, but I don't think they're that bad. Of course they're not really great but seeing the Predators fight the Aliens was awesome and that has to count for something.

At the end of the day these films appeal to several different audiences. There's horror, action and sci-fi elements and it's mostly a fun series known for it's gore, mood and atmosphere. This franchise has been around longer than most other horror franchises and has made far more money than many of the ones that will end up on this list.




#14


Reign of Terror: 1988-2004
# of Films: Five
Total Theatrical Gross: $126m
Recurring Stars: Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent
Story: A series of films about a doll possessed with the soul of a serial killer, as he tries to find a new body to take over. He usually kills anyone in his way.

I've talked a lot about Chucky recently, but it was all negative. Believe it or not I do have a lot of positive things to say about this franchise, as I do enjoy it quite a bit. It's a lot like Puppet Master in that the series is really ridiculous, but it has one benefit that Andre Toulon's puppets do not: Brad Dourif.

Let me take this opportunity to praise Mr. Dourif. In my opinion, the man does not get a lot of love for his acting and he really should. He was nominated for an Academy Award when he first started out in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, he played maniacs in The Exorcist III and an episode of The X-Files which were brilliant performances. He also got a supporting role in Lord of the Rings and went on to play Sheriff Brackett in the Halloween relaunch. His performance in H2: Halloween 2 was the best of both films.

It was in this series that I learned about him, as he lent his voice acting to Chucky. Even when he's just providing the voice of a doll, he steals the show. In my opinion, Brad Dourif somehow becomes Chucky instead of just lending his voice to a role. Chucky is just as much a character in these films as anyone else, and part of that is through Dourif. Another big part is through the special effects, which used an animatronic robot to act out Chucky's scenes. They were brilliant effects that made the doll take life in a way that no other film had really done to that point.

The films took a downturn in the 90's when Universal realized that they had a cash cow and attempted to milk Chucky for all he's worth. His franchise died off for a little while and then was revamped as a horror-comedy series when producers realized that no one found Chucky scary anymore (if they did at all). This brought in Jennifer Tilly to play Tiffany, Chucky's bride. The films because self-referential and funny, with much more blood and pop culture references.

Now the series will be rebooted, with both Don Mancini and Brad Dourif returning. Will it be a straight up remake or just an attempt to make Chucky relevant and scary again for today's audiences? I'm thinking the latter, because why keep Dourif if they were going to start from scratch? Whatever the case, Chucky will still be around, doing what he does best. This series has a unique premise, a great actor as it's lead and the movies are usually very fun. That's why Child's Play makes the list.




#13


Reign of Terror: 1986-2007
# of Films: Five
Total Theatrical Gross: $924m
Recurring Stars: Anthony Hopkins
Story: Whether behind bars or out in the open, Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter is one of the most dangerous serial killers ever.

Finally, we get to Dr. Hannibal Lecter. For a film series (based on a book series) that started out as a low-budget thriller in the 80's, this series really took off to be a huge money-maker for it's studio and something of a career reinvention for Anthony Hopkins. This wasn't because of Manhunter the movie that started it all in 1986. Sure, it's a good thriller and it certainly has it's fans, but it would be silly to credit it for the reason most people know who Hannibal is. Starring William Petersen and Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter, it was the first attempt to adapt Thomas Harris' Red Dragon for the cinema.

It wouldn't be until six years later that the series would really take shape into what it is today. The Silence of the Lambs featured Anthony Hopkins take over the role of Hannibal and it added a cast including Jodie Foster and Ted Levine. Not only did Silence of the Lambs clean up financially (over $270 million), but it also won all of the top awards at the Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Horror rarely gets any kind of credit at the Academy Awards. Yes I know there are some of you who feel this isn't horror, but let's not bring up that debate again.

The series would continue with Hannibal, a remake of Red Dragon and a prequel film called Hannibal Rising, all based on books by Thomas Harris. Anthony Hopkins continued the trend of playing the role, except in the case of the prequel where a younger actor took over. This series of films has it's biggest strong point in always finding top notch actors to bolster it's cast and make the films a step above the average horror film. Anthony Hopkins in particular added a sense of class to the films and made Hannibal not only terrifying, but someone you respected for his intellect.

Hannibal Rising is considered the weak point of the films, because it lacks what made the films great. It was nothing more than a below-average tale of vengeance that attempted to make the audience completely sympathize with the demented Dr. Lecter. It was a dumbed down tale of Hannibal, and could have been a lot better. But other than that, this series has been mostly great, and the fact it's won the awards and made the money it has speaks to that. I hope we will one day see Hannibal again, but the fact that remakes are prevalent doesn't make me that enthusiastic. This is a series of classy horror films with a man that is smart, almost regal and psychotic.



That's it for this week. Next week we reach the halfway point and encounter even more iconic franchises, some of which changed the way horror films were made.