What’s Next for Halloween, Hellraiser, Scream, Friday the 13th, and Other Classic Horror Movie Franchises – Den of Geek

The Exorcist

We all know the score on The Exorcist: William Friedkins 1973 original film (adapted by the books author, William Peter Blatty) is a stone-cold masterpiece, arguably the greatest horror film of all time, and remains so even if Friedkin and Blatty have tinkered with it from time to time. Blattys own follow-up, 1990s Exorcist III, is a minor classic on its own terms and certainly the film that comes the closest in spirit to the original. The other three 1977s Exorcist II: The Heretic, 2004s Exorcist: The Beginning, and 2005s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist are each a disaster in their own way, while the two-season 2016 TV series, The Exorcist, probably got better reviews than anything since the first movie.

Blatty is dead and Friedkin has had nothing to do with the brand for years, but Blumhouse and Universal have recently acquired the rights and plan to give it the same three-film, legacy-sequel treatment that they gave Halloween, with David Gordon Green directing, original star Ellen Burstyn on board as the legacy star, and the rest of us wondering why anyone thinks this is a good idea.

As with so many films on this list, Tobe Hoopers original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) remains a landmark in horror history, with primary villain Leatherface becoming a genre icon in his own right. Hoopers film has never been topped for its surreal, unrelentingly nightmarish aesthetic (not even by Hooper himself, who went for more of a black comedy vibe with 1986s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), and the succeeding mish-mash of sequels, prequels, and remakes have proven to be mostly barren of anything worthwhile, with one or two exceptions (Marcus Nispels 2005 remake has its moments).

The latest addition to the brand, Netflixs Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was a dreary, amateurish, offensive mess that screamed cash grab for the entirety of its too-long 83-minute running time. Weirdly the same guy who did the 2013 Evil Dead reboot (Fede Alvarez) was involved in conceiving the story for this, but without the supervision of anyone who cared (Hooper passed away five years ago), we can imagine more feckless producers glomming onto this property.

Seven films, one remake and a TV series later, that indestructible doll known as Chucky continues to fascinate fans old and new. The first movie is a minor classic, establishing Chucky (and the actor voicing him, Brad Dourif) as a durable horror icon. What makes Childs Play/Chucky interesting is that, under the supervision of creator Don Mancini (who wrote all seven of the original series of films and directed the last three), the series evolved from more or less straight genre fare into a kind of campy, self-aware, often darkly amusing comedy-horror hybrid.

Neither Mancini nor Dourif was involved with the dull 2019 remake, which dispensed with Chuckys well-established supernatural origins in favor of a new high-tech backstory. It didnt really take with audiences, grossing just $45 million worldwide, while critics were slightly kinder. Mancini, Dourif, and Jennifer Tilly (who voiced Tiffany in the films) have all returned for the SyFy show Chucky, which just began its second season this month and is part of the original movies continuity, so Chucky and friends continue to live and perhaps even thrive.

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What's Next for Halloween, Hellraiser, Scream, Friday the 13th, and Other Classic Horror Movie Franchises - Den of Geek