8 Films That Were Supposed To End The Series (But Got Sequels Anyway)

Never trust a movie with "final" in the title.

Friday the 13th The Final Chapter
Paramount Pictures

Good news for film fans this week: Paramount has announced that Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension will be the last entry in the drawn-out horror franchise. But can audiences really trust the studio when they say that this is the end? The history of cinema suggests that they're completely full of crap, even if they don't know it themselves yet.

Nothing ever truly dies in Hollywood, and for decades studios have been promising to end franchises only to go back on their word and release another sequel a few years later. That was the case with these 8 movies where slapping "the final chapter" on the poster was pretty much just a marketing ploy. Yet the average consumer keeps buying into it again and again.

So why do they keep doing this? After diminishing box office returns, advertising a movie as the grand finale gives consumers more of a reason to see it because now it's an event. Then when the film does extremely well, the studio can justify making more sequels. The integrity of the story doesn't seem to matter.

Keeping in mind that history tends to repeat itself, let's take a look at 8 films that were supposed to end the series, but they just got more sequels anyway. 

8. Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter

Friday the 13th The Final Chapter
Paramount Pictures

How long until the next one: One year

Number of movies after this: Six

How they tried to end it: Jason dies

It's amusing to think of the fourth Friday the 13th as "the final chapter," as the franchise now comprises ten movies. Yes, the film that's supposed to be the last one isn't even the halfway point.

The trailers for this supposed final installment declared that "Jason's reign of terror is over." It lives up to that promise and actually kills Jason for real, giving him no chance to come back. But then the film made a whole lot of money, so Paramount just said screw it and financed another one immediately. Part V was rushed into theaters the following year. 

Believe it or not, they actually pulled this same trick again with the ninth movie, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. Again it was marketed as the last one, again it had "final" in the title, and again another sequel was produced anyway. The writers made a valiant effort to end this series two different times, but they made the same crucial mistake the teenagers in these movies do: thinking Jason can actually be killed for good.

Contributor
Contributor

Lover of horror movies, liker of other things. Your favorite Friday the 13th says a lot about you as a person, and mine is Part IV: The Final Chapter.