10 Film Franchises You Really Should Stop Watching After The First Movie
1. Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece Psycho is widely considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time and a definitive entry in the horror genre. Starring Anthony Perkins as the mercurial Norman Bates, the movie's shower scene, which showed Janet Leigh's character getting mercilessly stabbed to a soundtrack of screeching, staccato violins, was not only one of the most famous scenes in cinematic history, but also made an entire generation of moviegoers paranoid about taking a shower alone.
The movie was released during a time when movies just didn't have sequels. And besides, who would be crazy enough to try and put the "Psycho" name on another movie considering just how influential the film was? And yet, somebody did - three times over.
After Hitchcock's death in 1980, a sequel, written by Tom Holland and directed by Richard Franklin, was developed. 1983's Psycho II featured Perkins reprising his role as Norman, but was more of a straight-up slasher film than a psychological mind game like its predecessor.
Critics didn't hate it as much as questioned why a sequel to such a landmark film was made. Perkins returned again in 1986's Psycho III, and then 1990's made-for-cable Psycho IV.
Each entry got subsequently worse, as the name of Psycho has felt battered and tarnished ever since.