10 Horror Movie Franchises With Only One Great Movie

10. Phantasm

Phantasm was not universally beloved when debuted in 1979, but over the time it's earned the status of cult classic.

It's the tale of Mike, a 13-year-old boy who discovers that the town's undertaker (known as The Tall Man) is actually an alien who is turning dead people into tiny slaves to send back to his home planet.

Not kidding, that's really what it's about.

The first Phantasm film has been retrospectively praised for its originality and scare factor. As for the films that followed it, they weren't so lucky.

Three sequels followed in the 80s and 90s, but a mistake was made right out of the gate. Phantasm II recast lead actor A. Michael Baldwin in the role of Mike, which drew significant backlash from fans.

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead was slightly better reviewed but it still wasn't on par with the original. The fourth one was fine and not even a fifth instalment released in 2016 could recapture the original Phantasm magic.

Tall Man actor Angus Scrimm died shortly before the fifth movie came out, so unless the franchise wants to risk another recasting, they may never get a chance to top their first attempt.