10 Horror Franchises That Need A Revival

2. Blair Witch

The Blair Witch Project
Artisan Entertainment

The Blair Witch Project came out of nowhere in 1999 and blew audiences away, popularising the found footage genre and serving as a blueprint for an entire generation's worth of pale imitations.

Despite the original movie grossing a ludicrous $248.6 million against a mere $60,000 budget, a more conventional, cinematic sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, was quickly rushed out the very next year. It tanked with both audiences and critics, killing what could've been a colossal cash cow for Artisan Entertainment.

In 2016 a reboot-sequel was attempted, which while hewing closer to the style of the original film, ultimately ended up feeling like a cynical rehash. Surprisingly, it failed to catch on with a new generation in the same way that the original did, grossing a decent but unremarkable $45 million against its $5 million budget.

Once again, the franchise has been put on ice, despite there being obviously huge potential to do more with this property and its titular villain.

A new movie can't just recycle the lost-in-the-woods formula yet again, so it'd certainly need a new locale to shake things up - the snow-topped wilderness, perhaps? - but with the right filmmaker and tone, it's easy to imagine a studio like Blumhouse restoring the series' iconic power.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.