10 Horror Movie Franchises That Forgot How To Be Scary
You can be scary or you can do commercials - you can't have it both ways.
Since John Carpenter's Halloween launched the slasher genre in full force, setting off a slew of pale, gorier and less impressive imitations that dominated the 80s box office.
However these successful cycles of franchises are repetitive in nature and by the early 90s, they'd outlived their popularity. That all changed when Kevin Williamson breathed new life in the genre with Scream, setting off another line of hard-R rated horror movies with their own distinct killers.
Icons of horror films are known for being intimidating in ways unimagined previously - be them from dreams, the outback, the water or Anywhere, U.S.A. - and their unstoppable lust for innocent blood can keep audiences squirming for 90 minutes to a full decade.
But even the longest-running franchises can grow stale or forget their roots. The monsters that once haunted our dreams are now action figures and trend-setters. Here are a few that all but gave up trying to scare theatregoers.
10. Saw
It's easy to forget, with 6 sequels, a prequel and the upcoming Chris Rock/Samuel L. Jackson-led reboot, that Saw had meager beginnings. Initially just a horror short by James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell featuring the infamous reverse bear trap device, the two expanded the concept into a feature film and, through word of mouth, it made the festival circuit to much critical acclaim - particularly among genre buffs.
Within a year, a sequel would be released, soon to become an annual event. What gets drowned out, however, is how different the first film is compared to its follow-ups.
With the original, it's the horrific imagery and atmosphere that defines it, not the outright grossness of it. Wan even has the decency to obscure or even cut away at more gruesome moments, letting your imagination do the work.
However, each sequel upped the gore factor, becoming one of the lead contributors to the propagation of the term "torture porn." By the last few films, any thought of being scary was secondary to being disgusting.
By the time he was replaced by Darren Lynn Bousman for part II, the bloodier, the better.