10 Horror Movie Franchises That Overstayed Their Welcome

As was the initial plan, the Friday the 13th franchise could've easily concluded with the purposely-titled Final Chapter back in 1984. There, at the close of that fourth film, Jason Voorhees had been brutally hacked up by young Tommy Jarvis, bringing an end to Jason's rampage and showcasing that Tommy himself was clearly a troubled kid who you needed to keep an eye on.

Still, when The Final Chapter performed strongly at the box office, Paramount Pictures of course decided there was still plenty more to be milked from the teet of this franchise, and thus Friday the 13th: A New Beginning arrived one year later - this time, infamously featuring Jason copycat Roy Burns as the hockey mask-adorned figure tormenting Tommy and his pals.

The series couldn't end with a Jason wannabe, mind, and so Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives now seems like the ideal moment to have called time on the series. That brought Jason back for one more battle with Jarvis, nicely wrapping up the Tommy Jarvis trilogy and meaning there'd be no god-awful Part VII: The New Blood, no much-maligned boat trip action in Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, no horrendous 'spirit of Jason' BS in Jason Goes to Hell, and no likewise forever dumped-on venture into space in Jason X.