15 Massive Movie Franchises That Have More Great Entries Than Rubbish Ones

11. Frankenstein (Universal)

Total Number of Films: 8

Great: Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Rubbish: The Ghost of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula

A case could be made here for counting the entire Universal monster movie pantheon as a single franchise, given that from House of Frankenstein onwards it was established that all the studio's horror icons existed within the same universe. However, I've decided not to honour this, as that creative decision wasn't made until comparatively late in the day, when the monsters were starting to get stale.

The original two Frankenstein movies from director James Whale remain the crown jewels of the Universal horror, ranking among the very best films ever made in the genre to this day - and standing significantly above all the sequels that followed.

Even so, third film Son of Frankenstein is an enjoyable Gothic melodrama with a nice central turn from Basil Rathbone, and there's no denying it's fun to see the Monster bash heads with Lon Chaney's Laurence Talbot in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf-Man. Beyond this, the franchise really struggled to keep it up; and while it may seem a little sad that by 1948 the only place left to go was a spoof, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein proved a curiously fitting and satisfactory send-off.