20 Movie Franchises That Carried On For Way Too Long

15. Halloween

The Movies: Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Season of the Witch (1982), The Return of Michael Myers (1988), The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Halloween H20 (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Halloween (2007), Halloween II (2009) John Carpenter's Halloween is one of the best, and most influential, horror movies ever made. Featuring a silent protagonist, an increasing sense of foreboding and an iconic turn from Jamie Lee Curtis, it is the benchmark for all slasher movies. However, like almost every other notable horror franchise the concept was run into the ground thanks to a procession of disappointing sequels. Despite being released 3 years later, Halloween II is set in the immediate aftermath of the original, and features the return of the main cast. The sequel managed to gross ten times its budget, but was nowhere near as good as Carpenter's original. Season of the Witch didn't feature Michael Myers at all, and was regarded as a major misstep and is a sequel in name only. The Return/Revenge of Michael Myers followed in quick succession in 1989 and 1990, bringing the protagonist back from the dead to cash in on the character's popularity. Despite expanding the mythology of the series, The Curse of Michael Myers was another disappointingly run-of-the mill entry in the franchise. H20 is a direct sequel to Halloween and Halloween II, completely ignoring the events of the previous three movies. A returning Jamie Lee Curtis heads the cast, in which she takes on Michael Myers in a final showdown 20 years in the making. Curtis reprized her role once again for what was essentially an extended cameo in 2002's Resurrection, that sees the killer return to his childhood home to gatecrash the filming of an internet reality show. It is a true fall from grace for one of horror's most iconic villains to meet his fate at the hands of Busta Rhymes. Rob Zombie took over the franchise in 2007, with his tedious version acting as both prequel and remake. An $80m worldwide gross did bring about a sequel two years later, which amounted to 105 minutes of yawn-inducing, gore-soaked violence and laughable dream sequences. Thankfully, plans for another remake (the obvious Halloween 3D) have been nixed, and the franchise currently lays dormant.