8 Movie Franchises That Have Gender Swapped

Any slasher fans will notice a dependable pattern with their favourite horror franchises; the lead characters almost always tend to be female. Maybe this is a holdover from the “final girl” trope of Halloween, but anytime a slasher movie has tried to feature a male lead it tends not to work.

Case in point, A Nightmare On Elm Street 2. In the other instalments, Freddy faces off against strong young women like Nancy, Kristen or Alice. That’s the recognisable formula of the series, but in part two we’re introduced to Jesse instead, who became one of the genre's few male Scream Queens .This entry is also known for the not so subtle gay subtext, where Jesse’s fight with Freddy mirrors his struggle with his own sexuality.

While this makes the movie rich on a thematic level – and gives us the awesome moment Freddy rips out of his body – Freddy’s Revenge is a weak entry overall. It’s not scary, it feels disconnected from the series and it's ultimately more intriguing than genuinely good. The third entry brought back Nancy to fight Freddy, and the franchise has firmly stuck with female leads ever since.