10 Horror Movie Franchises You've (Probably) Never Seen
7. Laid to Rest
At first glance, Laid to Rest looked like just another low-budget slasher film sent out to die, but it managed to sustain interest due to word-of-mouth buzz around its savage central antagonist, ChromeSkull.
Beyond wearing a chrome skull mask and rocking two huge hunting knives, ChromeSkull also records his kills with a shoulder-mounted camera, and because the film was directed by veteran makeup artist Robert Hall, the gore effects are absolutely wild.
It proved enough of a success that Hall was quickly able to produce a sequel, ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2, in 2011, which amped up the practical effects-driven ultraviolence even more.
Not entirely unlike the Terrifier movies, the storytelling and overall "lore" is a lot less impressive and coherent than the effects and central villain, which nevertheless made Laid to Rest a cult franchise in its own right.
Hall planned to complete the trilogy with a third film, Laid to Rest: Exhumed, but the Kickstarter failed to raise sufficient funds, and then Hall tragically passed away suddenly in 2021, seemingly closing the door on the IP for good.
And yet, the duology's uncommonly polished effects for this budget-point and fantastic antagonist design have kept fans flying the flag for it to this very day.