These franchises have yet to wear out their welcome! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the scary film series that haven’t lost their touch.
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00:00 "You are all going to die tonight."
00:02 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the scary film series that
00:07 haven't lost their touch. We'll only be considering franchises currently with 3 or
00:11 more entries. We will however be allowing for those with some poor installments, so
00:16 long as they didn't significantly impact brand appreciation.
00:19 "Now I see something red."
00:25 Number 10. The Conjuring Universe. It's hard to discuss 2010's horror without bringing
00:30 up The Conjuring.
00:32 "Your name gives me dominion over you, demon. And I do know your name."
00:36 "You are Valak, the defiler, the profane, the marquee of snakes."
00:46 The supernatural exploits of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren prove
00:51 to be ripe for the cinematic treatment. The mainline Conjuring films continue to be some
00:57 of the biggest in the genre, whereas the spin-offs have also found success. Annabelle, anyone?
01:02 "What do you need?"
01:04 "Your soul."
01:10 Granted, some side projects like The Curse of La Llorona and The Nun have underwhelmed,
01:15 but that hasn't hurt box office performance whatsoever, with each release still netting
01:19 hundreds of millions of dollars. When it comes to cinematic universes, both inside and outside
01:25 the horror genre, few do it as well as The Conjuring.
01:29 "All the evil in here reminds me of all the good that's out there."
01:36 Number 9. Friday the 13th Franchise.
01:39 "You see, Jason was my son, and today is his birthday."
01:46 We know what you're thinking. Friday the 13th definitely has more bad installments
01:50 than good, by a fair margin in fact. But we'd argue that quality was never entirely the
01:56 conceit of this summertime slasher series.
01:58 "You're a dead meat, slimebag!"
02:00 "Yo man, it's cool. It's cool, man. It's cool."
02:13 While Jason has gone to some pretty ludicrous places - New York, hell, space - his outings
02:20 have nevertheless combined to create one of the most endlessly rewatchable film series.
02:24 "Impossible! He's dead!"
02:26 "I'd say he got better. He's been modified."
02:29 "Oh, you're sick!"
02:31 Whether he's going up against a teenage psychic or Freddy Krueger, we'll always tune in to
02:37 revel in the campy goodness and high body counts. It's just a shame that the movie
02:41 rights have gone through such an extended legal battle, as we've been waiting over a
02:46 decade to return to Crystal Lake.
02:48 "Jason! Say hi to mommy!"
02:52 "To hell!"
02:56 Number 8. It Franchise
02:58 Sure, technically one of the three movie adaptations based on Stephen King's seminal novel aired
03:04 on TV in miniseries format, but we're still counting it.
03:08 "Get that boy!"
03:11 "Hahahahaha!"
03:13 Maybe it's the downright engaging King story at its core that makes these films so rewatchable.
03:20 Or maybe it's the pair of tremendous actors playing Pennywise, the terrifying dancing
03:25 clown. Or maybe it's both.
03:27 "Excuse me, sir! Do you have Prince Albert in a can? You do? Well, you better let the poor guy out!"
03:34 Indeed, Tim Curry and Bill Skarsgård turn in iconic yet distinct performances as the
03:40 titular villain.
03:41 "Come join the clowness. You'll float down here. We'll float down here. Yes, we do!"
03:49 "Hahahahaha!"
03:52 Sure, the first theatrical film from 2017 is leaps and bounds ahead of the other two,
03:57 but the average output is strong enough that we have full faith in the upcoming TV series
04:03 Welcome to Derry.
04:04 "But you know what they say about Derry? No one who dies here ever really dies."
04:11 Number 7. The Invisible Man franchise.
04:14 "I'll show you who I am and what I am!"
04:16 "Hahahahaha!"
04:20 It's easy to forget now, but the Universal Monsters series absolutely dominated the horror
04:25 scene in the 1930s and 40s. So much so that they inevitably had to be resurrected in the
04:31 50s after a swathe of lacklustre sequels.
04:35 The Invisible Man franchise, however, has a surprisingly solid track record among them,
04:40 with the first four sequels to the original holding up rather well. And that's to say
04:44 nothing of his outing with Abbott and Costello.
04:47 "Oh no, it's Tommy Nelson. Lou, he's here. I touched him."
04:52 "I think he touched you back."
04:54 Sure, it might be easier on the production when your main antagonist doesn't appear on
04:58 camera, but we have to give the series credit for evolving over time. The 2020 reimagining
05:03 managed to bring the character into the modern day with smart writing and profound themes.
05:08 "There you are."
05:10 Number 6. Final Destination franchise.
05:19 "You're dead! You're dead! And you're taking me with you!"
05:27 No, these aren't horror classics by any stretch of the imagination. We don't go into a Final
05:32 Destination movie looking for engaging stories, meaningful characterisations, or even the
05:37 standard jump scare. No, we go into a Final Destination movie to marvel at the dowly creative
05:42 Rube Goldbergian kill sequences. And at that, the series is very good.
05:48 "I just win! That's all I know how to do, Kevin! Baby, I just win!"
05:54 If there's a black sheep however, 2009's The Final Destination is admittedly pretty bad.
05:59 But then the franchise rebounded two years later with Final Destination 5, earning the
06:04 franchise's strongest reviews and our renewed respect.
06:08 "Help me! Help me!"
06:20 It's honestly been far too long since we've gotten another one of these, but you can be
06:24 sure we'll be signing up again once death comes knocking.
06:28 "I'll see you soon."
06:29 Number 5. Child's Play franchise.
06:31 Speaking of franchises that have evolved, Child's Play has continued to solidify its
06:36 voice in the horror-comedy sector over several decades.
06:39 "What's wrong? Gun jam?"
06:48 While Chucky the Killer Doll was always a wise-cracking slasher, it wasn't until later
06:53 sequels that the films tried to match his sense of humour throughout.
06:57 "So how did you end up like this?"
06:59 "Well, it's a long story."
07:01 "It sure is."
07:02 "In fact, if it was a movie, it would take three or four sequels just to do it justice."
07:07 Granted, it got a little unhinged for its own good there, but the series ultimately
07:11 made a comeback in the 2010s thanks to the passionate effort from original creator Don
07:16 Mancini.
07:17 "25 years. Since then a lot of families have come and gone. The Barclays, the Kinkades,
07:27 the Tillys."
07:29 There was of course a detour with the 2019 remake, which saw Chucky go the AI route,
07:34 but even that was better than we feared it would be.
07:37 "This is for Tupac."
07:39 Nowadays, Chucky can be found on TV, with his self-titled series paying homage to his
07:45 storied legacy.
07:46 Number 4. Candyman franchise
07:48 "You were not content with the stories, so I was obliged to come."
07:54 Candyman was one of the first mainstream horror franchises to tap into an underrepresented
08:00 and thematically rich demographic. Indeed, the series at its best has done a tremendous
08:05 job of ruminating on the black experience and the nature of mythology as a whole.
08:10 "Our names will be written on a thousand walls. Our crimes told and retold by our faithful
08:17 believers."
08:19 If we're being honest, the franchise was kept from being as big as it should have been in
08:23 the wake of a couple of lacklustre sequels to the original. But the third entry, Day
08:28 of the Dead, did admittedly go direct to video, so we can forgive its quality on those grounds.
08:33 What really solidified the franchise though, was the 2021 requel directed by Nia DaCosta,
08:39 much like The Invisible Man, that one wonderfully managed to update Candyman's mythos for the
08:45 modern day.
08:46 "Tell everyone."
08:50 Number 3. Night of the Living Dead franchise
08:53 "They're coming to get you, Barbara."
08:56 George Romero was easily one of the finest horror directors of all time. After all, he
09:01 essentially pioneered the modern concept of the zombie with the groundbreaking Night of
09:06 the Living Dead in 1968. And while most people recognize the near-perfect quality of the
09:11 next one, Dawn of the Dead, the rest of the franchise doesn't get the credit it deserves.
09:16 "Apparently he was in the military. Return a salute, we'll see what he does."
09:23 "You want me to salute that pile of walking pus?"
09:27 20 years after 1985's Day of the Dead, Romero returned to the series with Land of the Dead,
09:33 another solid outing. Heck, 2007's Diary of the Dead is even a fun-found footage movie,
09:39 proving the franchise's versatility.
09:41 "This isn't a movie, Jason, it's real!"
09:43 "I'm trying to distract them. Cut! Cut! Cut!"
09:48 While Survivor of the Dead wasn't up to snuff, Romero penned a treatment for Twilight of
09:58 the Dead, which is currently being developed in his memory.
10:02 Number 2. Scream franchise
10:04 "Oh, you wanna play psycho killer? Can I be the helpless victim? Ok, let's see.
10:11 No, please don't kill me, Mr. Ghostface. I wanna be in the sequel."
10:15 Making a Scream movie has to be daunting for any screenwriter, as the series is known for
10:20 remaining fresh whilst commenting on the current horror landscape. No easy task. And yet, it's
10:26 astonishing to note just how many entries keep exceeding expectations.
10:31 "So it's our job to observe the rules of the sequel. Number one, the body count is always
10:35 bigger. Number two, the death scenes are always much more elaborate. More blood, more gore.
10:40 Carnage candy. Your core audience just expects it."
10:43 Admittedly, Scream 3 is often deemed the weakest of the bunch. But when that's your bottom,
10:49 you gotta know the franchise is in fine shape.
10:52 "It's time you came to terms with me and with Mother.
10:57 Maybe you never knew her at all, Sidney. Maybe you just can't get past the surface of things."
11:06 Even though the respectable Scream 4 failed to make enough of a splash at the box office
11:11 to keep the ball rolling, the requel, 11 years later, managed to pass the baton off to the
11:16 next generation while still paying homage to Wes Craven's legacy.
11:20 "Hey, to Wes!"
11:22 "To Wes!"
11:24 "Beautiful."
11:25 Nowadays, the future for Scream is brighter than ever.
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11:44 Number 1. Evil Dead Franchise
11:46 "Why have you disturbed our sleep? Awakened us from our ancient slumber?
11:54 You will die! Nightmare is before you. One by one we will take you."
12:02 Even the best horror franchises have difficulty batting a thousand. And yet, five entries
12:07 in as of this video, Evil Dead still hasn't missed. The first Evil Dead is obviously historic,
12:13 and the second one, despite being strangely a remake and a sequel, is even better, often
12:19 called the best horror comedy of all time.
12:21 "I'll swallow your soul! I'll swallow your soul! I'll swallow your soul! Ha ha!"
12:26 "Swallow this."
12:28 Army of Darkness, while the most out there of the bunch, has a healthy cult following.
12:32 Flash forward to 2013, and the reimagining of the original actually managed to work without
12:37 Sam Raimi's signature sense of humor, proving the franchise could thrive as straight, high-octane
12:43 horror. Finally, 2023's Rise sacks up right there with the best of them, hardly missing
12:49 a beat.
12:50 "Mommy's with the maggots now."
12:56 In short, these movies are downright groovy.
13:00 "Groovy."
13:01 Which of these franchises is your favorite? Tell us in the comments.
13:05 "Beep beep, Richie! Come back any time!"
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13:18 Thanks for watching!