Give Gremlins another shot.
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00:00Reboots kind of always feel like a no-win scenario.
00:03If one copies its predecessor beat-for-beat, then it feels like a hollow retread.
00:08However, if the remake's sea is too far away from the original,
00:11then you'll wonder why the studio just didn't make it a separate property entirely.
00:15Luckily, however, the horror genre has kind of figured out a way to please people who want something familiar and different,
00:22and that is, of course, by delivering the legacy sequel.
00:25And in 2023, it's actually kind of more rare for a horror franchise to not have received one of these than have.
00:32I mean, just look at the likes of Halloween, or Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or a whole load of others that are in development.
00:38However, there are a few lingering properties that absolutely do deserve the proper full legacy sequel treatment.
00:45I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are 8 Legacy Horror Movie Sequels Everyone Actually Wants to See.
00:51Number 8. Candyman.
00:53Though 2021's Candyman was portrayed already as a quasi-legacy sequel reboot thing, and was pretty good to be fair,
01:01the film concludes with the return of Tony Todd's iconic villain,
01:05reconfirming the idea that this story does take place in the same continuity as the original.
01:10And even though fans were chuffed to see Todd reprise his most iconic role,
01:14it was a shame that he only uttered two words and was de-aged.
01:19So if there is a sequel, then this character has to play a more prominent part,
01:23as you can't just tease him in the climax and then leave it at that, can you?
01:27However, there is another key character who needs to be revived as well, and that's Helen Lyle.
01:32In the original Candyman movie, Helen tried to discredit the Candyman urban legend,
01:37which inspired the villain to shed innocent blood to perpetuate his legacy.
01:41Now, Helen might have met her maker in the climax of that picture,
01:45but the final scene teases that she's also been reborn as a vengeful spirit.
01:50However, despite the fact that the ending implied Helen would be cursed to kill innocents just like her predecessor,
01:55she never appeared again.
01:57Although her voice can be heard during a flashback in 2021's Candyman,
02:01the character is noticeably absent throughout.
02:04And yeah, while her appearance would go against the strong mythos established in the reboot, which was incredibly rich,
02:10she doesn't have to be the Candyman herself, but rather another vengeful spirit born from a different kind of trauma.
02:18There's no reason you can't have both characters in the movie, is all I'm saying.
02:22Number 7. Evil Dead.
02:24Now, hold up a second. I know we're getting Evil Dead Rise later this year, and yes, it looks absolutely incredible.
02:31As a big, big fan of the 2013 reboot myself, I genuinely can't wait for this, and I am so, so glad that it exists.
02:39And I'm also glad I get to see it in the theaters.
02:41But the thing is, if you can't tell already, I am a very, very greedy man.
02:46And despite getting a great reboot, a continuation TV show, and the upcoming Rise,
02:52part of me still pines for a proper horror-focused Evil Dead 4, starring Bruce Campbell and directed by Sam Raimi.
03:00And yes, I know we got some Sam Raimi-directed episodes of Ash vs. The Evil Dead, and they were great, but they weren't a full movie, were they?
03:08Picking up with an older Ash, and with Raimi given a proper budget and resources to do a full film right,
03:13still keeps me up at night, dreaming of the possibilities.
03:17Sadly, I just need to come to terms with the fact that this is never actually going to happen.
03:22Campbell has fully retired from the role in live-action, and Raimi understandably is fine to simply produce the franchise
03:28and find other, fresher talents to take the reins of his horror baby.
03:33And again, that is awesome, but god, I'm just so greedy for this franchise.
03:37Number 6. The Mummy.
03:39Brendan Fraser is back, baby, and the more interviews he does, the more it seems like a fourth Mummy movie is only a matter of time.
03:47And while yes, the original film is as much of an action-adventure as it is a horror,
03:52I'm still counting it here because a fourth flick absolutely should continue to embrace the darker aspects of the first two flicks in particular.
04:00Like, bring back the scarabs, bring back people having their skin and bones sucked off their body,
04:05and bring back the horror-inspired filmmaking.
04:08And of course, bring back the characters while you're at it.
04:11If a fourth movie were to happen, we need Brendan Fraser's Rick, Rachel Weisz's Evie, and of course, John Hannah's Jonathan at minimum.
04:19Catch up with these characters older, maybe not wiser, being the only experts on a returning threat.
04:26If Indiana Jones can come back for another round, then the Mummy definitely deserves a shot too.
04:31Number 5. Friday the 13th.
04:34It's hard to pinpoint the protagonist of the Friday the 13th series.
04:38Alice, of course, was the heroine of the first installment, but was axed off pretty quickly in the sequel.
04:44And although Tommy Jarvis has made the most appearances and even killed Jason Dead,
04:48he kind of acts like a different character each time he's on screen and didn't speak at all in one entry.
04:54So, according to some horror veterans, the true final girl is actually the protagonist of Friday the 13th Part II, Ginny Field.
05:02Not only is she smart, resourceful, and adaptable, she's one of the only main characters who didn't wind up dead.
05:09And so, because she's one of the few who walked away from Jason Voorhees with all of her limbs and organs intact,
05:14Ginny has grown quite a fanbase.
05:17And in fact, originally, Friday the 13th Part III would have centered around Ginny locked in a psychiatric institution,
05:23with the machete-wielding maniac breaking in to exact his revenge.
05:27However, actress Amy Steele, passed on the offer, worried that she would be typecast if she kept associating with the franchise.
05:34But, since Steele recently reprised the role in a 2021 fan film,
05:38it's safe to assume that she's game for having a rematch with the hockey mask-wearing psychopath in an official sequel.
05:45And no, I'm not saying they should just take the original storyboard for that movie and regurgitate it years later,
05:51but it would be cool to get a proper legacy sequel for this franchise, and see some characters return.
05:57Until then though, I guess we'll just have to make do with that prequel series that's coming.
06:02Number 4, 28 Days Later.
06:04There is no question that Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later is directly responsible for reigniting interest in the zombie genre.
06:11Which is kind of ironic, since there are technically no zombies in the movie, as Danny Boyle has insisted so much over the years.
06:18Not only that, but this British horror popularized the idea of fast-infected, a trend that's still firmly established in modern zombie lore.
06:27And since 28 Days Later took the world by storm, the sequel's 28 Weeks Later was inevitable.
06:33However, because this solid-in-its-own-right follow-up focused on a different ensemble,
06:37we never actually learned what happened to the survivors of the first film.
06:41Most notably, Kellyanne Murphy's character, Jim.
06:43Although fans hoped that we would learn of Jim's fate in the next installment, it never materialized.
06:49And even though there have been rumors that 28 Months Later, or maybe even 28 Years Later was on the cards since 2007,
06:56the prequel never seemed to come together.
06:59But in 2019, Danny Boyle did confirm that he had met with 28 Days Later's writer, Alex Garland, to discuss the story of a potential third film.
07:08Better still, star Kellyanne Murphy stated that he would love to revisit the franchise,
07:12meaning it's very possible that 28 Months Later, or whatever it's called, will be a direct continuation of Jim's story.
07:19And God, please guys, do it for me.
07:22I have been checking the IMDB page for this movie since like 2008 or 2009 or whenever it was.
07:29I feel like I've been waiting for it my entire life.
07:31Please, finally do it.
07:33Number 3, Gremlins.
07:34Gremlins left a massive mark on cinema, despite the fact that it only spawned two installments.
07:40Chris Columbus' films inspired tons of mini-monster rip-offs, such as Ghoulies, Hobgoblins, and Troll.
07:46And even though the last entry debuted decades ago, the characters themselves keep popping up in other mediums,
07:52including Space Jam, the Lego Batman movie, and multiverses, proving that fans still want to see these little critters.
08:00But if a Gremlins film is in the works, let's hope it's a sequel rather than a reboot.
08:06Because the original story was tied so deeply to Gizmo's relationship with Billy, it just wouldn't work without him.
08:12And although Billy was originally depicted as timid and unassertive, it would be interesting to see him return, even if only for a cameo.
08:20Hell, Billy could also be depicted like Gizmo's original owner, Mr. Wing,
08:24warning others of the dangers of owning one of these creatures after experiencing it first-hand himself.
08:30Either way, a new Gremlins movie that keeps the events of the first two in mind would be amazing.
08:35Number 2, Nightmare on Elm Street.
08:37Because the reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street turned out so badly,
08:40you can kind of understand why Wes Craven's beloved franchise has languished in limbo for over a decade.
08:46However, a great way to enliven the series would be to go back to basics.
08:51Simply put, we need a direct continuation of the original, with Robert Englund reprising the role of Freddy Krueger.
08:58And look, I know, Englund doesn't seem eager to don the fedora again, and don't blame him.
09:03The guy is 75 years old, and I would also run a mile at the prospect of spending all of those hours in the makeup chair again as well.
09:10However, the issue with Nightmare is that Englund is Freddy.
09:15Even a great actor like Jackie Earl Haley couldn't do the character justice because it's such a dedicated performance.
09:22Hope is alive for this one though, as Jason Blum just last year said that he was confident that he could lure Englund back to the role.
09:30Blum has, of course, revived Halloween with a legacy sequel trilogy, and is planning the same for The Exorcist.
09:36So hey, why stop there? Let's go all the way and pick up in a world where Freddy returns after his original killing spree is all but being forgotten about.
09:46Number one, Alien. Could it have been anything else?
09:50In 2015, Neil Blomkamp was all set to write and direct an Alien sequel, which would serve as a direct follow-up to Aliens.
09:59And when sci-fi fans and horror fans saw the concept art for this supposed Alien 5,
10:04which is actually just technically Alien 3 again I guess, it blew our minds.
10:09With Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn set to return, it looked like this proposed installment could get the franchise back on track.
10:16Sadly, though, these plans of course fell apart.
10:19Instead, we got Alien Covenant, which, you know, fair enough, decent movie.
10:24But was it worth the cost? I, personally, would say no.
10:29Like, Neil Blomkamp is not the best director in the world. In fact, you could say he's not even one of the good directors of the world.
10:36But the concept art looked cool, and if any series needed a reset or a rejigged legacy sequel where we ignore some of the events,
10:45it's definitely this franchise. How many lists have we done where we've talked about how insulting Newton Hicks' death was in Alien 3?
10:54Anyway, I'm starting to ramble now. You really don't want to get me talking about Alien 5.
10:59But, in my opinion, this decision was a colossal waste, since Blomkamp's proposed sequel had so many fascinating avenues that it could have gone down.
11:08So that's our list. I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
11:11How many of these legacy sequels would you want to see?
11:14And are there any other franchises you'd be chomping at the bit to see revived?
11:18Let me know while you're down there. If you could, please give us a like, share, subscribe,
11:21and head over to WhatCultureHorror for more lists like this on the regular.
11:24Even if you don't feel I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.