THE HORROR FRANCHISE

It was as I was watching “Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings”, that two thoughts occurred to me. The first obviously being, “Why the hell am I subjecting myself to this!?!” However, the second thought was “Just how do these horror franchises start up?” Somebody must be watching these things apart from me. And then this continued into a stream of thought which started to boggle at the sheer diversity of horror franchises, of “reboots”, of sequels that beggar belief … believe me, it was a lot more entertaining than the film!



First off, let’s take the example of “Wrong Turn” and its history. The first film was a fairly well (but modest) budgeted horror film that played cinemas in 2003. It benefited from a star turn by the high-profile (at the time) actress Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and centred on the updating of the old urban legend of in-bred hill-billies preying on lost tourists in the USA backwoods. Around the same time as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remake and a year behind “Saw” (both of which we’ll come to later), it was a modest success, mostly on its DVD release.



However, out of the blue in 2007, “Wrong Turn 2: Dead End” was released (pretty much straight-to-DVD), but it did star Henry Rollins (!?) and introduced the genre favourite Joe Lynch as director. And then in 2009, “Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead” appeared unheralded on DVD. By now, the characters slaughtered by the grotesque villains were less important than the gore and Leatherface knock-offs themselves! And now the fourth film has appeared and was even shown at Film4 Frightfest. It might sound like I’m mocking the franchise (and I am a bit), but I’ve still seen each one and quite like the first film. So as a genre fan, why am I willing to stick with this franchise, and why are these types of franchises so prevalent in the horror market?

Horror is the Daddy when it comes to franchises. There are the Bourne’s, Bonds, Harry Potter’s, Twilights, even Police Academies!! … But how many genres have yearly updates to an on-going saga. “Saw” debuted in 2004, and we got a new chapter each and every year at Halloween after the original success, and were even credited with starting a sub-genre (“torture porn”, a misleading and hateful classification). The saga climaxed with the seventh entry in 2010,



“Saw 3D”, and the series was acknowledged by Guinness as the “most successful horror movie series”. No sooner had the saw

machine stopped whirring than the spooks started scaring.  After doing the festival rounds and collecting plaudits, “Paranormal Activity” was released worldwide in 2009, and raked in the cash despite a lower-than-low budget. The next two parts followed in 2010 & 2011, with the fourth part due in the next month. It’s easy to see why these franchises were born. Scary films released at Halloween, made on modest budgets, and with a guaranteed long-shelf life on DVD and box sets. If you grab the audience’s attention with a repeatable hook (Adult tone + Gore = Saw, Boo-shocks + Found Footage = Paranormal Activity), and you can legitimately continue the saga, then make the films … and the fans will come! The studios expect mammoth opening weekend box-office, with a sustained income when the DVD reaches shelves. And they get it.



We can’t blame them. We are the enablers, so to speak. We can moan about lack of originality and artistic integrity until the cows come home to the slaughterhouse, but let’s be honest … most of us are still planning to take our partners to “Paranormal Activity 4” on its opening night. And I bet some of you will even go and see the new “Resident Evil” film at the cinema, won’t you? Eh? You at the back! Stop shuffling your feet and looking at the floor! You know you will! So why is horror so eager to allow franchises to spawn under its leathery wing? Well, you only need to look at 3 guys called Michael, Freddy, and... Umm … Leatherface.

During the 70’s and 80’s it was the boom time for horror franchises. New Line became the “studio that Freddy built” due to the continuing success of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films. Whilst the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remained in the public consciousness since 1974, due to its inclusion in banned film lists in several countries and a gritty reputation, which led to its resurrection after 12 years by Cannon studios. “Halloween”
was the seminal shocker, and masterpiece movie that actually created the “slasher” sub-genre, and it never really went away. If you look at the history of these 3 main franchises (on the right) it really does highlight the trend of sequels, remakes and reboots - regardless of the impact on quality...



So what’s the point I’m making here? There is definitely a pattern to each franchise. When each studio perceives that the original is a bankable hit, it’s all systems go to milk that moneymaking machine. When the fans lose interest, you; “reboot”, “remake”, or “3D” it. In fact, the latest “Texas” film does all three! I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing in all cases. The Texas remake in 2003, “New Nightmare” and “Halloween: H20” are actually damn good films, and prove that they don’t have to be artistically bereft or unimaginative. Some do suck harder than a Dyson on steroids though…

I also think that as horror genre fans, we tend to be more forgiving and loyal than other film buffs. Comedy fans were hanging themselves by “Police Academy 6”, but we were still flocking to “Jason X” and “Freddy vs. Jason”. Ben Stiller only met the parents 3  times, but we’d seen Freddy Krueger die eight times and enter the  real world! As much as I hated “Wrong Turn 4”, I will probably still see part 5 (yes, it’s coming) when it is released on DVD. Why? Because I enjoyed the first one, and I believe that there is still interesting stories and imagination around the concept. I’ll probably be let down, but that’s part of the “game”. I might discover a gem and be surprised. I’ve often said that I would rather see a “bad” horror film, than a “good” comedy sometimes. Even the lowest budgeted horror film can surprise and shock if the imagination and talent is there.



Ultimately, these franchises exist because we want them to. Can the average film-goer enjoy life without wondering when the next Bond will be out? Nope, and I’m currently looking forward to finding out what happened to the baby in “Paranormal Activity 4”, and just what they’re going to stick out of the screen in “Texas Chainsaw 3D”. Long live the horror franchise.



“Halloween” the original film in 1978 led to a straight sequel “Halloween II” in 1981.

Halloween III was an attempt by the studio to set up “Twilight Zone” type seasonal films, without Michael Myers. Didn’t make money. The fans wanted Michael back

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

A Nightmare on Elm Street was on the screens in 1984. The massive success of this led to 4 sequels, all continuing the same narrative with characters that remained from one film to the next (albeit with some dying as the films continued). This carried on until part 5 in 1989.
Diminishing returns led to “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” in 1991, which was definitely the final appearance of the character…
… Until 1994 when Wes Craven directed “New Nightmare” which brilliantly re-imagined the narrative with a “real” demon Freddy terrorising the “real” actors from the Nightmare films. It was the first attempt at “breaking the fourth wall” in a franchise, which Craven continued in the “Scream” films. This was a one-off story though…
Then there was the bizarre spin-off (because the fans wanted it) of “Freddy vs. Jason”, which apparently meant that the Nightmare and Friday 13th characters shared the same universe. This became a minor hit.
And inevitably in 2010, there was the “remake”/”reboot” of Nightmare, with Jackie Earle Haley playing Freddy. It actually didn’t do too badly at the cinema, but was perceived as a critical and fan failure. There are no further Nightmares planned…

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

Both vilified and respected the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” did the official rounds in 1974, and there was no sniff of a sequel until 1986. Part 2 was a genuine sequel with the same family members and actors.
Part 3 arrived in 1990 and Part 4 in 1995. In both cases these were “reboots” with Leatherface inexplicably with new families and locations (Part 4 also starred Renee Zellweger!!).
Then there was the (pretty good) “remake”/”reboot” in 2003, which was so popular that it led to a prequel in 2006. Surely the first time we’ve had a prequel to a remake!
“Texas Chainsaw 3D” is in post-production and due early 2013. This is rumoured to ignore all other films and continue from the original! My brain hurts! It’s worse than time-travel movies.

HALLOWEEN

“Halloween” the original film in 1978 led to a straight sequel “Halloween II” in 1981.

Halloween III was an attempt by the studio to set up “Twilight Zone” type seasonal films, without Michael Myers. Didn’t make money. The fans wanted Michael back

Halloween 4 – 6 (1988 – 1995), brought Michael back and mixed him with new characters that were extensions of his original family. 6 ended with a cliff-hanger never resolved.
Halloween H20 (referring to the 20 years past) in 1998 was an attempt to marry the old (Jamie Lee Curtis) with the new (hot new young actors like Michelle Williams and Josh Hartnett).It ignored parts 4-6.  It worked and made money. A direct sequel to this “Halloween: Resurrection” was released in 2002. It was terrible and bombed.
“Halloween” by Rob Zombie was a “remake”/”reboot” of the franchise (pay attention … this will happen again). It started the story again, but explained the Myers myth as due to all-too-explainable social reasons, rather than any spooky reasons. Whilst not a big success, the direct sequel (“Halloween II”) was released in 2009, and tied up the new Myers story in a crappy bow-tie…
There were rumours that a “Halloween 3D” was in production for release in 2012, but this seems to have died a quiet death … unlike Michael.