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What's YOUR Favorite New Horror Franchise?
When I say “new”, take that as a reference to the last 10-12 years. There are countless franchises being born on a frequent bas, some boast high caliber crafting and nearly ensured longevity. Some on the other hand, haven’t fared quite as well. So, the question of the day is really rather mple: What is your favorite “new” horror franchise?
I’ll illuminate some of the finer additions, but if I happen to falter, and miss something special, you know you’re more than invited to put me on the spot!
Cold Prey
Cold Prey has become one of the finest genre franchises fast. With incredibly eerie atmosphere, some great locales, top notch acting and a villain to remember: this one is an absolute must see. If slashers are your thing, and you cherish high caliber contemporary works, seek out the Cold Prey series, it’s remarkable.
Wrong Turn
Who doesn’t love psychotic redneck cannibals? This has been an insanely fast paced franchise from the jump, and save for the most recent prequel, I conder all of them to be fairly decent films. Gore fans should really love this series of pictures.
Hatchet
Throwback homage works are so rarely successful and fun that you’ve got to deeply admire Hatchet. The films provide an almost tangible trip back in time, as the nostalgia of yesteryear bleeds through these films. If fond memories aren’t enough for you, the gore, creative kills and already iconic Victor Crowley certainly should be.
Laid to Rest
Laid to rest is one of those franchises that t well with viewers due to the aesthetics of the film. I think it’s a fairly honest statement to say that the story and general script writing haven’t exactly overwhelmed anyone. If you’re following this one, you’re following it for the gore, and that’s okay, because the grotesqueries on display are disgustingly marvelous.
Final Destination
The Final Destination is all about creative new ways to slaughter the brainless youth that invade horror films. In all honesty, it does a pretty damn fine job of that. The scriptwriting has been seesaw from the beginning, but this franchise has some legitimate treasures to offer, and I can certainly understand the love that this often creative and original series garners.
Underworld
Vampires whipping werewolf ass and vice versa you say? I say hell yes. This serious has been plain fun from the first film forth. There’s so much pason in this series (that started out as a low budget hopefest) that I find imposble to pan it. I enjoy the FX, the acting, and there’s a quality story here that boasts surpring coheveness and continuity.
Redent Evil
Let’s be honest with ourselves: this franchise has been a lly rollercoaster ride from the jump. Sometimes it feels as though installments aim for over-the-top cheese, sometimes you’d swear you were watching a pure action film, sometimes you’re certain you’re watching a drama. It’s made for some fairly off continuity, but I cannot lie: these films are a blast. I love zombies, I love to see brains fly, and I love Milla Jovovich: that all spells winner to me.
Saw
I’ve never been huge on the Saw franchise, but I cannot lie, the first three films were extremely well written and surpringly coherent in their direction. The gore has always been a blast, and the thought invested in some of this series’ murderous methods is truly second to none. As I stated, this series isn’t necessarily for me, but I refuse to disrespect such an important chunk of horror history.
Paranormal Activity
The found footage kingpin! Paranormal activity initially looked like your typical… well, found footage flick: perhaps stimulating, but likely not more than once. Well, audiences got a surprise, because this is one of the finest franchises to see birth in a long, long time. The scares are incredible, the special FX work is impresve yet fairly subtle, and the story
has kicked serious ass thus far. Winning!
Feast
While this franchise has begun to nosedive, and is rumored to have been laid to rest, it still had its moments, and there’s still a posbility of more sequels to come. The original was so outrageous and hysterical that the following sequels did indeed find success, despite noticeable neglect. This one is just so damn outlandish I wouldn’t know where to start. All I can really say is this: if you like seeing crazy animals slaughter and rape some of the most diverse characters on screen, you’re probably well informed in the ways of Feast.
Hostel
This franchise rooted in the rot of torture porn (I can dig plenty of it, trust me) makes for the Dummies Guide of What to do and What Not to do When Traveling or Dealing With Strangers. There’s some awesome gore and gnarly visuals in store for viewers here, unfortunately I don’t find all too much quality in the story itself. But hey, a third installment is knocking on the door, and you never know what form of twist we may be hit with!
Got some recommendations I didn’t cover? Let us all hear ‘em
I’ll illuminate some of the finer additions, but if I happen to falter, and miss something special, you know you’re more than invited to put me on the spot!
Cold Prey
Cold Prey has become one of the finest genre franchises fast. With incredibly eerie atmosphere, some great locales, top notch acting and a villain to remember: this one is an absolute must see. If slashers are your thing, and you cherish high caliber contemporary works, seek out the Cold Prey series, it’s remarkable.
Wrong Turn
Who doesn’t love psychotic redneck cannibals? This has been an insanely fast paced franchise from the jump, and save for the most recent prequel, I conder all of them to be fairly decent films. Gore fans should really love this series of pictures.
Hatchet
Throwback homage works are so rarely successful and fun that you’ve got to deeply admire Hatchet. The films provide an almost tangible trip back in time, as the nostalgia of yesteryear bleeds through these films. If fond memories aren’t enough for you, the gore, creative kills and already iconic Victor Crowley certainly should be.
Laid to Rest
Laid to rest is one of those franchises that t well with viewers due to the aesthetics of the film. I think it’s a fairly honest statement to say that the story and general script writing haven’t exactly overwhelmed anyone. If you’re following this one, you’re following it for the gore, and that’s okay, because the grotesqueries on display are disgustingly marvelous.
Final Destination
The Final Destination is all about creative new ways to slaughter the brainless youth that invade horror films. In all honesty, it does a pretty damn fine job of that. The scriptwriting has been seesaw from the beginning, but this franchise has some legitimate treasures to offer, and I can certainly understand the love that this often creative and original series garners.
Underworld
Vampires whipping werewolf ass and vice versa you say? I say hell yes. This serious has been plain fun from the first film forth. There’s so much pason in this series (that started out as a low budget hopefest) that I find imposble to pan it. I enjoy the FX, the acting, and there’s a quality story here that boasts surpring coheveness and continuity.
Redent Evil
Let’s be honest with ourselves: this franchise has been a lly rollercoaster ride from the jump. Sometimes it feels as though installments aim for over-the-top cheese, sometimes you’d swear you were watching a pure action film, sometimes you’re certain you’re watching a drama. It’s made for some fairly off continuity, but I cannot lie: these films are a blast. I love zombies, I love to see brains fly, and I love Milla Jovovich: that all spells winner to me.
Saw
I’ve never been huge on the Saw franchise, but I cannot lie, the first three films were extremely well written and surpringly coherent in their direction. The gore has always been a blast, and the thought invested in some of this series’ murderous methods is truly second to none. As I stated, this series isn’t necessarily for me, but I refuse to disrespect such an important chunk of horror history.
Paranormal Activity
The found footage kingpin! Paranormal activity initially looked like your typical… well, found footage flick: perhaps stimulating, but likely not more than once. Well, audiences got a surprise, because this is one of the finest franchises to see birth in a long, long time. The scares are incredible, the special FX work is impresve yet fairly subtle, and the story
has kicked serious ass thus far. Winning!
Feast
While this franchise has begun to nosedive, and is rumored to have been laid to rest, it still had its moments, and there’s still a posbility of more sequels to come. The original was so outrageous and hysterical that the following sequels did indeed find success, despite noticeable neglect. This one is just so damn outlandish I wouldn’t know where to start. All I can really say is this: if you like seeing crazy animals slaughter and rape some of the most diverse characters on screen, you’re probably well informed in the ways of Feast.
Hostel
This franchise rooted in the rot of torture porn (I can dig plenty of it, trust me) makes for the Dummies Guide of What to do and What Not to do When Traveling or Dealing With Strangers. There’s some awesome gore and gnarly visuals in store for viewers here, unfortunately I don’t find all too much quality in the story itself. But hey, a third installment is knocking on the door, and you never know what form of twist we may be hit with!
Got some recommendations I didn’t cover? Let us all hear ‘em
Matt_Molgaard
Thursday 11/03/2011 at 08:05 PM | 86397
Even though it hasn't been released yet, I'd have to say Piranha and Piranha 3DD. You pretty much covered the ones I would choose (Hatchet, Final Destination, Paranormal Activity, Redent Evil). I honestly can't think of a whole lot of franchises that I really enjoyed in the last ten years. I don't know if it counts, but Halloween H20. Yeah, it's 13 years ago, but I don't care. That movie rocked. I also enjoyed a lot that didn't become franchises, like Club Dread, Valentine, Shark Night 3D (I'm sure it will), A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Chillerama, etc.
ObscureCinema101
Thursday 11/03/2011 at 09:17 PM | 86400
Nice list man! Of the films noted, most of them had great first installments and went downhill after that. SAW, SAW 2, SAW 3 and SAW 6 are all films that I own and films that I enjoy watching for the writing, twist, turns, guts
and style.
It sucks that the franchise had to end with Saw 3D because it was arguably the worst film in the franchise.
Hostel was a pretty good film and for some reason I liked part 2 even more! The beginning of part 2 with that nerdy annoying girl and the over the top decapitation scene were a bit much but once it got to a certain point it was awesome! I find it a little strange that part 3 is heading straight to video and with out Eli Roth behind it, I might have to skip it.The Final Destination films also hold a place in my heart because the first 2 were great! Part 3 was okay, didn't even watch part 4 and part 5 had some entertaining deaths and a creative way to link it to the first film.
Hatchet was pretty fun but I didn't like it enough to buy it, same goes for wrong turn, PA, Feast and the rest of the films on your list.There are some great French horror films out that may not have sequels but blow most of the American films out of the water!
and style.
It sucks that the franchise had to end with Saw 3D because it was arguably the worst film in the franchise.
Hostel was a pretty good film and for some reason I liked part 2 even more! The beginning of part 2 with that nerdy annoying girl and the over the top decapitation scene were a bit much but once it got to a certain point it was awesome! I find it a little strange that part 3 is heading straight to video and with out Eli Roth behind it, I might have to skip it.The Final Destination films also hold a place in my heart because the first 2 were great! Part 3 was okay, didn't even watch part 4 and part 5 had some entertaining deaths and a creative way to link it to the first film.
Hatchet was pretty fun but I didn't like it enough to buy it, same goes for wrong turn, PA, Feast and the rest of the films on your list.There are some great French horror films out that may not have sequels but blow most of the American films out of the water!
Sephit
Thursday 11/03/2011 at 10:15 PM | 86401
Hatchet and laid to rest are my favorites.
hm4life
Thursday 11/03/2011 at 10:17 PM | 86402
i think my top 3 would look like this, now that i'm reflecting.
#1. Cold Prey #2. Paranormal Activity #3. Hatchet
probably Underworld and Wrong Turn would make my 4 and 5 spots.
#1. Cold Prey #2. Paranormal Activity #3. Hatchet
probably Underworld and Wrong Turn would make my 4 and 5 spots.
Matt_Molgaard
Thursday 11/03/2011 at 11:54 PM | 86412
TWILIGHT! jk.
I've enjoyed all the movies on that list. The Underworld movies were good, I kind of categorize them as sci-fi action...but I liked the premise.
My favorite has to be the Paranormal Activity movies. I've never seen a series do so much with so little. I mean, what do they have? A fairly normal house, a camcorder, and some great subtle special effects with a very low budget.
And they're GOOD, which is the important thing.
I've enjoyed all the movies on that list. The Underworld movies were good, I kind of categorize them as sci-fi action...but I liked the premise.
My favorite has to be the Paranormal Activity movies. I've never seen a series do so much with so little. I mean, what do they have? A fairly normal house, a camcorder, and some great subtle special effects with a very low budget.
And they're GOOD, which is the important thing.
Jonny Sicko
Friday 11/04/2011 at 01:36 AM | 86421
Yeah, I follow Laid to Rest and Hatchet because they boast iconic killers, creative kills, and buckets of the red stuff. The first saw was clever, saw II was decent, after that, I just roll my eyes.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.
i hate feast II probably the way u hate rob zombie's H2 lol.
wrong turn 3 was total crap.
the rest are pretty cool. some more than others. any movie where the vampires and werewolves don't glisten in the sun is good by me. U forgot to mention texas chainsaw massacre. granted the new one has nothing to do with the platinum dunes releases. its still part of a franchise.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.
i hate feast II probably the way u hate rob zombie's H2 lol.
wrong turn 3 was total crap.
the rest are pretty cool. some more than others. any movie where the vampires and werewolves don't glisten in the sun is good by me. U forgot to mention texas chainsaw massacre. granted the new one has nothing to do with the platinum dunes releases. its still part of a franchise.
the_vengeful_machete
Friday 11/04/2011 at 01:47 AM | 86426
Yeah, I follow Laid to Rest and Hatchet because they boast iconic killers, creative kills, and buckets of the red stuff. The first saw was clever, saw II was decent, after that, I just roll my eyes.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.
i hate feast II probably the way u hate rob zombie's H2 lol.
the rest are pretty cool. some more than others. any movie where the vampires and werewolves dont glisten in the sun is good by me. U forgot to mention texas chainsaw massacre. granted the new one has nothing to do with the platinum dunes releases. its still part of a franchise.
i excluded TCSM because it's an old ass franchise that launched in the 70's. I dont really conder reboots or newer sequels as qualifiers for "new" franchises.
And yes, Feast 2 was definitely a questionable film, to be kind. Though I do know some who will still swear by it lol
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.
i hate feast II probably the way u hate rob zombie's H2 lol.
the rest are pretty cool. some more than others. any movie where the vampires and werewolves dont glisten in the sun is good by me. U forgot to mention texas chainsaw massacre. granted the new one has nothing to do with the platinum dunes releases. its still part of a franchise.
i excluded TCSM because it's an old ass franchise that launched in the 70's. I dont really conder reboots or newer sequels as qualifiers for "new" franchises.
And yes, Feast 2 was definitely a questionable film, to be kind. Though I do know some who will still swear by it lol
Matt_Molgaard
Friday 11/04/2011 at 01:52 AM | 86427
Yeah, I follow Laid to Rest and Hatchet because they boast iconic killers, creative kills, and buckets of the red stuff. The first saw was clever, saw II was decent, after that, I just roll my eyes.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.It's funny that you mention Hostel as torture porn because everyone kept telling me the same thing for years and it made me not to watch them. I finally borrowed part 1 and 2 from a fellow Bidite and friend and they weren't nearly as bad as people make them out to be, the first one had some questionable looking effects (the eyeball hanging) the second one improved in quality overall and had a really good twist at the end. What I'm saying is that I guess my mind imagined way crazier films so by the time I watched them, they weren't even that bad, the Saw films have way more gore than Hostel.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.It's funny that you mention Hostel as torture porn because everyone kept telling me the same thing for years and it made me not to watch them. I finally borrowed part 1 and 2 from a fellow Bidite and friend and they weren't nearly as bad as people make them out to be, the first one had some questionable looking effects (the eyeball hanging) the second one improved in quality overall and had a really good twist at the end. What I'm saying is that I guess my mind imagined way crazier films so by the time I watched them, they weren't even that bad, the Saw films have way more gore than Hostel.
Sephit
Friday 11/04/2011 at 06:12 AM | 86440
Yeah, I follow Laid to Rest and Hatchet because they boast iconic killers, creative kills, and buckets of the red stuff. The first saw was clever, saw II was decent, after that, I just roll my eyes.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.It's funny that you mention Hostel as torture porn because everyone kept telling me the same thing for years and it made me not to watch them. I finally borrowed part 1 and 2 from a fellow Bidite and friend and they weren't nearly as bad as people make them out to be, the first one had some questionable looking effects (the eyeball hanging) the second one improved in quality overall and had a really good twist at the end. What I'm saying is that I guess my mind imagined way crazier films so by the time I watched them, they weren't even that bad, the Saw films have way more gore than Hostel.
I'm not a huge Saw fan either. I just can't get into movies dealing with torture. I don't know what the hell it is. It's not a moral thing...I guess I prefer stalk and kill. I'd rather there be a good chase sequence, knowing the victim has at least a chance to get away. To me that's more suspnesful. lol. Who the hell knows? Maybe one day I'll give Hostel 2 a shot? I saw the first one. It just didn't register with me I guess.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.It's funny that you mention Hostel as torture porn because everyone kept telling me the same thing for years and it made me not to watch them. I finally borrowed part 1 and 2 from a fellow Bidite and friend and they weren't nearly as bad as people make them out to be, the first one had some questionable looking effects (the eyeball hanging) the second one improved in quality overall and had a really good twist at the end. What I'm saying is that I guess my mind imagined way crazier films so by the time I watched them, they weren't even that bad, the Saw films have way more gore than Hostel.
I'm not a huge Saw fan either. I just can't get into movies dealing with torture. I don't know what the hell it is. It's not a moral thing...I guess I prefer stalk and kill. I'd rather there be a good chase sequence, knowing the victim has at least a chance to get away. To me that's more suspnesful. lol. Who the hell knows? Maybe one day I'll give Hostel 2 a shot? I saw the first one. It just didn't register with me I guess.
the_vengeful_machete
Friday 11/04/2011 at 12:28 PM | 86449
Yeah, I follow Laid to Rest and Hatchet because they boast iconic killers, creative kills, and buckets of the red stuff. The first saw was clever, saw II was decent, after that, I just roll my eyes.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.
i hate feast II probably the way u hate rob zombie's H2 lol.
the rest are pretty cool. some more than others. any movie where the vampires and werewolves dont glisten in the sun is good by me. U forgot to mention texas chainsaw massacre. granted the new one has nothing to do with the platinum dunes releases. its still part of a franchise.
i excluded TCSM because it's an old ass franchise that launched in the 70's. I dont really conder reboots or newer sequels as qualifiers for "new" franchises.
And yes, Feast 2 was definitely a questionable film, to be kind. Though I do know some who will still swear by it lol
I'll give you that. TCM is an old ass franchise, indeed. lol.
As for Feast II...there's another missed oppurtunity. I felt it could have been so much more, but the lack of budget and creativity turned it into a vomit-soaked mess. It had a different tone than the first, which I think was a detriment to that film. They felt the need to add extended scenes of everyone vomiting. Then there is the dream/fantasy involing some redneck and that chick, I forget her name...Honey Pie...or some shit like that? Anyway, they're making out and there's this blue Jell-o crap all over them. What the hell is that?
I just remember there being conderably less monster action and more annoying characters. And what the hell with Clu Gulager returning? Was he supposed to be a different character? I saw that film once when it first came to DVD. I don't remember all of the details. I remember it was a waste of my time. IMHO.
i've only seen the first paranormal activity, and have a feeling i'm misng out. torture porn's not my thing so to hell with hostel.
i hate feast II probably the way u hate rob zombie's H2 lol.
the rest are pretty cool. some more than others. any movie where the vampires and werewolves dont glisten in the sun is good by me. U forgot to mention texas chainsaw massacre. granted the new one has nothing to do with the platinum dunes releases. its still part of a franchise.
i excluded TCSM because it's an old ass franchise that launched in the 70's. I dont really conder reboots or newer sequels as qualifiers for "new" franchises.
And yes, Feast 2 was definitely a questionable film, to be kind. Though I do know some who will still swear by it lol
I'll give you that. TCM is an old ass franchise, indeed. lol.
As for Feast II...there's another missed oppurtunity. I felt it could have been so much more, but the lack of budget and creativity turned it into a vomit-soaked mess. It had a different tone than the first, which I think was a detriment to that film. They felt the need to add extended scenes of everyone vomiting. Then there is the dream/fantasy involing some redneck and that chick, I forget her name...Honey Pie...or some shit like that? Anyway, they're making out and there's this blue Jell-o crap all over them. What the hell is that?
I just remember there being conderably less monster action and more annoying characters. And what the hell with Clu Gulager returning? Was he supposed to be a different character? I saw that film once when it first came to DVD. I don't remember all of the details. I remember it was a waste of my time. IMHO.
the_vengeful_machete
Friday 11/04/2011 at 12:37 PM | 86450
I'm not a huge Saw fan either. I just can't get into movies dealing with torture. I don't know what the hell it is. It's not a moral thing...I guess I prefer stalk and kill. I'd rather there be a good chase sequence, knowing the victim has at least a chance to get away. To me that's more suspnesful. lol. Who the hell knows? Maybe one day I'll give Hostel 2 a shot? I saw the first one. It just didn't register with me I guess.
Maybe I liked it because I watched the first Hostel literally this year so it could have seemed tame compared to some of the other films I've seen over the years. At the end of Hostel there is actually a chase sequence in which he manages to save the aan girl and steal a car, they arrive at the train station and he manages to get away just in time. The Aan girl had a chance to get away as well but she couldn't live with her self knowing how she looked now so she killed herself, this also served as a distraction for the main character to get away.
I thought it was pretty suspenseful and reminded me of North by Northwest when they are trying to escape onto the train disguised and manage to get away just in time.Keep in mind that Hostel is in no way one of my favorite films and I don't own it but I thought it was pretty good when I watched it.
A film I really enjoyed recently was INDE and I plan to buy it.
Sephit
Friday 11/04/2011 at 05:37 PM | 86464
Saw definitely. The last installment was pretty bad but the first 6 all kept me thoroughly entertained. I feel like the franchise gets a lot of slack when it's actually pretty good. Hatchet would be my #2, but after the new Leslie Vernon movie comes out I'm hoping Behind the Mask steals that spot.
spencerisrad666
Friday 11/04/2011 at 05:51 PM | 86465
Saw definitely. The last installment was pretty bad but the first 6 all kept me thoroughly entertained. I feel like the franchise gets a lot of slack when it's actually pretty good. Hatchet would be my #2, but after the new Leslie Vernon movie comes out I'm hoping Behind the Mask steals that spot.
Well in my eyes Behind the Mask is better than Hatchet and I completely agree with you on the new film as well as the Saw franchise (sans Saw 4,5,7).
Well in my eyes Behind the Mask is better than Hatchet and I completely agree with you on the new film as well as the Saw franchise (sans Saw 4,5,7).
Sephit
Friday 11/04/2011 at 05:53 PM | 86466
