LET THE HORROR FRANCHISES DIE

Those of us who grew up in the 80s had the good fortune of experiencing perhaps one of the best decades for horror films ever witnessed. It was the decade the horror franchise was officially created. Up to that point, James Bond was the only gold plated cinematic franchise. DIRTY HARRY tested its potential with the follow-ups MAGNUM FORCE and THE ENFORCER. And, of course, STAR WARS. But, nobody expected horror to rise to that status. Sure, horror and sci-fi were big in the 1930s and 1950s, but legitimate franchises? In the 80s horror was seen as necessary one offs to keep the lights on while big money was being spent on “real movies”. But, something happened. HALLOWEEN came along in 1978, and proved horror could not only keep the lights on, it could also add a couple floors.

In the 80s, horror fans witnessed FRIDAY THE 13th, HALLOWEEN, EVIL DEAD, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, CHILD’S PLAY, and the HELLRAISER films become power house franchises, and producers realized horror was a cinematic ATM machine. This encouraged them to take risks on new titles as they mined for theatrical gold, looking for the next mega hit franchise. As a result, we ended-up with decent efforts like BAD DREAMS and SHOCKER. While they didn’t yield the lofty franchises their producers hoped, they did well enough on the exploding cable and home video market to encourage other producers to take a swing at the plate. Even if the film didn’t yield a bankable franchise, horror was hot and the return of investment was not only likely, it was almost guaranteed. But, all good things come to an end. Market over saturation, and unsatisfying sequels churned out like fast food turned once bankable franchises into tired underperforming entities and killed the market. Everything looked the same because it was. The genre had been clear cut like a section of forest, and all that remained were memories of what once was.

Then… SCREAM. This smart, self-aware 90s horror flick gave the genre a shot in the arm, which caused studios to reach back to those original franchises and see if any more blood could squeeze out of them. There was quite a bit, actually. But, once again, prod cos to overplayed their hand, churning out mediocre entries which returned those franchises back to underperforming status.

The next horror boom arrived in the shape of 2002’s THE RING, which not only created a run on US adaptions of successful Japanese horror titles, putting unique, fresh material in the horror market, it also caused prod cos to – once again -- look to the intellectual properties they already owned. This not only cheaper, but those titles have a built-in audience base pretty much guaranteed to show up. The result was FREDDY VS JASON (2003), more HALLOWEEN films, which eventually included the 2007 Rob Zombie remake, as well as a reboot of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE franchise.

Since then, we’ve had a NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET remake. Another reboot of HALLOWEEN is in the works. FRIDAY THE 13TH was not only remade in 2009, it’s being remade yet again. HELLRAISER is being “reimagined”. The list goes on and on.

Look... I’m not against remakes, by any means. Some, like THE HILLS HAVE EYES remake, can actually bring something new to the table. Not to mention making films is costly, and the people who finance movies want some kind of guarantee (as best as one can be offered) on their investment. And the only way to make the money people feel better about forking over $10 million dollars to make a movie, is to be able to point to how well the original iteration of a movie performed, so it’s redux has a decent shot at doing the same. The problem is… what’s old is not always new. It’s simply old. Can anybody really breathe new life into A NIGHMARE ON ELM STREET at this point? After six sequels and a remake? Can anybody really reinvent Michael Meyers or Jason Voorhees after all the sequels and reboots? Jason has been brought back from the dead, swam to Manhattan, come back from hell, and shot into space. He even got to pretend he was in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 and play around in tunnels under Camp Crystal Lake. Speaking of TCM, is there really much more which can be explored about the TEXAS CHAINSAW clan? They eat people. Okay. Now what?

Yes, I know there are some really talented writers and directors out there and, yeah, some of them just might be able to pull off a really good “fan film”, hit all the beats that will take you back to your youth for about 90 minutes, but… what then? Can you really rebuild a franchise for the third or fourth time based purely on nostalgia? What’s that? You’re introducing these titles to a new generation you say? Sure. I’ll give you that. But, for what? One film? Maybe two? Today’s generation moves at the speed of light and what’s new is old while its corpse is still warm.

The biggest problem I see with repeatedly going back to these franchises like a previous significant other who always answers the 2 AM call, is there is no growth. The genre never entirely moves on. While the franchises of the 80s encouraged producers to take chances on new material and filmmakers in an effort to find their own bankable properties, today they only serve to repeat what has been done because it’s easy and cheap. Like the ex.

Producers and audiences are in an unhealthy relationship with their past love. We go on a date with these good, old, reliable retreads, hoping to recapture what once was, and while it feels good in the moment, it doesn’t feel… right. It’s ultimately empty. Because all we have done is go backward. We have not moved forward, or discovered anything new. You can’t go home again, and sometimes you shouldn’t. It only serves to keep you in stasis, and stifles growth.

If familiarity breeds contempt, then it’s time to bury these franchises in the graveyard of time. Only then can we really appreciate what once was, rather than look at them with disdain for no longer holding the magic they once possessed.

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