Why Modern Sequels to Classic Horror Franchises Just Don’t Work.

Moments ago I finished watching the Amityville: The Awakening trailer, the twelfth movie in the franchise which will be hitting theaters on the second day of the new year. It pissed me off and this whole post is in reference to the recently released trailer. It’s a bit of a rant, but maybe you’ll find that you agree with it. And if you don’t agree, make sure you voice that opinion, too. I love reading your responses in regards to my crazy, opinion filled rants.

I strongly believe that any cult movie/slasher film franchise that started before the 2000s shouldn’t be touched in any capacity. No remakes, no new sequels. I strongly believe that any modern sequels to classic franchises should not be produced. It’s clearly not because I can’t stand the likes of Freddy, Michael, Jason, Leatherface, Pinhead, Chucky…or even as far as the Amityville spirits. It’s because of my huge respect and admiration for the movies – both their characters and the people who put them forth into the world – that I think they should be retired. Completely off limits. Do not pass go. Any new sequels – including reboots and remakes – lack two important qualities, something crucial that makes them so iconic.

Those two qualities are originality and that scary, gritty, old-school feeling brought on by now outdated camera-work. What made movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play, and Amityville Horror so damn scary was because of the originality, the mystery – at the time they were all brand new movies that we hadn’t seen before. You didn’t know what was about to happen, but you buckled up for the ride anyway. You took that journey with the characters whether you were watching the movies during their theatrical release decades ago or discovering them a few years back. With every new sequel we took that ride again because there was still something left to learn. Who knew Michael Myers had a cult worshipping him? Who knew other teenagers could access hidden powers to fight Freddy in their dreams? Who knew Chucky and his bride-doll, Tiffany, could still procreate?

Sure, as we approached sequel 6, 7, and 8 the series started to get a little stale, but that old school movie magic was still there. That gritty film feeling and edge of your seat suspense still had you by your shirt collar. Hell, you didn’t get a glimpse at Michael until midway through the movie. You didn’t see Pamela Voorhees as the killer until the very end of the movie. All of the iconic slasher and horror film franchises came at the perfect time because they were able to capitalize on the population’s desire to see the macabre and the hacking and slashing was brand new to the world. Movies and television shows weren’t even a fraction as violent as they are today. I mean, did you hear about people fainting and being taken out on stretchers during screenings of The Exorcist in the 1970s? Body count films and crazy supernatural thrillers opened up feelings the public had never experienced before. Learning something new, it almost felt like we knew Freddy, we learned something from Michael, and we were proud of Jason. In a way, they became our friends. That’s why we love them so much and why we should leave them in peace.

But, so is the cycle of Hollywood. Because studios know that older horror fans will still pay money to see their beloved friends on screen again, and that new fans will join into the fray because of the hype, reboots and remakes keep happening. However, they can’t compete with the originals or their first few sequels and they never will. Did anyone actually see Hellraiser: Revelations (2011)? Nope, didn’t think so. Same goes for Scream 4 (2011), although I loved it, it failed at the box office and in DVD sales. Piranha 3DD (2012)? Laughable. Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)? Didn’t bother. CGI Chucky in Curse of Chucky (2013)? You gotta’ be kidding me, right? None of these movies had a lick of originality to them. We, as a whole, didn’t care about the characters…and we weren’t learning something new anymore. The characters who we thought were our friends came back like an associate at the twenty year high school reunion. Not the same person. Not the same feeling. I’d gladly watch Scream 2 over Scream 4. I’d watch Child’s Play II over Curse of Chucky. Wouldn’t you?

And this is Hollywood’s fault, too. Writers, as far as I’m concerned, aren’t given enough credit for their original ideas and are overlooked for writers with a successful background who are a name in the game. Recycling ideas being the name of that game, specifically. Despite the tools used to make films progressing leaps and bounds over the last thirty years, the quality of work has diminished. The light bulbs going off in writers’ heads have diminished. Someone develops one new technique to scare us and everyone else will use that same technique for years. The horror genre is becoming a one trick pony in its method to scare viewers. I remember being scared shitless when Chucky popped out at the teacher in Child’s Play II and not knowing what the fuck was going on during that speeches scene in Species II. That creativity, the ability to look inside the dark recesses of a person’s mind and pull out the worst nightmare just doesn’t exist anymore, especially when it comes to modern sequels to a classic franchise. Sure, we get a few gems every once and a while – The Hills Have Eyes remake, Saw, Grave Encounters – but it’s really the independent film industry or straight-to-DVD titles that you need to look to for a decent, original, even scary plot.

Speaking of Saw, look at it this way… Saw lasted from 2003 – 2010 and didn’t get any hate. I’d wager that if/when the franchise returns in five or six years, the movies are going to be bashed. We get it. We bought what they had to offer. Now we’ve moved on. Let Jigsaw rest. Wrong Turn has lasted from 2003 – 2015 and most people hate them (I personally love them) because of how silly they are, not because they’re killing beloved, iconic characters and their legacies. Joy Ride has lasted from 2001 – 2014 and it looks like people don’t have a good opinion on that franchise either way. These are just examples, but my point is: even laughable franchise created in the last 14 years don’t receive nearly as much hate as reboots and remakes to classic horror films.

So, Hollywood, please… Stop killing my friends. Put Jason back in the lake. Put Chucky back in the box. Put Poltergeist back in the TV. Don’t answer the phone when The Ring girl calls. And let the spirits at the Amityville Horror house rest! The trailer looks horrible. I don’t recall the rating, but it’s definitely going to be a PG-13 teen movie that is supposed to be “sooooo like scary” but pisses everyone over the age of 21 off. I salute you for trying to reintroduce Amityville to the masses, but you’ll never compare to the original and its installments. Modern sequels to classic horror franchises. Just. Don’t. Work. We’ll always take these characters and their stories with us wherever we go for as long as we can remember. We don’t need the movies’ fake twin jumping into our lives, too.