As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
What makes a franchise maintain the test of time? What makes each film consistently enjoyable and something you want to go back and watch it again? What about the rare instances, where the franchise jumps mediums and ends up as a television show? So, the question I put before you all is, what is the most solid franchise in horror right now or ever? The qualifications for this honor are simple:
1) The series must contain, at least, 3 films.
2) It doesn't have to be a box office success to be considered a great film. As long as the fans support it and consider it a worthy installment in the franchise, it will qualify.
3) There can be no weak links in the chain. If one of the three or more films is looked on as a throw away movie, then the entire series is no longer eligible to compete or if it spawned and inferior television show.
Of course, this is as much my own opinion as it is yours, but the idea here is to spark some in depth thought into the question and to create your own argument for which series you feel deserves this title. There's always room for more than one franchise in this category. It's just something fun that I'd been thinking about and wondered if anyone else would find this as interesting of a thing to ponder as I do!
When I first had this idea, I proposed it to some of my most trusted horror friends and got different answers from each of them. It not only showed me that everyone's personal taste would affect their decision, but that their definition of what a horror film is, would differ too. At the time when I asked the question, I didn't have an answer of my own. It took me quite a while to decide what met all of the qualifications, because the more films I came up with, the more I found flaws in with the varying sequels. One of my runner ups in this category, I ultimately disqualified. Not because it didn't deserve a mention, but because I felt like it fell just a bit outside of what I would consider a horror film. Granted, it has all the earmarks of what horror is or should be, but it also had a lot of elements of an action film and a dystopian drama. The series that I'm talking about is, 'The Purge'. I know that the first film may not have paid off in all of the promises that it made in the premise. However, upon repeated viewings, it held up as an allegory for modern society and where we could be headed in the near future. The sequel, 'The Purge: Anarchy' cashed the check that the first film wrote and paid some interest for making us wait for the payoff. It was well worth the wait, in my opinion and made the first film a stronger piece of cinema. 'The Purge: Election Year' took the elements of the first two films and pushed it to it's logical conclusion. On the whole, the trilogy is a very satisfying watch and there's talk of a 4th installment, that will be a prequel, telling about how The Purge began. James DeMonaco has built a complete world and mythos that sparks the imagination of the viewer. Those who would participate in The Purge and those would would be opposed to it. The films have proven to have a strong cult following and will stick with you long after the credits roll. Sadly, for me, they're not horror. So, they are disqualified for this specific distinction, but are still impressive in their own right.
Okay, with all of that being said, what IS the franchise that I think has earned this title? For me, there is only one that has met all three of the requirements I laid out and that series would be: 'The Evil Dead'. From the mind of Sam Raimi, came one of the more iconic characters in horror, Ashley J. Williams. In the original film, 'The Evil Dead', it played as straight up horror movie. Produced on a shoestring budget and mainly relying on the help of friends, this original installment proved to be an effective horror film, but one that never could have been seen as a virtual juggernaut of a franchise. However, with the release of 'Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn', we saw Bruce Campbell step forward as a force to be reckoned. We also saw a more fleshed out (almost) re-telling of the original film and the true definition of a 'cult classic'. It quickly became a staple of the genre and held the promise of what was to come. When 'Army of Darkness' was released, it took the whole series in another direction and despite being entirely different from the first two installments, it felt like a logical progression of the franchise. It spun off into a line of toys, comic books and a whole lot of merchandising. At the time, none of us could have predicted where it would end up today. With a solid remake/retelling/possible sequel being made by Fede Alvarez, we saw 'Evil Dead' brought into the modern day and proved that everything old can be new again. From there, Sam Raimi turned his eye to television. There was a question how this franchise would translate onto the small screen, but with season 2 firmly underway, we've seen that not only does it work on television.... but it's pretty damn amazing. Entertaining, frightening and incredibly well done, 'Ash Vs Evil Dead' solidified this series' place on the top of the heap. Having spanned 35 years now, what started as a little indie film that could, proved itself to be a force to be reckoned with. Ash will always hold a place in the genre as a fixture of modern day reluctant hero and one that continues to have his legend grow with each passing year. As long as the Deadites keep coming back for more, the audience will keep watching.
What say you to all of this? Do you agree or would you have another contender to throw their hat into the ring? Only time will tell if 'The Evil Dead' series will continue to reign supreme, but with new horror films being made every year, only time will tell what the future holds. Hail to the king, baby!
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