There’s no sugar coating it: horror films are not regarded as highly as other genres of film. Characters are often one-dimensional and plots feel predictable and cliche. That turns people off the genre, and certainly off of the prospect of bingeing a whole horror franchise – but it’s spooky season. It’s time to face the cringe, and enjoy the experience of being absolutely petrified, despite your biological wiring urging you to switch over to Bridgerton. Here’s my list of horror franchises that are close to my heart, and that I’d highly recommend to watch with friends (horror movies are a social affair, after all).
Halloween
It would be criminal to not open with the classic horror for Halloween. Spanning from 1978-2022, it’s one of the longest standing horror franchises, featuring the famed final girl, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).
The basic formula for the Halloween franchise is that, around Halloween, serial killer and mental patient Michael Myers will make an appearance and – to put it plainly – tries to kill every other character in the film.
With a whopping 13 films in the franchise, they do become a bit silly at times (Myers’ immortality becoming an unforgiving plot hole), but that’s part of the fun! A binge of thirteen films is very heavy, so I’d personally recommend watching the first three, and seeing how patient you feel about Michael’s nine lives at that point. Also, bonus points for the iconic soundtrack!
The Purge
The Purge is a franchise containing five films that are equally as concerned with real-life political and social issues as it is with making you squirm at extremely graphic violence.
The premise of the Purge films is that the American government has allotted one night (a 12-hour period) per year where all crimes, including violent ones, are legal. The films follow a variety of individuals and families that try and survive the events of the evening.
The Purge films are dystopian tales that expertly build tension and contain a satisfying amount of jump scares and pay-offs. The realism in how people would take advantage of this opportunity makes it all the more disturbing.
Insidious
The Insidious franchise, which spans across five films, is one that’s very close to my heart. I was firmly anti- horror before I watched the infamous jump scare in the first film; it made me realise how fun and exhilarating horror films can be.
Insidious explores what would happen if evil entities and spirits could influence our world. It mainly follows the Lambert family, who, for some reason (no spoilers!) are being taunted and haunted by an evil presence.
Directed by James Wan (The Conjuring universe), Insidious is the franchise on this list that scares me the most. This is mainly due to the fact that I’m more scared by ghosts, jump scares, etc. than gore or body-horror. As it largely focuses on family dynamics, the Insidious films also have an emotional aspect to them which enhances the horror. A sixth film, Thread, is due to be released in 2025, starring Kumail Nanjiani and Mandy Moore.
Scream
Wes Craven’s cult classic. The Scream franchise consists of six films spanning from 1996 – 2023, all of which spoof existing horror tropes, whilst simultaneously hooking you into a classic ‘whodunnit’ story with so many suspects and plot twists that suck you in from the very beginning.
The basic premise of a Scream film is that there is a serial killer (who wears a ‘ghost face’ mask inspired by Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream) amongst the characters we follow trying to survive. Each character seems guilty and has a feasible motive. We watch them be picked off in many gruesome and painful death sequences, until the final ‘big reveal’ of the killer.
With ‘Final Girl’ Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) to rival Laurie Strode, as well as an amazing cast over the years (Courtney Cox and David Arquette included), the Scream franchise promises to give you a good time, with some laughs (and an occasional tear – for me at least!) along the way.
A Nightmare on Elm St.
It wouldn’t be a good horror recommendation list if the A Nightmare on Elm St. franchise wasn’t mentioned. Freddy Krueger is one of the most iconic villains to come out of the horror genre; his red and black striped jumper and knives for hands immediately strike fear into anyone who might’ve watched this film a little too young (thanks mum).
The concept for the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is that of a group of teenagers are, for some reason, being haunted by and killed in their dreams by a burnt, vengeful assailant who has knives for hands. It tackles the effects of repression and childhood trauma in a nuanced way, and the first instalment sports the iconic ‘hand in the bathtub’ scene.
Alien
Alien is so much more than just a horror franchise, Ridley Scott’s tension-riddled space thriller is a cinematic masterpiece.
The Alien franchise (with the exception of the Alien vs. Predator films and Prometheus) generally follow a crew of a spacecraft who are being hunted by large, insect-like aliens called Xenomorphs. The plotline’s become quite lore-heavy as the films go on, and diverge from the more horror-focused elements of the first film (James Cameron’s Aliens is more action heavy than horror).
There are many fun facts about the (nine!) Alien films that make you appreciate all the effort that was put into making them. The concept of setting a scene inside a claustrophobic ship in the middle of space where no one can hear you scream (yes, that’s from Alien!) creates a jaw-grinding, unsettling atmosphere.
Final Destination
The Final Destination franchise is, without a doubt, my favourite. Composed of five films with a sixth film due to be released next year, the franchise just hits the spot for me, featuring the perfect mixture of an interesting concept, cheesy 2000’s tropes (for better or for worse), and an amazing knack for keeping you on the edge of your seat. Each film connects to another in some way, making it a very satisfying binge as you pick up on subtle throwbacks and references.
The concept of Final Destination is that, in the start of each film, the protagonist will experience a premonition of theirs and others’ deaths in a horrific accident, and is then able to prevent it from happening. However, death has a way of coming back for those who have escaped it. Thus, in a very sinister fashion, death comes back for those who evaded it in very creative (and very gory) ways.
Final Destination’s use of freak accidents that could happen to any of us (a plane crash or a bridge collapse, perhaps) evokes a sense of horror that doesn’t feel as far-fetched as hauntings or immortal serial killers. Anticipating just how on earth death will be inflicted on them makes for great conversation whilst watching it in a group setting.
I cannot stress this enough – it’s a great franchise.
Saw (Jigsaw)
The Saw franchise is not for the faint of heart. It is a full-on, relentless, ‘watch-through-your-hands’ body-horror gore fest (personally, I don’t think I could stomach a marathon). It consists of ten films, some better than others (the seventh instalment, Saw: The Final Chapter, scored a shocking 9% on Rotten Tomatoes), but each is equally as creatively grotesque as the last.
The concept around each Saw film is typically is that, for reasons usually relating to moral shortcomings, a group of strangers are placed in a masterfully constructed ‘game’ of sorts, where they have to perform various self-mutilating and murderous acts in order to escape the place alive.
Diverging from the rest of the franchises, I think the most recent instalment Saw X, where we delve more into the character of Jigsaw (no spoilers!), is one of the best of the franchise. This is refreshing for any franchise, let alone one belonging to the horror genre!
Honourable mentions:
Terrifier, X/Pearl/MaXXXine, Chucky, The Conjuring, Friday the 13th.
