15 Horror Franchises That Helped Define the Face of the Genre
Steve Barton
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Hellraiser:
Hellraiser set the bar for gore films. You want to look at an early example of nauseating special effects – primarily practical, might I add – you need look only to Clive Barker’s unbelievably sadistic creation. Pinhead is diabolical. The Cenobites in general truly are the things of nightmares. Hell, these creatures would’ve given Lovecraft a mental breakdown. The Hellraiser franchise has taken a turn for the worse in recent years but the early films (the first three rank among series favorites for me personally) in this long running fan adored series are excellent works that will leave you more than a little queasy. A word of advice, which comes from personal experience: don’t believe your young teenager when they tell you they’re prepared to watch a Hellraiser flick. They’re probably not even close to prepared.
Saw:
The truth is, aside from James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s original Saw film, I’m not a big fan of this series (okay the bone breaker/torture rack scene in part 3 was damn disgusting, and one of the unbelievably rare moments in film which makes me cringe). It’s just a bit too gratuitous for my taste, and the plot seems more transparent with each passing picture. My opinion however, doesn’t change the fact that there are legions of Saw fanatics (the series has made more than $870 million worldwide, at the box office alone) running about. When a flick featuring Jigsaw hits the big screen, the weirdos come out in sizable hordes. Whether it works for me or not, Saw
Phantasm:
Don’t even contemplate trying to convince me a world without the ultra-psychedelic set of films branded, Phantasm is a world worth living in. Don Coscarelli’s story is strange, incoherent, confusing, bloated to the point of near eruption… but it’s completely engaging. Most of us fell in love with this quirky story the moment we laid eyes on it. And there’s good reason for that. Phantasm is absurdly charming, and we all want to know what the hell is really going on. You just never know when Don may throw viewers a curveball, and that capricious approach will only continue to squeeze our attention for all its worth.
Abbott and Costello:
Surprised to see Abbott and Costello make the cut? You shouldn’t be. That said, if you’ve been alive less than three or four decades I can understand how the comedic duo may be completely foreign to you, hence the confusion. If that is the case, I strongly suggest acquainting yourself with their work. These two men set the foundation for comedy in horror. And while the A&C films always worked to blend hokey jokes and pure slapstick humor, the idea that laughs could be injected into very serious stories influenced countless filmmakers. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is one of the greatest examples of a game changing film; Larry Talbot is such a dark, sad and conflicted character that watching him interact with two of the biggest goobers alive is unique in a way few probably ever could have predicted. Other Abbott and Costello standouts include Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff and Abbott and Costello in Hold That Ghost.
The Dead:
George Romero is a mastermind and a revolutionary. H’s a man bold enough to walk into a minefield all alone, and trust his instincts. He is, to a major degree also the reason we see the insane craze in the zombie subgenre today. Night of the Living Dead was such an alarmingly powerful and monumental film that it started a machine that refuses to subside, let alone stop. The social and political commentary that Romero has always imbued in his pictures sets him apart from a man with heartless motivation. Rather it empowers him to a great extent. We as fans know that George is actually going to tell us something during his stylized gorefests. It may be easily detectable, it may be borderline subliminal, but one way or another he’s going to deliver a thought provoking message. That makes him special. Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead and depending upon your feelings about found footage formats, Diary of the Dead rank among the man’s finest Dead productions.
Categorized:Lists
