|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
#1
01-31-2006, 05:02 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Horror Franchises - the poor mans horror experience.
I think Horror franchises have been the worst thing to happen to the genre.
Friday 13 Halloween Howling Elm St Hellraiser any series with at least 4 films.... The 1st one is always good ... The rest start to suck and blow in comparrison. Usually there is one more decent one that someone took the time to give a little care and a decent script to - but as a rule they are mostly shit. why ? The 1st ones are usually done by a competent filmmaker ..then the sequels are handed over to hacks. To be fair - the 2nd installment is sometimes decent .. but then they go off the deep end. The 'filmmakers' feel that the sequels have a built in audience (and sadly they are right) so less than half the work is put into them .. why bother - people will rent the shit anyway. Actors of any caliber dont want anything to do with horror sequels - so you end up with has been tv stars .. starlet wannabe's with fake tits who couldnt act to save their lives ... they are made with 'straight to video' in mind. no budget for anything. it was imagination, origionality, entheusiasm and creativity that made the first films work. Take those elements away and what are you left with ? Shit. The worst single thing that happens in these franchises is : the killer becomes a joke. He becomes too familiar. The mystery is what makes these movies cool in the 1st place. When you hit part 7 .. there is nothing left in the tank. anyway .. thats what i think about these old 'standards' and thats why many of the more entheusiastic horror fans try so hard to find unique films .. to rediscover the fun of the mystery and origionality. Last edited by urgeok; 01-31-2006 at 05:05 AM. 
|
|
#2
01-31-2006, 05:11 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
I agree with all that you say but here's an interesting caveat:
You say all franchises with four or more installments and I would tend to agree: for instance, the fourth Hellraiser was tripe, the third okay, the second quite good and the original good. Trilogies tend to be good and it is indeed the fourth installment that often lets these series down. What about the Alien series though? Personally, I thought Resurrection was pretty dire; largely reliant as it was on over-the-top gross (CGI?). IMDb gives it 6/10 though; indicating that a lot of people think it has merit.
__________________
"Today people want sensationalism; the more you rape their senses the happier they are."
|
|
#3
01-31-2006, 05:16 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
and it had a talented director and a good cast ... hardly on par with any of the slasher series .. yeah there will be exceptions to my thoughts .. i couldnt think of any more franchises when i was writing the note ... the ones i specifically mentioned were the ones i was thinking about when i wrote the post .. TCM could be another too i guess .. or psycho i'm mostly tired of the Freddy/Jason/Michael holy trio... they were the worst examples of watching good initial movies turn into crap
|
|
#4
01-31-2006, 05:22 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Again, I share your views entirely and you have a point about the fourth installment being fateful. I was interested in your opinion on Resurrection as I feel that lets the other three Alien films down. It's certainly nowhere near as bad as any other 4+ films.
Sometimes not even the first three films are any good but then I guess you're talking about proper franchises and not just series of films? I'm thinking of all of the Leprechaun films for example. Now they started out bad and just got worse. And I can't believe Ltnt Gruebber from Allo' Allo' is in one of them! And it's not just the horror genre either: look at the slow decline of Police Academy to PA7...
__________________
"Today people want sensationalism; the more you rape their senses the happier they are."
|
|
#5
01-31-2006, 05:26 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
i'd say the same about the Chuckie films too .. they were for the most part retread shit - except for Seed of Chuckie which was actually pretty good ..if you dont mind that self mocking 'too smart for their own good' kind of film that Pr3ssure despises :cool:
|
|
#6
01-31-2006, 05:31 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
All of the Alien series have strong directors, each with their own unique vision. I like them all, each for different reasons.
As for bogeyman franchises, the worst must be Halloween with its desperately contrived plot twists to keep familiarity alive and introduction of hip actors and splashy gore to secure the teenage market. A Nightmare on Elm Street was almost tolerable up to about 5, but Craven's self-indulgent New Nightmare was a shockingly bland and wasted effort. But every once in a while, a spark of interest arrives late in a series, such as the underrated Jason X (self-referential and unashamedly plagiaristic but highly enjoyable nontheless).
__________________
|
|
#8
01-31-2006, 05:42 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
All bets were off in this one, pure comic-strip stuff.
Jason's final transformation into the fetishistic (well, I got a boner dunno bout anyone else) metal monster at the end was cool as fuck. Even the knowingness was cool: "well, he's done with the campers!" :cool:
__________________
|
|
#9
01-31-2006, 06:07 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
I really enjoy the endless sequels, cracks me up to see the shit (and it is just that 90% of the time) they come up with. As P said the comic strip aspect is great in these franchises. Total popcorn cinema tune in and switch off!
I thought the Hellraiser series was decent (the last two haven't been released here yet tho so dunno if they've run it into the ground). The Re-Animator series was dope too..... just about to watch the third so we'll see if that gets fucked up for me :p
|
|
#10
01-31-2006, 06:08 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
|
 |
|
|
