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Is 5 a lucky number for Horror Film Franchises?

After more than a decade of silence, the Scream franchise returns to theaters on January 14th.

The new film, simply titled Scream, is not only the first of the movies not directed by the late Wes Craven (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett step in for the horror icon), but it is also the fifth entry in the series.

For some moviegoers, a series with five or more films is a sure sign of diminishing returns, further evidence that Hollywood has run out of ideas and only recycles the same tired stories. But for horror fans, fifth entries have proved to be some of the best in the series. Fifth movies can be the point where the franchise perfects the premise, where beloved characters return, or when filmmakers break with the formula and take things in a surprising new direction.

To be sure, not every fifth movie is a winner. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) trudge along well-worn plot paths; Leprechaun in the Hood (2000) and Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) are interesting failures, while Tremors: Bloodlines (2015) is a low point in the series.

But fifth entries have also included real classics, such as the slick and mean-spirited remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), the monster-mash classic Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943), and Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus (2012). That said, even those movies pale in compression to these top five fifth entries in horror franchises…

https://www.tor.com/2022/01/13/fifth-times-a-charm-the-best-fifth-entries-in-horror-franchises
 
But fifth entries have also included real classics, such as the slick and mean-spirited remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), the monster-mash classic Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943), and Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus (2012). That said, even those movies pale in compression to these top five fifth entries in horror franchises…

https://www.tor.com/2022/01/13/fifth-times-a-charm-the-best-fifth-entries-in-horror-franchises
Real classics. Prometheus? There's a lot of things I can call that film and a real classic does not enter any of them!
 
Is 5 a lucky number for Horror Film Franchises?

After more than a decade of silence, the Scream franchise returns to theaters on January 14th.

The new film, simply titled Scream, is not only the first of the movies not directed by the late Wes Craven (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett step in for the horror icon), but it is also the fifth entry in the series.

For some moviegoers, a series with five or more films is a sure sign of diminishing returns, further evidence that Hollywood has run out of ideas and only recycles the same tired stories. But for horror fans, fifth entries have proved to be some of the best in the series. Fifth movies can be the point where the franchise perfects the premise, where beloved characters return, or when filmmakers break with the formula and take things in a surprising new direction.

To be sure, not every fifth movie is a winner. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) trudge along well-worn plot paths; Leprechaun in the Hood (2000) and Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) are interesting failures, while Tremors: Bloodlines (2015) is a low point in the series.

But fifth entries have also included real classics, such as the slick and mean-spirited remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), the monster-mash classic Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943), and Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus (2012). That said, even those movies pale in compression to these top five fifth entries in horror franchises…

https://www.tor.com/2022/01/13/fifth-times-a-charm-the-best-fifth-entries-in-horror-franchises
Personally, I rarely see any horror franchise beyond its second. I'm one of those who'd like to see new ideas rather than repeats of what was once a fresh idea. I did see the 3 Scream sequels and a couple of Halloween sequels (1 and H20 that I remember).

Even my reading selections tend towards this. I now rarely read anything that sets up for numerous "trilogies" (which somehow authors and marketing people don't seem to know what trilogy means).
 
I really liked Prometheus!


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maximus otter
 
I really liked Prometheus!

I quite enjoyed it, but that's probably down to me having the hots for Noomi Rapace ever since I saw her in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It's also the only movie I can recall with some of the dialogue in Proto-Indo-European, which was great. If you don't question the implausibility and plot holes too much, it wasn't a bad movie. Certainly better than Alien 4 Resurrection.
 
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I quite enjoyed it, but that's probably down to me having the hots for Noomie Rapace even since I saw her in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It's also the only movie I can recall with some of the dialogue in Proto-Indo-European, which was great. If you don't question the implausibility and plot holes too much, it wasn't a bad movie. Certainly better than Alien 4 Resurrection.
Yeah but that last parameter encompasses a very large database.
 
Alien and Aliens, that's it for me. Prometheus was dreadful IMO, and the others since have taken the franchise in a nonsensical direction.
 
The Privilege: German teen horror. Possession, demons, conspiracies, cults, evil big pharma are tropes which mesh in this film. Maybe there's a little too much going on for it's own good, also could have lost about 20 minutes of it's running time. Still the acting is good for the most part and there is an original spin on some of the plot drivers so it's worth a watch. Co-Directed and Co-Written by Felix Fuchssteiner and Katharina Schöde. On Netflix. 6/10.
 
The Privilege: German teen horror. Possession, demons, conspiracies, cults, evil big pharma are tropes which mesh in this film. Maybe there's a little too much going on for it's own good, also could have lost about 20 minutes of it's running time. Still the acting is good for the most part and there is an original spin on some of the plot drivers so it's worth a watch. Co-Directed and Co-Written by Felix Fuchssteiner and Katharina Schöde. On Netflix. 6/10.

6/10 is perhaps a bit generous.

I agree that it was certainly watchable, but it threw simply too many themes into the mix for me to take it seriously.

The big pharma conspiracy, Boys from Brazil style selective breeding/adoption, Get Out body swap, not to mention the supernatural/demonic stuff just felt like a horror fan director bashing all his toys together. And was that threesome sex scene the most gratuitous ever?/SPOILER]

Maybe a 5/10 from me.
 
The Midnight Man: It's always dangerous to try and summon up an entity, even if you're just playing what seems to be a simple game. But when that game has rules which resemble those of a Ritual, including the sprinkling of salt into protective circles, then be extra cautious. 1953, three children in an attic summon up The Midnight Man, he penetrates their defences and uses their worst fears against them. Two of the children are slain, one literally exploding into a mist of blood. 2016, the surviving child, Anna,is now an old woman, subject to bouts of dementia, cared for by her granddaughter, Alex.The game is rediscovered and Alex along with two friends set the ball rolling again. Al of the film takes place within a creepy old house or just outside of it's front door. This inspires a sense of fear and tension from the beginning as you realise that Anna's ramblings may be actually imparting some deadly secrets. The Midnight Man when he appears may wear many faces or none at all, he might be a giant rabbit seeking revenge, he could douse you in a bathtub full of blood. What gives things more of an occult sense is the fact that The Midnight Man is sly: like a Demon he will cheat and try to trick you. There's also an interesting plot twist. No masterpiece but well worth watching. 7/10.
This was on the Horror channel the other night but I wasn't impressed. It was never clear why they randomly started playing the game in the first place, why the friend turned up in the middle of the night, why she seemed to know all about it but didn't know anything about it, why everyone was so stupid and annoying. Nope, not for me! I did love Lin Shaye as the grandma though. Camp and creepy at the same time. She was the only good thing in it though whatsisface was good too. Freddie.
 
Jordan Peele just put the trailer for his latest online:

I liked Get Out, but I LOVED Us, and hope he's on an upward curve. I laughed out loud when the title came up. This looks great!
I love Us. Just the fact that the actors all played two characters and did it well was wonderful.
 
Watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 on Netflix tonight.

Overall, I found it to be a reasonably entertaining and at times quite clever re-imaging of the horror classic for the smartphone generation.

Whilst the eastern European filming location and rather limited sets may not provide a totally convincing rural Texas backdrop, there was still much to enjoy here.

There were enough hat-tips to the original to keep this horror purist happy and I thoroughly enjoyed the moments of black humour, especially the truly inspired scene on the coach, where the millennials' first instincts were to put old Leatherface's handiwork onto social media.

As with most films of this type, half the fun is in placing your bets as to who will meet a nasty demise and who will survive to be the unlikely hero (or heroine). This movie does make a few surprising choices to keep you on your toes along the way.

Oh and the blood and guts should suffice to keep even the most jaded gore-hounds reasonably happy.

A 6.5/10 from me.
 
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Nah all good, mate. I just don't care what reviewers say when a film so obviously not the same as the original despite the title. Please don't allocate the same grounded name to inferior product. Don't cal it TTCM. Call it what it is. Whatever that is.
 
Damn right it's not the same, @skinny , the fact this production was barely finished, nobody liked the end result and it was hastily sold to Netflix tells you all you need to know. Leatherface is NOT Michael Myers! And what they did to Sally was a complete betrayal of the original. I like what they've done with the Halloween reboot, but this is Texas Chainsaw for morons. Morons who want their horror shot through with creaking culture wars references. No thanks!
 
Damn right it's not the same, @skinny , the fact this production was barely finished, nobody liked the end result and it was hastily sold to Netflix tells you all you need to know. Leatherface is NOT Michael Myers! And what they did to Sally was a complete betrayal of the original. I like what they've done with the Halloween reboot, but this is Texas Chainsaw for morons. Morons who want their horror shot through with creaking culture wars references. No thanks!

Gentri-fuckers!
 
Watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 on Netflix tonight.

Overall, I found it to be a reasonably entertaining and at times quite clever re-imaging of the horror classic for the smartphone generation.

Whilst the eastern European filming location and rather limited sets may not provide a totally convincing rural Texas backdrop, there was still much to enjoy here.

There were enough hat-tips to the original to keep this horror purist happy and I thoroughly enjoyed the moments of black humour, especially the truly inspired scene on the coach, where the millennials' first instincts were to put old Leatherface's handiwork onto social media.

As with most films of this type, half the fun is in placing your bets as to who will meet a nasty demise and who will survive to be the unlikely hero (or heroine). This movie does make a few surprising choices to keep you on your toes along the way.

Oh and the blood and guts should suffice to keep even the most jaded gore-hounds reasonably happy.

A 6.5/10 from me.

Yep, I concur with your review.
 
SATOR.

A very strange and unsettling 2019 horror, that was a six year long labour of love for director/photographer/editor/music composer and even set-builder Jordan Graham.

Graham's grandmother, who was suffering from dementia at the time, features as the grand old matriarch of a dysfunctional family (Nani), who is convinced that a supernatural entity - Sator has been paying her visits and compelling her to do weird things.

As an aside, using a woman with dementia in this manner certainly ensured a very convincing and natural performance, but made me feel uncomfortable and felt rather like exploitation to me.

Anyway, Nani's taciturn and obsessive grandson Adam decides to investigate whether the rather Wendigo-like Sator has any basis in fact. What could possibly go wrong eh?

Cue some cabin-in-the-woods-style, dimly lit creepy scenes, complete with slowly opening creaky doors, and some weird shit showing up on Adam's trail-cams. The overall atmosphere becomes very Blair Witchy at times, but the film keeps a foot firmly planted in the enigmatic art-house genre throughout.

This is the both the film's strength and weakness. The cinematography is excellent, with many scenes possessing surreal and dream-like qualities. The action though is highly cryptic, enigmatic and struck me as downright random and illogical at times.

Those seeking a conventional horror movie are likely to feel short-changed, but if you enjoy a slow-burning atmosphere and haunting images that will stay with you long after the final credits, then Sator is worth a look.

Currently free to view for Prime Video subscribers.

Although a very different kind of horror to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 sequel I reviewed above, I would rate Sator similarly as a 6.5/10 movie.
 
The Innkeepers.

It's a 10 year old American movie, that I only caught up with last night.

Set in the allegedly genuinely haunted Yankee Pedlar Inn in Connecticut, it features Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) as the last two members of staff, winding the hotel down towards its final closure. They are both keen ghost-hunters and take the opportunity to find evidence for the supernatural in the now faded elegance of the almost empty hotel.
It starts as a slow burner, with much levity and oddball goofing about between Claire and Luke. The creepiness builds though as Claire detects spooky activity to the extent that Luke freaks out and wants to call the whole vigil off. Without giving any spoilers, the final act of 20 minutes or so, contains plenty of grand guignol horror and some very effective make-you-jump moments.
Well worth a look on Prime video. 7/10.

Nice interview with the director here discussing the real hauntings that inspired the movie:

https://www.indiewire.com/2012/02/ti-west-on-the-real-haunting-that-inspired-the-innkeepers-49292/
 
Studio 666: Comedy Horror where Foo Fighters send themselves up. There is a sharp edge to the horror though: in the opening sequence set in 1993 peoples heads are beaten to a pulp with a hammer, later a band member is shoved head first into a barbecue grill, these disturbing scenes are unleavened with humour. Otherwise it's stoner fun as a roadie is electrocuted and a couple are chainsawed in half. Subsequent beheadings and skulls split by cymbals only provoke laughter. Dave Grohl is the main protagonist as the group record their new album in the house haunted by the ghosts of the 1993 band. Dave's songwriter's block spurs the narrative forward. Possession, a nosy neighbour, a mysterious gardener, a grimoire written on and bound in human skin along with standard horror film tropes and cliches are mercilessly parodied. John Carpenter supplies some of the music and has a cameo as a sound engineer. Good fun if a tad too long at 106 minutes. Directed by B. J. McDonnell from a screenplay by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes. 7/10.

In cinemas.
 
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