MOST BELOVED, MOST PROFITABLE, AND MOST CONSISTENT HORROR SERIES EVER.
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Without further ado, let's get into the numbers and find which Horror Franchise is the bloodiest.
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10. PREDATOR
- Number of films: 7
- Tomatometer Avg: 48.1%
- Audience Score Avg: 51.1%
- Domestic Box Office: $81 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 42.8%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 45.1%
- Best Film: Prey (2022) – 84% TM/AS average
The series, on the other hand, is entertaining. Watching Danny Glover combat a one-armed monster aboard its ship in Predator 2 was incredible, as was seeing Sanaa Lathan become an honorary Yautja in Alien vs. Predator. Predators also stars Walton Goggins, Danny Trejo, Mahershala Ali, Alice Braga, and Laurence Fishburne, which we think is quite cool.
9. INSIDIOUS
- Number of films: 5
- Tomatometer Avg: 46.8%
- Audience Score Avg: 57.8%
- Domestic Box Office: $81.1 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 41.75%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 56.75%
- Best Film: Insidious (2011) – 64.5% TM/AS average
The franchise's box office total, along with the fact that Insidious: The Red Door is the highest-grossing fifth chapter in a horror franchise ever, softens the impact a little. Furthermore, the fact that Wan and Whannell have gone on to direct modern horror classics such as Malignant, The Invisible Man, Upgrade, and The Conjuring since 2010 helps us appreciate Insidious even more.
8. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
- Number of films: 9
- Tomatometer Avg: 49.3%
- Audience Score Avg: 50.1%
- Domestic Box Office: $79.5 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 43.6%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 45.87%
- Best Film: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – 89.5% TM/AS average
Even the Rotten sequels like the Renny Harlin-directed A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (52%, which is honestly not bad for a horror sequel) featured all-time horror kills like the demise of Debbie (Brooke Theiss), the weight-lifting badass who is transformed into a cockroach. Then, there’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, a cult classic that recently enjoyed a second life with the release of Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, the Certified Fresh (at 100%, no less) 2019 documentary that focuses on star Mark Patton’s life after the sequel; it’s absolutely worth a watch.
7. SAW
- Number of films: 10
- Tomatometer Avg: 34.7%
- Audience Score Avg: 67.9%
- Domestic Box Office: $71.5 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 33%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 66.1%
- Best Film: Saw (2004) – 86.5% TM/AS average
The Saw films are a horror phenomenon – wildly popular but often dismissed as 'torture porn' for malcontent teens. But they're actually a lot smarter than that.
The first “Saw” movie, released in 2004 and written by the fresh-faced creative team of James Wan (who also directed) and Leigh Whannell, was an edgy novelty, unleashing one of the most sordid trends in Hollywood horror, so-called torture porn — an unintentional nod to the war on terror’s abused military detainees.
In any event, the initiator of the fraud, Dr. Cecilia Pederson, is a coldblooded Scandinavian who may care less about her Spanish-speaking underlings than John himself.
"Saw" regular Amanda (Shawnee Smith) arrives to assist Jigsaw with his next act, kidnapping Cecilia and three of her accomplices. Each victim plays their game one by one, punctuated by John and Amanda's soul-baring huddle-talks, Cecilia's pitiless scheming (one maneuver involves a rope made out of a casualty's intestines), and, for fans, fist-pump-inducing appearances by symbols from the expanded "Saw" universe — like a puppet reminiscent of a shrunken-head Michael Jackson.
This is the most well-groomed “Saw” movie to date. The story mostly makes sense and Greutert pulls back on the frenetic editing techniques that made the older movies look like the blood and guts equivalent of white noise. Bell’s Jigsaw is the same placid psychopath we’ve come to rely on for gruesome titillation (and a few snickers) and here, he’s a little cuddly, too — just like the fans always thought he was.
Saw X
Rated R for graphic torture scenes and drug abuse. Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes. In theaters.
Director Kevin Greutert Writers Josh Stolberg, Pete Goldfinger Stars Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Renata Vaca Rating R Running Time 1h 58m Genres Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Number of films: 10
- Tomatometer Avg: 34.7%
- Audience Score Avg: 67.9%
- Domestic Box Office: $71.5 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 33%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 66.1%
- Best Film: Saw (2004) – 86.5% TM/AS average
The Saw films are a horror phenomenon – wildly popular but often dismissed as 'torture porn' for malcontent teens. But they're actually a lot smarter than that.
The first “Saw” movie, released in 2004 and written by the fresh-faced creative team of James Wan (who also directed) and Leigh Whannell, was an edgy novelty, unleashing one of the most sordid trends in Hollywood horror, so-called torture porn — an unintentional nod to the war on terror’s abused military detainees.
In any event, the initiator of the fraud, Dr. Cecilia Pederson, is a coldblooded Scandinavian who may care less about her Spanish-speaking underlings than John himself.
"Saw" regular Amanda (Shawnee Smith) arrives to assist Jigsaw with his next act, kidnapping Cecilia and three of her accomplices. Each victim plays their game one by one, punctuated by John and Amanda's soul-baring huddle-talks, Cecilia's pitiless scheming (one maneuver involves a rope made out of a casualty's intestines), and, for fans, fist-pump-inducing appearances by symbols from the expanded "Saw" universe — like a puppet reminiscent of a shrunken-head Michael Jackson.
This is the most well-groomed “Saw” movie to date. The story mostly makes sense and Greutert pulls back on the frenetic editing techniques that made the older movies look like the blood and guts equivalent of white noise. Bell’s Jigsaw is the same placid psychopath we’ve come to rely on for gruesome titillation (and a few snickers) and here, he’s a little cuddly, too — just like the fans always thought he was.
Saw X
Rated R for graphic torture scenes and drug abuse. Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes. In theaters.
Rated R for graphic torture scenes and drug abuse. Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes. In theaters.
6. GEORGE ROMERO’S DEAD
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- Number of films: 9
- Tomatometer Avg: 66.1%
- Audience Score Avg: 59.1%
- Domestic Box Office: $22 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 62.5%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 55.6%
- Best Films: Dawn of the Dead (1978) – 91.5% TM/AS average
George A. Romero, a horror visionary who created the modern zombie genre with his 1968 cult film, “Night of the Living Dead,” which has influenced generations of horror enthusiasts, died on Sunday in Toronto. He was 77.
His death came after “a brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer,” his family said in a statement.
“Night of the Living Dead,” made for about $100,000, was released when racial tensions were high in the United States. Mr. Romero had not intended to address that climate in the film, but with Duane Jones, a black man, as the lead, it was impossible to ignore the connection, Mr. Romero told NPR in a 2014 interview.
“We never thought of it being a racial piece at all, never,” he said. “But because the character was played by an African-American, you almost don’t notice anything else. We didn’t realize that. Duane did.”
George Andrew Romero was born on February 4, 1940, in the Bronx. He grew up a fan of classic movie monsters, and told NPR he did not expect to create a movement with his film.
“All I did was I took them out of ‘exotica’ and I made them the neighbors,” he said.
Mr. Romero graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Mellon University), where he had studied graphic arts, in 1960. He learned the film business working on the sets of movies.
He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero; his daughter, Tina; and two sons, Andrew and Cameron.
- Number of films: 9
- Tomatometer Avg: 66.1%
- Audience Score Avg: 59.1%
- Domestic Box Office: $22 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 62.5%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 55.6%
- Best Films: Dawn of the Dead (1978) – 91.5% TM/AS average
George A. Romero, a horror visionary who created the modern zombie genre with his 1968 cult film, “Night of the Living Dead,” which has influenced generations of horror enthusiasts, died on Sunday in Toronto. He was 77.
His death came after “a brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer,” his family said in a statement.
“Night of the Living Dead,” made for about $100,000, was released when racial tensions were high in the United States. Mr. Romero had not intended to address that climate in the film, but with Duane Jones, a black man, as the lead, it was impossible to ignore the connection, Mr. Romero told NPR in a 2014 interview.
“We never thought of it being a racial piece at all, never,” he said. “But because the character was played by an African-American, you almost don’t notice anything else. We didn’t realize that. Duane did.”
George Andrew Romero was born on February 4, 1940, in the Bronx. He grew up a fan of classic movie monsters, and told NPR he did not expect to create a movement with his film.
“All I did was I took them out of ‘exotica’ and I made them the neighbors,” he said.
Mr. Romero graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Mellon University), where he had studied graphic arts, in 1960. He learned the film business working on the sets of movies.
He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero; his daughter, Tina; and two sons, Andrew and Cameron.
5. THE CONJURING UNIVERSE
- Number of films: 9
- Tomatometer Avg: 54.1%
- Audience Score Avg: 62.5%
- Domestic Box Office: $127 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 50.1%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 60%
- Best Film: The Conjuring (2013) – 84.5% TM/AS average
The Conjuring Universe continues to add layers to a paranormal story that began with horror filmmaker James Wan's (Insidious, Saw) 2013 blockbuster The Conjuring. No other modern horror franchise has had the ability to flourish and spread as widely as The Conjuring has. The seeds of various sub-stories were sown in the first film, and each has evolved the larger storyline.
The reason it’s managed to keep expanding is probably down to the fact that it’s got some of the most creepy imagery ever. Possession, old dolls, a nun — they’re fully exploited for all their terrifying potential in The Conjuring world. In anticipation of the newest release, we’ve explained how each film is connected, from the Warrens to Annabelle and even the upcoming The Curse of La Llorona. By the way, this article is riddled with spoilers.
So where does the new Annabelle Comes Home fit into this web of spookiness? Well, it is a sequel to both Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation, but it’s a midquel to The Conjuring. The premise is that the possessed doll, now homed in the Warren’s haunted artefact room, finds a new target and terrorises their ten-year-old daughter Judy and her babysitter (they do share the same home after all). We got a preview of the kind mischief Annabelle gets up to in the Warren’s home in the first Conjuring film, when she terrorises Judy in the night. The best thing about this instalment is that Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are returning, the people that really made The Conjuring stand out in the first place.
And just when you thought we were already spoiled enough by seven Conjuring universe films, we can also look forward to a third Conjuring in 2020, and another spinoff about The Crooked Man from the second Conjuring. Last month the news also broke that the upcoming horror The Curse of La Llorona, about a female ghost who takes lost children and makes them her own, is also part of the Conjuring universe, with Father Perez from Annabelle making a return.
When James Wan made The Conjuring it was a strong stand-alone film with a fantastic balance of scare, story and emotion. But little did we know there were so many leads to other tales of haunting, possession and demonic infestation. Considering this is a film franchise that’s basically been built backwards, The Conjuring and all its spin-offs do a pretty good job at explaining how everything is linked. Though the quality of each instalment varies, as do the directors, you have to appreciate a franchise growing so rapidly that isn’t a superhero story.
4. ALIEN
- Number of films: 8
- Tomatometer Avg: 58%
- Audience Score Avg: 58.25%
- Domestic Box Office: $135 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 52.5%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 53.1%
- Best Film: Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) – 96% TM/AS average
In space, no one can hear you scream, but you’d better believe the people waiting in line for popcorn heard the screams coming from the theaters playing Ridley Scott’s Alien in 1979.
Between Scott’s direction, H.R. Giger’s monster creations, and Ellen Ripley, the all-time hero perfectly portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, Alien became one of the most influential horror films ever made. Imagine sitting in a packed theater and witnessing the reactions to John Hurt’s chest-bursting scene, or Ripley’s final battle with the acid blood-spewing xenomorph (who is also impossibly goey). Now, imagine sitting in a theater in 1986, when Ripley squared-off against the Alien Queen in James Cameron’s sequel Aliens, which earned Weaver a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
Aside from Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, Alien and Aliens might be the most impressive back-to-back films in any horror franchise. They helped boost the horror genre to new heights (and not just because they took place in space), and pulled in loads of money during their theatrical runs. If it weren’t for what was to come, the franchise might have landed in the No. 1 spot.
Unfortunately, the series did experience some lows in the 1990s and 2000s, as Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection, and the Alien vs. Predator films all earned Rotten Tomatometer scores. However, Scott turned things around in the 2010s with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the Fresh prequels that explore the origins of the xenomorph and demonstrate what happens if you flee from large, tumbling objects in a straight line.
3. EVIL DEAD
- Number of films: 5
- Tomatometer Avg: 77.8%
- Audience Score Avg: 80%
- Domestic Box Office: $53.9 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 75.75%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 79%
- Best Film: Evil Dead 2 (1987) – 88.5% TM/AS average
Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (86%), Evil Dead 2 (88%), and Army of Darkness (68%); Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead remake (63%); and 2023’s Evil Dead Rise (84%) collectively have the highest Tomatometer average of all the horror franchises, and that’s partially due to the fact that it’s the only one without a single Rotten installment (Hail to the king, baby!). What kept it from claiming the No. 1 spot was its low box office earnings, which come nowhere close to the Scream, Hannibal Lecter, and Conjuring franchises. Those low numbers aren’t all that surprising, however, considering the ultra-violence of Evil Dead (2013) and Evil Dead Rise (2023), as well as the polarizing idiocy of Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams, who blunders his way through Army of Darkness with the confidence of someone who has a great chin and marginal cleverness.
However, it's not only critics who adore this franchise; Rotten Tomatoes users agree as well. With an average Audience Score of 80%, this is the highest-rated horror franchise and the only one to obtain an Audience Score of 80% or higher, and none of its Audience Scores dip into Rotten zone. The only picture that comes close to Rotten is the 2013 remake, which has a Tomatometer Score of 63% and an Audience Score of 64%. However, considering it's a horror remake, and horror remakes average 39% on the Tomatometer, 63% seems fairly good.
2. SCREAM
- Number of films: 6
- Tomatometer Avg: 69.3%
- Audience Score Avg: 67.6%
- Domestic Box Office: $133.7 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 67%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 65.2%
- Best Film: Scream 6 (2023) – 83.5% TV/AS average
Wes Craven's bloody, hilarious meta-horror picture struck theaters 25 years ago, reinvigorating numerous genres. Here's how the classic film was made.
Like the movie itself, the story of Scream begins with a terrifying phone call. While house-sitting one night in the mid-’90s, Kevin Williamson watched a television special about a Florida serial killer. It scared the hell out of him. Then, during a commercial break, he noticed that a window was open. Except he hadn’t remembered opening it.
At that moment, he felt like he was in a horror movie. For all he knew, someone was stalking him. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife. Then he rang an old friend. As they talked, Williamson canvassed the house, searching for an intruder. Their conversation eventually drifted to the kind of bogeymen that used to give them nightmares: Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger.
Ultimately, there was no killer lurking inside, but the incident inspired Williamson to start writing a scary movie. His script combined everything that he loved about slasher films: gore, mystery, humor, and teen angst. But he also added something new: a host of characters who are all too aware of scary movie tropes.
“Horror movies were in a big slump back then,” Williamson says. “The slasher films of the late ’70s and ’80s had sort of petered out. No one was really making great horror films.”
The horror film he wanted to see was both an homage and a satire; it maintained faithful to the genre while mocking it. And when Scream was released in theaters 25 years ago this month, viewers had never seen anything like it. The low-budget film became a surprise smash, not only reviving horror films like Michael Myers, but also sparking an explosion of teen movies and TV shows that lasted into the 2000s.
It’s hard to imagine now that the franchise has been spilling gallons of fake blood for a quarter-century—Paramount Home Entertainment recently released a remastered anniversary edition on 4K Ultra HD, and the fifth installment of the franchise will hit theaters in January—but there was a time when no one wanted to direct Scream. At first, even Wes Craven passed. Several times. The man behind horror classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Last House on the Left was tired of being confined to the genre that he’d mastered. Yet the pull of Williamson’s script eventually turned out to be too much to resist, and with its elements at his fingertips, Craven reinvented big-screen horror.
"It felt very alive when we were making it," recalls the film's lead, Neve Campbell, "and very exciting."
1. HANNIBAL LECTER
- Number of films: 5
- Tomatometer Avg: 62.6%
- Audience Score Avg: 72.6%
- Domestic Box Office: $151 million
- Sequel Tomatometer Avg: 54.75%
- Sequel Audience Score Avg: 71.5%
- Best Film: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – 95.5%
I Know I Wasn’t Supposed to Tell Hannibal Lecter About My Personal Life, but I’m Not Used to Men Being Such Good Listeners
O.K., I’ve got egg on my face. I’m aware that when I arrived at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, I was specifically instructed not to tell the cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter anything about my personal life, so that he wouldn’t be able to get inside my head and use it against me, coaxing me into reliving my worst traumas for his own sick satisfaction. I get that now.
But you have to understand, most guys I meet are straight-up terrible listeners. I’m, like, “I work for the F.B.I.” And they’re, like, “That’s nice, let me tell you about my vinyl collection.” And I’m, like, “I don’t care about your vinyl collection, dude. I work for the F.B.I.! I hunt down serial killers with my wits and my notepad and my gun.”
But I don't think Dr. Lecter would ever use vinyl talk on me. He'd think it was impolite. And I doubt Dr. Lecter has ever seen a Martin Scorsese film, so he'd be uninterested in giving me an uninvited tour of the director's career. He just doesn't have the energy for me. Maybe Verdi or someone, but I'm not sure if I'd mind. Verdi appears to be intriguing!
I'm not saying the guy is without flaws; I'm just saying that when I casually mention that my father was murdered when I was ten, and Dr. Lecter slowly turns his face to look at me all creepy, and murmurs, "Tell me more about your childhood, Clarice," a part of me is freaked out, but another, bigger part of me is like, "First and foremost, thank you!""Yes, I told him about the lambs." Most guys wouldn't even think about asking.
In the end, Hannibal Lecter (and Lecktor) won the day with his homicidal charms (and fantastic numbers), and his franchise is ranked first on the list.
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