Horror is perhaps the genre most known for its countless sequels, prequels, remakes, re imaginings, reinventions, redo, reduxes and so on. With the latest addition to the highly popular and heart-stoppingly terrifying [REC] franchise, [REC] Genesis out on DVD and Blu-Ray on the 3rd September (pre-order yours here), what better time to celebrate the horror franchise that everyone loves so dearly. So to kick start this blog, here’s a quick countdown of 5 rules that make franchises so popular.
1. Keep Things Fresh
Fresh is often the best! It’s all too simple for a franchise to become dull, uninspired and tedious, so keeping things fresh, new and fun is always important. [REC] Genesis takes a page from the undeniable classic Evil Dead series by heading in a much lighter and funnier direction. Breaking free from the confines of scaring the audience with the same situation, [Rec] Genesis is closer to the crazy splatter mayhem of Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn and Braindead that will leave you hungry for more as you clutch your sawn-off shotgun and rev your roaring chainsaw. Comedy is often what saves a long running franchise with no better example that A Nightmare On Elm Street in which Freddy’s witty and twisted banter turned him into a horror icon.
2.Rinse and Repeat
Whilst giving the audience something new and fresh, a successful franchise must remain loyal to its fans. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Whether it’s keeping the key element the same such as Saw‘s iconic traps and Scream‘s postmodern playfulness to simply repeating exactly the same plot over and over and over and over again (*cough*Final Destination*cough*), all the best franchises must continue to carry on with the formula that made them so popular to start with.
3.The More The Merrier
If horror franchises have taught us one thing, it’s that less is never more! With each new addition to the series, there should always be more blood, more inventive deaths, more everything! Give audiences what they want and more. Double the bodies, triple the boobage! While Jason, Chucky, Freddy and Michael’s murder spree seemingly increases with each movie, so too does the amount of zombie carnage in Romero’s Dead series and [REC] Genesis.
4.The Fabulous Villain
A horror franchise is nothing without a good baddie. Where would A Nightmare On Elm Street be without Freddy? What about Paranormal Activity‘s freaky demon? The horror villain has the power to makes its unmovable mark on pop culture from Candyman to Leatherface. When it comes to memorable infected, there’s two reigning champions. The Resident Evil series teaming with some of the greatest monsters including Nemesis and Axeman and of course the [Rec] franchise with it’s inclusion of the blind, unbelievably skinny infected that leave you gasping for breathe with every appearance.
5. The Fans
Fans are everything! ‘Nuff said.
What do you think? What makes a truly successful horror franchise? Share your thoughts over on this thread!
