I’d like to use this opportunity to talk about a characteristic of horror movies that has gotten out of control and that’s The Franchise. This is tricky business to say the least. It’s hard enough to get one’s film made and distributed. It’s then difficult to please a large enough audience for your film to be considered a success. But the trickiest and also the sketchiest thing for me is ending your narrative properly. And those with franchise concerns are putting the cart before the horse.
I understand that with direct to DVD the franchise opportunities are more tempting, but unless you can satisfy the viewer/reader with the first installment…you’re lost. In literature, writing sequels is nothing new, but each book in a series (as with each film in a series) must be able to stand alone as a complete work without the need for a lot of explication from previous material. And that is the trick.
Insidious has only had two installments, but they are integrally link by story. I don’t mind sitting through a story where there’s a twist at the end or all the elements aren’t tied up in a tidy bow. It gives me something to discuss after the movie or after reading the book. But to intentionally leave something vague in an attempt to set up a sequel is just a cheat and believe me…your audience knows it! Now, if you’ve done a credible job in the first installment, then leaving the audience wanting more is a good thing, but oh can this ever backfire!
What ends up happening is that as the length of the franchise grows, so does the criticism. Often times to counteract this phenomenon, the tone of the original will change. Look, for example, at the Child’s Play franchise. It started out a legitimate scary movie with a creepy premise and a likely, original villain…Chucky. But as the films started piling up, it became a campy parody of itself which worked in its favor. It’s like, “Yeah, we know we’re just cashing in on the whole doll thing, but we can have a few laughs as we go.” And audiences went along with it.
Two great movies that were diminished with each sequel. But then look at Jaws. Yikes, how the mighty hath fallen by the time you get through a 3-D version and the fourth film…you’re done! The original tag line: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.” Then became “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the theater.” Enough already! Don’t even get me started on the Poltergeist series! Focus inevitably shifts from the people being terrorized (the characters the audience is intended to empathize and identify with) to the bringers of the pain and fright: the Jasons, the Freddys, the Michael Meyers, the Aliens.
Or even worse you get more of the same without adding much originality: Final Destination, Resident Evil, Children of the Corn, The Prophecy, Saw. Some stories have to be told in installments like The Omen. We need to see Damien Thorn as he grows up into the son of Satan! We know going in to see Blade that it’s based on a comic book and there is more than one story to tell.
Of course now that we’ve come far enough from movies that scared me when I was younger, there are all the ubiquitous remakes which many count as part of the original franchise. How many Halloweens can you name? It’s starting with The Evil Dead, then again they actually made The Evil Dead into a hilarious off-Broadway musical! That’s for sure a swing into left field and over the fence fun!
Of course now that we’ve come far enough from movies that scared me when I was younger, there are all the ubiquitous remakes which many count as part of the original franchise. How many Halloweens can you name? It’s starting with The Evil Dead, then again they actually made The Evil Dead into a hilarious off-Broadway musical! That’s for sure a swing into left field and over the fence fun!
Now, I said all that to say this…I don’t mind sequels. They can actually enhance the story, but if the main goal of your movie is to create a franchise, a blood spurting cash cow if you will, then your priorities are in the wrong place and your product will inevitably be weaker than it could have been. Insidious had a sequel and it was appropriate, and damned scary and it linked into the previous story, yet could also stand on its own narratively. I beg those in charge…now leave it alone! You’ve gone too far with Paranormal Activity and ruined it, so if you must keep the franchise going…take that to Paranormal Activity 112 if you must…but leave Insidious alone now that you’ve given us two awesome films. In the words of RuPaul…’Don’t f*ck it up!”
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