The month of October has crept up, and people are experiencing a serious need for horror movies. A horror movie is a film designed specifically to elicit an intense feeling of fear, dread, and revulsion in its audience. They do this through frightening imagery, disturbing themes, and suspenseful storytelling. Over the years, horror movies have developed drastically to include even more terror and bloodshed than ever before— in fact, some of the older films are still being released in new editions.
First and foremost, a little history. The creation of horror films is said to have begun in the late 1800s with the first (recognized) movie release in 1896. Afterward, betwixt the years of 1900 and 1920, films of the horror genre became widespread and much more popular. The golden age of horror followed shortly after, within the early 1920s and 30s— movies including, but definitely not limited to Dracula, Frankenstein, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and The Wolf Man, were released, leaving viewers yearning for more. Occult classics only began to pop up in the 70s, and right there with them, Slasher films. Psycho, the very first slasher movie, was first released in 1960. Although it was, in a sense, ahead of its time. While Psycho was immensely popular and well known across the horror fanbase, the next batch of slasher films weren’t produced until roughly 1974-1978, those being the original Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Halloween has franchised over twelve different movies, and that’s not the only horror ballot that just seems to keep on coming. The Final Destination producers have been cranking out new movies since the early years of 2000. Spanning over the twenty-five years since its initial release, with six different movies— and a seventh on the way— Final Destination is no doubt a fan favorite. The real question is: Should they keep making movies? With there being so many renditions of the Final Destination films— are people getting tired of seeing the new ones?
This goes for a lot of franchises, actually. The Saw movies, and the viral slasher film Scream, for instance— have been releasing sequels for decades. Is there a point at which they’re simply not relevant anymore? I, for one, could never tire of these movies… Personally, I think they maintain the same level of entertainment as they did 25 years ago. Fluctuating from the brutal and entirely gore-centered kills to the personalities of each and every character? They should never stop! When sophomore Laila Atwell was asked about these movies, she declared, “They should definitely keep making them— you can never have too many horror films!” I could not have said it better myself. Regardless of the fact that the sequel hardly ever beats the original, the new movies are still incredibly amusing to watch, and anyone who thinks otherwise just doesn’t understand the true concept of the movies.
The entire point is that the killer— or in Final Destination’s case, “Death’ keeps coming back!” People keep dying, death is inevitable, and at some point, everyone will end up having their stay in the sweet hereafter. It doesn’t just go away because we want it to. That’s what these movies are all about! So, no. Studios should not stop adding to the franchise. Regardless of how amazing the first film was and will always be— There’s still room for more, and new movies can be just as enjoyable as the ones that came prior.
