Horror has always been a genre that the public has looked to for their thrills and quality scares. While there are plenty of movies that have been very successful in the genre, some series have outshined the competition by a mile. If you are looking for more than just a cheap thrill (or the occasional obligatory jump scare), they aren’t hard to find. If you want a story that can haunt you and encourage you to sleep with the lights on sequel after sequel, take a look at these horrifyingly scary film series.
#10. Alien
The original tagline for the first film in this series was “In space, no one can hear you scream.” Audiences all around the globe would see that there was nothing safe about a seemingly harmless trip across space, as the ship is soon overrun with bloodthirsty aliens. There was something downright out terrifying about the xenomorphs. These perfected killing machines would be the running antagonist through each of the films 6 total installments (including two prequels). Sigourney Weaver would be the original protagonist of the series, reprising her role as Ellen Ripley through nearly all of the franchises earlier films. While this series is heavily loaded with dark themes and jump scares, it will have you on the edge of your seat and glad that you are safe in your home on land.
What’s going to keep you up at night: The image of a baby xenomorph bursting from a crew member’s stomach and scampering away on the ship.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
#9. Candyman
Remember that scary game that you used to play with your friends at sleepovers when you were growing up? You’d get in a dark bathroom by yourself and you’d look in the mirror and say Bloody Mary like 5 times. She was supposed to show up. If you had friends like mine, one of them was hanging out behind a closed shower curtain to scare the daylights out of you, but that’s a story for another time. Candyman takes this same premise and built an entire horrifying franchise out of it. Each installment (complete with the Candyman role reprisal from the creepy Tony Todd). What makes this series so delightfully terrifying is the unknowns about when or where Candyman might show up, and how each victim plays into a bigger plot.
What’s going to keep you up at night: The bloody hook of the Candyman. For a simple weapon, this has seen a lot of gruesome kills throughout the franchise.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/candyman/
#8. Children of the Corn
Nothing like a little religious fanaticism to really bring a creepy and scary factor to a series of films. While you can expect nothing less from the amazing horror writer that would bring about stories like Itand Pet Cemetery, Stephen King has brought a level of sadistic passion to this story. While the first two installments would be set in a dusty old Nebraska town, the franchise isn’t a one trick pony (as seen in the Chicago based Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest). Following a misguided child preacher serving a demonic force, the children of this Nebraska town have killed all of the adults and sacrifice all other adults that they encounter to their master. This movie is sure to make you feel like you should be a little nicer to your kids.
What’s going to keep you up at night: The very opening of the first film shows a truly brutal portrayal of how the children did away with all of the adults in the small town.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/ChildrenOfTheCorn
#7. Friday The 13th
Even the most lackadaisical of movie lovers knows who Jason Voorhees is. This hockey masked harbinger of death has terrorized hundreds of teens throughout his reign of bloodshed spanning 10 original franchise films (not including the crossover Freddy Vs. Jason or the more recent reboot for the series). Over the 12 total films, Jason has killed 146 people. There is no other fictional horror film antagonist boasting those kinds of numbers, so it is with good reason that he might have a few people tossing and turning as they try to fall asleep at night. While each of the films in this series wouldn’t be contained to Crystal Lake, it was a nice change of pace to see Jason roaming the streets of New York City or even continuing his death toll far in the future aboard a spacecraft. Case in point: you can’t stop Jason Voorhees.
What’s going to keep you up at night: every creak and pop you hear in the dark of your bedroom. Jason knows no bounds and he will find you.
http://www.fridaythe13thfranchise.com
#6. Scream
Perhaps what is interesting enough about this film franchise isn’t the plot itself. What has made this series such a phenomenon with its fans is the unpredictability of the final scenes. Throughout each film there has almost always been two killers instead of just the one common to horror films. While they all donned the familiar Ghostface costume, you were never truly aware who the killers were until the final revealing sequence of events. Loaded with red herrings, the Scream films will keep you guessing. Just when you think you have it figured out for sure, the body count keeps rising. Wes Craven has been known for a lot of powerful horror films throughout his career, and this entire franchise would be a big feather in his cap.
What’s going to keep you up at night: The opening of Scream 2 features a young couple going to see a movie (ironically based on the events of the first film) together. In an attempt to identify a strange noise in a bathroom stall, the guy puts his ear to the wall and Ghostface shoves a knife through his head.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117571/
#5. Child’s Play
If you aren’t bothered by movies like Annabelle (a possessed doll), you obviously don’t have the background of watching the Child’s Play films growing up. While undeniably the series would take a campy turn after the 3rd installment, these movies were nightmare inducing to say the least. The premise for these films is a serial killer has used his dying breath and black magic to send his soul into a doll named Chucky. When the doll is then purchased for a young boy, the doll’s serial killer spirit can’t help but claim more and more victims. Stretching out over a total of 6 films so far, Chucky has hacked and slashed his way through a total of 30 victims.
What’s going to keep you up at night: Chucky has a maniacal laugh that stays with you. Plus, this Good Guy doll looks creepy as hell towards the close of the 3rd installment.
https://www.themoviedb.org/collection/10455-child-s-play-collection?language=en
#4. Wolf Creek
There aren’t a lot of words for this 2-part film series (a 3rd installment is currently in the works). What I can promise you though, is that both of these films will stay with you long after you are done watching them. While these films are undeniably violent and gore-tastic, there is a real sinister underlying characteristic to the movie itself. Mick Taylor is the antagonist of the series, and he is as initially charming as he is later psychotic. In the Outback of Australia though, it is very easy to find yourself in need of some assistance and even easier to disappear without a trace. Beware the good Samaritans.
What’s going to keep you up at night: What Mick lovingly calls a “head on a stick”.
#3. Wishmaster
Ever wondered what would happen if you somehow let a genie out and got those wishes you’ve always heard about. Well, be careful what you wish for (literally). In this 4-film franchise, an evil genie is set loose again and again to terrorize those who are willing to ask him for something that they most desire. One of the interesting draws to this horrifying series is the creativity that goes into the various death sequences, as they are almost all a play on the specific wording of a wish. While there are plenty of “cover your eyes” scenes for those that are not especially good with gore, this is a film that is both entertaining as well as unsettling.
What’s going to keep you up at night: How about the woman who wants to be beautiful forever? She gets transformed into a mannequin in the store where she works.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120524/
#2. Halloween
Giving Jamie Lee Curtis her first acting gig as young Laurie Strode, the first Halloween film would debut in 1978. From this point, there would be a total of 8 installments to the original series, spanning to the most recent back in 2002. While Jamie Lee Curtis would appear in most of these films as the main protagonist, in the latter films she would give the spotlight over to the younger generation. Michael Myers is the antagonist of all of these films, and (even though I didn’t count them personally) Myers is said to have 111 kills under his belt throughout the entire series. Never running, never unmasked, Michael Myers is truly terrifying in every film within the series. Want some new age horror? Check out the two reboots to the franchise Rob Zombie directed.
What’s going to keep you up at night: William Shatner. That’s right, the original Halloween mask was created by painting a Captain Kirk mask all white. Now you’ll be a little weird about watching Star Trek too.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/
#1. Nightmare on Elm Street
If you want creativity and an unescapable death, look no farther than the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Freddy Krueger is a villain with a lot of flair and wit, and unfortunately for many a teen throughout the years, he uses them in the most brutal and terrifying of ways. While the series might have started to run out of plot relatively quickly through its initial installments, the death scenes and horrifying appearance of Freddy Krueger himself are enough to make it hard to sleep. Oh, that’s right, you don’t want to sleep because that’s how Freddy finds you: in your dreams. Though there are not hundreds of deaths through these 7 original films, the ones that you see are unforgettable.
What’s going to keep you up at night: Your fear of falling asleep. Freddy kills you in your sleep, so it’s easier just to listen to the creepy kids in elongated dream sequences that jump rope singing “never sleep again”.
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