In the history of horror, threequels, have been incredibly significant to their respective franchises. Usually, the order of operations starts with a first movie that delivers a massive level success. Otherwise, why would more franchise installments be greenlit? Now, the sequel usually does one of three things. First, it tries to recreate the magic of the original with the same formula. Second, it takes the mythology of the original, but steers it in a new direction. Or third, it goes in a new direction altogether. It’s very rare in horror for a franchise to be a true trilogy. Meaning an intended beginning, middle and end. Although there are examples of this (one even making this list) it is still not common practice in horror filmmaking. And this is because horror franchises have the flexibility to keep expanding. Sometimes even creeping into double digit sequel territory. Horror movies can continuously bring villainous characters back without any logical justification, even if they are killed in every movie in the franchise (IE: Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees). The Threequels in horror franchises are critical junctures as it relates to future success of that franchise IP. Slack will be given to sequels most of the time, but if the threequel struggles to gain any traction, then most likely, the audience for that franchise is lost…
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The list below is a ranking of some of the most noteworthy horror threequels. I find all of these movies to be interesting for different reasons. But most of all, I am most interested in the direction of these franchises after the success or failure of the third installments, and how the third installments specifically affected that trajectory. Some of these third outings reverted back to what worked with the original and the sequel, giving the audience more of the same, which is sometimes all that the audience actually needs. And some expanded on what was possible with the characters and story, therefore altering the trajectory of that franchise, and taking it to the next level; all but guaranteeing more sequels. A few either tried to take the franchise in a new direction entirely or build on the mythology of the originals in a new and creative way. And one was a finale to a true trilogy…
9) Scream 3
An appropriate way to start this list, Scream 3 will never be hailed as an all-time classic. But for a franchise that had the potential to exhaust audiences with its meta qualities, Scream 3 was actually a unique and fun slasher movie that maintained the vicious violence to go with a solid mystery that keeps the audience guessing. I think the top quality of the Scream franchise isn’t necessarily the thrilling slasher sequences, but that the strength comes from its puzzling mystery in each movie where the twists and turns have you consistently guessing who Ghostface is. Even if the audience is given more of the same with each entry in the Scream series, the formula works so well that it stays consistently crowd pleasing. There are plenty of jump scares and good kills in each movie, but the mystery is what keeps most coming back. The mystery is what also allows the franchise to maintain longevity, by rolling over character arcs and building lore in subsequent films. As well as mixing legacy characters with new additions.
Scream 3 was hurt by the departure of its creator, Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original film as well as the sequel. Scream 3 relied on Ehren Krueger for the screenplay and Wes Craven returned as director (and by many accounts, did most of the writing as well). Without Williamson fully on board, the writing of Scream 3 felt much more disjointed than the original and the sequel. But with the cast returning and Craven taking nearly full ownership of the franchise, Scream 3 was still effectively a good time. And even though the franchise took a ten-year hiatus, Ghostface and the Scream franchise are still a successful mainstay in the horror movie landscape. Hard to get it wrong with a great horror villain like Ghostface. The mask and costume stay the same, but the killer behind the mask is always a mystery…
8) The Purge: Election Year
James DeMonaco’s The Purge: Election Year is the third movie in the Purge franchise. The Purge is DeMonaco’s franchise through and through. He is credited as the solo writer/director of each of the first three Purge movies. The Purge: Election Year, in my opinion, is the most enjoyable Purge movie. Even though there is a slight hint at finality at the end of The Purge: Election Year, I had always wished that there was more of a bookend finale that would tie all three movies together and send it off as a classic dystopian trilogy.
Frank Grillo returns as Leo Barnes and Elizabeth Mitchell joins the cast as Senator Roan. Senator Roan is against the existence of the Purge night, which is a divided political issue in this world, and Barnes, who is head of Roan’s security detail, must make sure Roan survives the Purge night. The Purge: Election Year has much more of a political action/horror angle, contrary to the first two movies, which thrived more so as suspense/horror movies. Frank Grillo has quietly made a name for himself as an action movie star. Grillo has the tough guy voice, is believable in action sequences and most of all, possesses leadership qualities that make it fun to follow him into the fray of the action. Qualities I wish I also possessed…
The Purge is the simplest of loglines. Everyone knows it. A yearly event where all crime is legal for one night, specifically twelve hours, ____ must find a way to survive the night with ____ and find safety without the assistance of emergency services. It’s really that simple. Give or take a few sub-plots in each movie, that general description works for all three movies. For the most part, these movies are just people running around and hiding from other people who are wearing cool masks and murdering people with a wildly diverse array of weaponry. Even with all of the political and economic/social class subtextual themes, actually hitting the audience directly on the nose, it is still simply just a fun survival series. While I was a fan of the first, I was heavily invested in the survival of Grillo’s Leo Barnes and Mitchell’s Senator Roan in this outing, and to go with all of the great action set pieces and characters encountered along the way, with the plot twists and turns, The Purge: Election Year did not push the franchise forward, but was a fitting end to the story for me and capped off an enjoyable trilogy of dystopian survival horror movies…
7) Insidious: Chapter 3
Insidious and Insidious: Chapter 2 are, in my opinion, two of the scariest movies ever made and Insidious: Chapter 3 is just as scary as its predecessors.
At the time of Insidious: Chapter 3’s release in 2015, Leigh Whannell had not directed anything, so I had no idea what to expect. Within twenty-minutes of the runtime of this movie, it was obvious that Whannell was going to have a long and successful career not only as a screenwriter, but as a feature director. Insidious: Chapter 3 seemed odd to me at first because it did not have Patrick Wilson or Rose Byrne, or any of the Lambert family (the clan from Insidious 1 & 2), but it made sense to me right away that the real stars of this franchise are Elaine played by Lin Shaye, Specs played by Leigh Whannell (who impressively writes, directs and stars in this movie), and Tucker played by Angus Sampson. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne were excellent in the original story, but it was refreshing to move onto a new narrative, and have that new story be not necessarily a prequel to the original two Insidious movies, but an origin story of how Lin Shaye’s Elaine met the dynamic duo of Specs and Tucker, and how much experience Elaine actually had with The Further.
Chapter 3 follows a girl named Quinn, played by Stefanie Scott, who attracts malevolent spirits when trying to contact her mother from beyond the grave. Quinn gets hit by a car, is essentially paralyzed for the rest of the film, but is now being constantly tortured by evil spirits, specifically ‘The Man Who Can’t Breathe’. The jump scares throughout are relentless and Insidious: Chapter 3 also does a great job of maintaining the dreadful atmosphere that stood out in the original two movies. The Further is a brutally scary set piece and allows for so much creativity when setting up jump scares and horrifying visuals. Chapter 3 is also a very heartfelt and sentimental story about a girl struggling with the loss of her mother, and also the struggles of a father dealing with the loss of his wife. The authentically heartfelt story really added to the horror and made for a great finale. Insidious: Chapter 3 is very much deserving of being on this list…
6) Final Destination 3
The Final Destination franchise is one of the most fun and successful franchises in the horror genre. Everyone in the world can relate to the fear that Final Destination taps into. The inevitability of death. Final Destination just takes that fear and multiplies it by 1,000 with the craziest and most creative ways to kill human beings. The films feature scary situations, and disturbing deaths with epic gore. And Final Destination 3 is a solid example of just that. Moreover, it exists as a truly fun film.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ryan Merriman do a great job at carrying this movie as the stars. Both were prototypical young horror leading actors at the time this was released. They don’t do anything spectacular, but they move the story along and aren’t distracting. Final Destination movies are easy to make work because of the simplicity of the story, people know what they are going to get. On one end, that makes the films timeless but on the other, it has the potential to be repetitive.
Final Destination 3 secured its position on this list for this one scene, in particular. Unforgettable and funny, the tension buildup was really well done, and it also gives me a valid excuse to never lift weights again…
5) Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire
One of the most, if not the most, underrated franchise in horror, Hell House LLC is a scary as hell found footage franchise that should be a household name for its quality. I’m not entirely sure why this movie didn’t really hit with the general public outside of the horror community. It might actually be a little too intense for casual fans of horror, as strange as that sounds. The premise is perfect for the found footage style, and the found footage devices used in these movies add so much to the authenticity and overall fear factor. The Hell House LLC franchise has everything a horror fan would be looking for. Examples include good performances, dreadful atmosphere, great location and props, terrifying jump scares, good special effects and most importantly, fantastic writing and directing by Stephen Cognetti. But best of all, finality! Finally on this list there is a series that was meant to be a trilogy, and (for now) maintains that quality of being a tried-and-true trilogy with an actual beginning, middle and end.
Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire generally seems to be the 2nd favorite in the trilogy amongst fans and critics. But for me, Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is the 3rd best in the trilogy. I hold 1 and 2 in such high regard that even though Hell House LLC III is still a very good movie, it does not top those counterparts. What I love about Hell House LLC III though, is that it stands as a unique and interesting spin while also simultaneously tying the original story together with this one and providing a satisfying twist ending that sent off all of the characters in great fashion.
Hell House LLC III isn’t as scary as the original two movies, and the characters aren’t nearly as likable, but it has plenty of scenes that are scarier than stuff done in 95% of horror movies out there (maybe more). Particularly this scene. Those goddamned clowns are nightmare fuel, and the ghost activity at the Abaddon Hotel is always stomach churning. For those unfamiliar, The Abaddon Hotel, where all three movies take place, is like the Overlook Hotel from The Shining. A demonic worshiping paranormal presence haunts the hotel, and most that enter, do not escape. Go watch these movies if you are looking for a reason to sleep with the lights on at night…
4) Exorcist III
I’ve said it before, but Exorcist III is just as good of a movie as The Exorcist. Unfortunately for Exorcist II: The Heretic, that movie is trapped in between two of the most brilliant horror pictures ever made. If you look at The Exorcist trilogy as an actual trilogy, it is one of the absolute strangest sequences of movies that seem to only be connected only by name and recurring characters. The Exorcist is obviously considered one of the best movies of all time, especially being considered the best horror movie of all time. Exorcist II: The Heretic is one of the most maligned horror movies of all time, but I regard it as kind of a cult classic in its own way. A really bizarre and incoherent film, but it still has that cult appeal to it. And then there’s Exorcist III, which is one of my all-time favorite horror movies. Exorcist III, written and directed by William Peter Blatty, is a stunningly well-made mystery horror movie. It features the scariest scene ever put on film. The performances across the board are magnificent, especially from George C. Scott, Brad Dourif, and Nicol Williamson. Blatty doesn’t have a lot of film work to his name, only directing two feature films, which is a shame because he showed how capable he was with those two movies,
Exorcist III in no way pushed the franchise in any direction, and works better as a standalone movie, even though there are recurring themes and reappearance of Jason Miller, star of The Exorcist. It also did not rejuvenate the franchise, because there was nothing notable in The Exorcist universe after this movie. It’s odd that such a popular name in horror spawned virtually no traditional sequels…
3) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors or as I like to call it; Freddy’s Finest. Still workshopping that alternate title. Maybe Dr. Freddy and his Psychiatric Children?. Eh, no, leave that to the professionals. Speaking of professionals, the cast and crew of Dream Warriors is the dream team of genre filmmakers and performers. Directed by Chuck Russell, and written by the team of Wes Craven, Bruce Wagner, and Frank Darabont, Dream Warriors was bound to be good. The number of great performers in this movie is also astonishing. Patricia Arquette, Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Laurence Fishburne, John Saxon and of course, Robert Enguland as the iconic Freddy Krueger. Not only that, but the music for this movie was done by Angelo Badalamenti. Dream Warriors really was made by the a horror movie dream team. Pun intended.
Perhaps Dream Warriors should be considered the best ‘3rd’ horror movie of all time, and maybe technically it is. I’d say it succeeded on so many levels. It was entertaining on its own merits, but also pushed the story into a fun direction that led to Freddy Krueger becoming a comedic horror icon. The one-liners in Dream Warriors are the best in series, but also allowed for subsequent movies to enhance that version of Freddy. I truly believe that this movie being so good led to the success and popularity of the sequels after the fact. New Line Cinema is considered ‘The House that Freddy Built’, but there was a world where New Line almost didn’t continue on with the franchise after the disappointment of the sequel, Freddy’s Revenge. Dream Warriors totally broadened the story opportunities for future installments of this franchise. The fantastical elements of A Nightmare on Elm Street became the strength of the series, and Dream Warriors kicked that off…
2) Paranormal Activity 3
Paranormal Activity is one of the most unlikely franchises to exist and an even more unlikely franchise to succeed. Inspired by the success of The Blair Witch Project, and with little to zero experience within the movie business, Oren Peli, a video game programmer, took the very simple idea of having a couple who move into a house and record themselves with the intention of catching paranormal activity on camera, but then actually endup catching paranormal activity on camera. The finished result, Paranormal Activity, and in turn, $890 million dollars of collective box office success. Incredible story…
For the third installment in the Paranormal Activity franchise, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who are most famous for their documentary sensation, Catfish, were brought on to direct Paranormal Activity 3 shortly after the success of Catfish. Christopher Landon, who was a co-writer on the sequel, wrote the script for Paranormal Activity 3 and was really interested in exploring the Katie origin story with a prequel style installment. This story takes place in the 1980s and follows Katie and her family, her sister, mother, and father. The father is a wedding videographer, therefore making it easy to explain why they had all of this great filming equipment in their house. Side note, the most vital detail of a found footage movie is to have a damn good reason why the characters are filming the action around them, and why they seem to never stop filming no matter how scary a situation gets. Landon, Joost, and Schulman did a fantastic job with the story but most of all with the coverage, all of the camera setups are so perfect and provide edge of your seat action throughout, even when there is nothing actually happening onscreen, the anticipation was always so effective. I thought Paranormal Activity 3 really did the best job in the franchise of exploring the mythology of the coven of witches that haunt this family. I also thought Paranormal Activity 3 was a masterclass in prequel writing and provided such a good origin story for the characters of the previous two movies. I don’t think you can say that this film took the franchise to the next level, as the wheels started to come off a little bit after Paranormal Activity 3, but as a standalone third movie, I thought this was a phenomenal entry, and arguably the best of the series…
1) Halloween III: Season of the Witch
I have Halloween III: Season of the Witch at the top of my list for a few reasons, first being it is so weird, and I still can’t believe that they pivoted away from Michael Myers and tried to make Halloween an anthology type series. Second reason being a reiteration of my first reason. And the third reason is because it is my favorite standalone movie out of any of the 3rd movies listed above. It is so interesting that after the success of the first two Halloween pictures, the takeaway was to center the story around Halloween night, and not its maniacal serial killer sensation, Michael Myers. Tommy Lee Wallace, a longtime collaborator of John Carpenter, took on the role of writer/director for Halloween III. Which is crazy to think because he literally invented the famous Michael Myers mask. With that said, he crafted such an original and mesmerizing story with Halloween III and after each time I rewatch it, I appreciate it more and more. Starring Tom Atkins, a horror movie icon, Halloween III pivots from slashing high schoolers to witchcraft and conspiracies. I found this to be a welcome change. The scares relying more on creep and shock factors as opposed to jump scares and blood was something that was jarring to watch, but hugely effective as a standalone movie. Even though it is a standalone effort, there is still a really cool callback to the original, by way of a TV commercial for Halloween. This movie was an ’80s fever dream, with a mystery that was incredibly disturbing yet entertaining. Without spoiling anything, the jingle that is produced by the Silver Shamrock company for their line of ‘special masks’ is one of those effectively annoying ear worms that you can’t get out of your head. And it all comes around perfectly in the end for a brilliant finale scene.
Halloween III absolutely did not push the Halloween franchise forward, it wasn’t exactly a financial flop, but at the time of release the overall reception from critics and audiences was negative. As a result, they pivoted back to centering the story around Michael Myers, even without John Carpenter. But Halloween III is a reminder of what could have been with this franchise if they stayed the course with Halloween themed anthology stories, and how much of a fork in the road that was for the history of horror movies…
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