The 10 Longest Horror Movie Franchises

These Horror Movie Franchises Refuse to Die!

Updated: October 2020

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a film critic, it’s that horror movies never die. There are some insanely long franchises out there, but that doesn’t mean quantity is the same as quality. In fact, looking over this list there are only a few film franchises out there that are longer than the ones on this list (looking at you James Bond). Now, just to be clear this is not a list of the BEST horror movie franchises, but just the ones that keep coming back to punish us over and over again. Seriously though, most of these series have way more terrible entries than good ones, but that’s neither here nor there. Because at the end of the day horror movies are incredibly bankable. They cost relatively little to make and people just keep throwing more and more money at them. Honestly, horror movie fans are seriously devoted. So, grab some popcorn and make sure the lights are on, because these movies, like their characters, refuses to stay dead.

10. Tie: Child’s Play (8 Films) and Leprechaun (8 Films)

For the first time on Stars & Popcorn, one of the Top 10 Lists has a tie! It seems oddly appropriate that it happens to feature two of the tiniest villains in the horror genre. It’s the Leprechaun vs Chucky in contention for the number 10 spot. Personally, I think both of these franchises should have been put out to pasture a long time ago, but I’ll probably be saying that about all of these entries at some point. However, when one of these franchises survives by sending its villain into space and “to the hood” it’s probably time to find some new blood… Figuratively of course. That being said, the recent Child’s Play reboot was surprisingly fun and definitely worth a watch.

9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (8 Films)

Ah that old familiar sound of a chainsaw cranking up in the distance. Leatherface turned what was once a peaceful piece of gardening equipment into a horror icon. Of course, it’s not just the chainsaw. Only in Texas would you find a twisted family of cannibals who use faces as Halloween masks. True there is something a bit goofy about most of the members of the Sawyer clan (Matthew McConaughey had a hydraulic leg for crying out loud), but Leatherface is just as nightmarish as he was in 1974. Of course, he owes his ranking on this list to the recent reboot of the franchise over the past few years. I guess you just can’t keep a good cannibal down, especially since there’s another Texas Chainsaw in pre-production these days.

8. Saw (9 Films*)

*Spiral‘s released delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

This horror movie franchise is the face of torture porn. Sure, there might be more extreme movies out there, but should there really be a competition for that? I’ll admit that the series is disturbingly creative, but I guess that’s what you get when engineers go nuts. What I will say is that the biggest strength (and potential weakness) of the Saw films is that they have a very cohesive storyline. Each film somehow finds a way to tie into the previous ones as if it was all planned. Honestly, though, I’m pretty sure the pitch meetings for them are just people trying to out-gore each other. Hey, everyone needs to make a living.

7. Nightmare on Elm Street (9 Films*)

*8 stand alone films and a cross-over

Freddy Krueger refuses to stay down. After five movies in this horror franchise, it bold proclaimed that the sixth entry would be “The Final Nightmare.” That is until “The New Nightmare,” which is one of the most bizarre meta-horror films ever made where Krueger proceeds to enter “the real world” to terrorize the actors from the movies. Hell, Robert Englund makes an appearance as himself (he’s a super nice guy). But Krueger doesn’t stop there, he has cameos in a few other films before throwing down with his rival in Freddy vs Jason (a film I actually enjoyed a lot). Of course, like all great horror franchises, A Nightmare on Elm Street even got a terrible remake. Is he finally gone though? I wouldn’t put money on it.

6. Children of the Corn (10 Films)

10! 10 movies about creepy kids hanging out in a cornfield. How? The first one wasn’t even halfway decent. In fact, it was probably one of the worst Stephen King adaptations to hit the silver screen. Yet somehow it spawned not just a franchise, but a prolific one. I would ask how I was completely unaware of this, but with only two of them getting theatrical releases, I can find it in my heart to forgive myself. In fact, the most recent entry was released this year straight to video. As a former camp counselor, I can attest that kids can be really creepy, but I’m not sure if they’re horror movie material. In my experience, most just topple over when they get too excited.