Dissection of the Current American Horror Genre

Peter in George Romero's 1978 film Dawn of the Dead remarked at one point: "When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth." Apparently, when there's no more original ideas in Hollywood, the sequels and remakes will walk the earth. It would be unfair to categorize the American horror movie genre as being alone on the train of turning plenty of successful films into cash cows with numerous sequels and then later on remakes. However, it is likely the largest offender.

A perfect example of this phenomenon is the Saw franchise. Saw was a film shot in 18 days and had a budget of roughly around $1 million dollars. The film was widely acclaimed by both critics and viewers alike and it went on to make over $100 million. It could have ended there, instead five more films followed. Although the first film was largely a mystery, the next films have been classified by some as what amounts to torture-porn. In fact, the Saw and Hostel franchises were a large reason why the torture-porn subgenre of horror reemerged.

It is not difficult to see why the horror genre is perhaps the most ripe for this. The risk of making a horror film is relatively low when compared to say a blockbuster action film in terms of both shooting the actual film and the cost of it. The act of investing a few million dollars and hoping for the next Saw, Scream, or Blair Witch Project essentially amounts to gambling by studios.

The horror industry has certainly seen it's fair share of sequels and even prequels in the past. The Halloween franchise starring everybody's favorite boogeyman Michael Myers saw a total of eight films between 1978 and 2002. A Nightmare on Elm Street saw a total of seven films between 1984 and 1994. Perhaps the worst offender of the bunch is the Friday the 13th franchise. The audience saw a total of nine films between 1980 and 1993. It's not surprising however since all of those films turned a profit. Of course, I'm fairly certain everyone would like to forget Jason X.

All three of these franchises saw remakes in the last five years and Halloween even saw a sequel to it's remake. The financial success of all these films almost guarantees that will see more sequels down the road. It also guarantees that we will see more horror franchises be given remakes. I recently read that there will be a fifth sequel to Child's Play (Chucky) called Curse of Chucky to be released later this year.

I certainly don't expect a cinematic masterpiece whenever I go to see any of these movies. I'm also not expecting a high amount of quality from the same movie genre that played a large role in shaping Grindhouse movies. However, a great deal of these movies aren't simply so bad they're good but just plain bad.

The release of Texas Chainsaw 3D this past weekend is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Based on 42 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 21% approval rating, with an average rating of 3.6/10. The only horror movie with worse approval ratings than that is Congress. However, the film has already surpassed its budget of $20 million by grossing what looks to be about $23 million this weekend alone.

Texas Chainsaw 3D is also the 7th film in the Texas Chainsaw franchise. The original 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre changed slasher films as we know it and is largely regarded as one of the most influential horror movies of the 70's. It's worth taking a look at the franchise for a moment.

• 1974: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Original film in the franchise. Rotten Tomato rating: 91%.
• 1986: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - Sequel to the 1974 original. Rotten Tomato rating: 45%.
• 1990: Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 - Second sequel to the 1974 original and a reboot. Rotten Tomato rating: 14%
• 1994: Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation  - Loose remake and quasi-sequel to the original 1974 film. Rotten Tomato rating: 17%.
• 2003: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Remake of the original 1974 film. Rotten Tomato rating: 36%.
• 2006: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - Prequel to the 2003 remake. Rotten Tomato rating: 12%.
• 2013: Texas Chainsaw 3D - The film picks up after the events of the original 1974 film. Rotten Tomato rating: 21%.

So to recap: We have three sequels to the original and two loose remakes by the fourth film. We have a remake almost thirty years after the original and then we have a sequel to the remake. Now we have another sequel to the original. Texas Chainsaw 3D doesn't mean the end for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. In fact,  Lionsgate has already announced an eighth film with the option of up to six more films.

I certainly hope don't to see six rushed sequels as Lionsgate drives down a franchise that should have stayed dead and buried. However, as long as these films continue to remain profitable then that's what exactly will happen. 2013 doesn't bode well currently for the American horror genre as some of the most "anticipated" films include an Evil Dead remake and a Carrie remake. The consumer has a say in the quality of films being made by voting with their dollar and as long as the viewing public will pay to see bad horror films then that's what will be made.

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