Sunday Special: The 10 Best Horror Movie Franchises

Summary

The Daily: Sunday Special – The 10 Best Horror Movie Franchises

Date: October 26, 2025
Host: Gilbert Cruz (B)
Guests:

• Eric Peppenberg (C) – New York Times horror columnist
• Jason Zinoman (D) – Critic at large and author of Shock Value

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Episode Overview

Theme:
This special episode dives into one big, delightfully spooky question: What are the 10 best horror movie franchises of all time? Host Gilbert Cruz gathers two top horror experts—Eric Peppenberg and Jason Zinoman—to debate, discuss, and ultimately craft (with occasional disagreement) the definitive list. Their conversation covers the evolution of the genre, what makes a “franchise,” and which long-running film series belong in horror’s pantheon.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of Horror in 2025

[02:12–06:42]

• Eric’s View: Horror is thriving. “I think we are in a sort of prolonged golden age of horror right now. The period that sort of started with Get Out, I think is continuing.”
• Jason’s Counter: A “respectable” era—horror is now prestigious, with more expensive, event-style productions replacing the era of cheap, guerilla horror (e.g., Paranormal Activity).
• Indie horror is still vibrant, with “15 to 20 brand new movies that are streaming to choose from” every month, plus big studio successes.

2. What Makes a Horror Franchise?

[06:42–09:41]

• Definition: A film series with recurring elements (villains, heroes, or locations).
• Jason questions strict definitions, advocating for a broader understanding: “About breaking rules, Gilbert. And that’s what I'm here for.”

3. Franchise-by-Franchise Breakdown

The hosts go through a chronological list, saying “Yes,” “No,” or “Bubble” to each potential entry. Highlights:

Early Foundations

• Universal Monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf Man)

  • All agree: foundational franchise.
  • “You have...this world before we ever thought about interconnected universes...” – Gilbert [08:45]

• Psycho

  • Iconic first film, but divided on the sequels’ merits. Quoted:
    • “Among horror nerds, Psycho II has developed a reevaluate, you know—famous Quentin Tarantino prefers it to Psycho.” – Jason [10:45]

1970s Classics

• Night of the Living Dead (Romero’s Zombie Saga)
  • Immediate yes.
• The Exorcist
  • Mixed, but on the bubble for now.
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre
  • Moves forward, though later its franchise status is scrutinized.
• Jaws
  • Iconic original but dismissed as not truly a franchise.
• The Omen, The Hills Have Eyes, Amityville Horror
  • Debated, largely for cultural footprint or franchise consistency.

1980s Slasher and Beyond

• Halloween, Friday the 13th, Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, Child’s Play
  • Consensus: all move forward.
  • “Freddy Krueger’s the only one with personality.” – Gilbert [37:45]
• Phantasm
  • Underrated; Jason goes to bat for it: “Stone cold classic. Most underrated horror film of the 70s.” [17:52]
• Hellraiser, Poltergeist, Candyman
  • Generally do not progress due to lack of strong franchise identity or drop-off after the originals.

1990s and 2000s Franchises

• Scream
  • Surprisingly cut. “To a certain kind of horror person, Scream gets on our nerves...” – Jason [26:55]
• Final Destination, Saw
  • Both praised for their relentless and inventive formulas.
• Paranormal Activity
  • Praised for revitalizing found-footage horror.

Modern Multiverses

• The Conjuring
  • Seen as the definitive modern horror universe.
• Insidious, VHS, Purge, Terrifier
  • Discussed, some making initial lists but later struck.

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Building the Top 10 List

[35:33–51:51]

• Each guest champions one franchise to keep and nominates another to cut, leading to passionate debate, strategic negotiation, and some surprising ejections.
• Saw is saved when Jason argues: “The Saw movies did that [more of the same] more effectively than anything past the 80s classic slasher foods.” [41:18]
• Alien is cut: “Alien is more science fiction...maybe top 10 science fiction franchise.” – Eric [41:49]
• Universal Monsters and Texas Chainsaw Massacre—eventually dropped, despite deep affection.

Final List (in no order):

1. Night of the Living Dead
2. Halloween
3. Friday the 13th
4. Evil Dead
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street
6. Child’s Play
7. Final Destination
8. Saw
9. Paranormal Activity
10. The Conjuring

Memorable Quotes:

• “For me, part of the appeal of horror is to be disreputable. And if something is trying to be too classy, I just don't find that enjoyable.” – Eric [23:44]
• “You can't have a list of franchises being taken seriously and not have Friday 13th.” – Jason [36:09]
• “I think for sure, Nightmare on Elm street… is influential in a lot of ways that I’m not sure if people fully appreciate.” – Eric [21:40]
• “Freddy Krueger’s the only one with personality. He is the only one that has a little verb, a little pop.” – Gilbert [37:45]

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Highlighted Franchise Arguments and Notable Moments

The Personality Test

• Why A Nightmare on Elm Street stands out:
  “The only...slasher [with] a little verb, a little pop. And that's important...He becomes a comedic character. I think that comedy and horror coexist very easily.” – Gilbert [37:45–39:14]

Humor in Horror

• On Scream’s exclusion:
  “If its calling card is it added this humor and it’s not that funny, then what is it?” – Jason [27:34] “I don't find them funny. I find the wink wink stuff too much.” – Eric [27:35]

The Evolution Test

• On Halloween III: Season of the Witch:
  “I think Season of the Witch is a tremendously underrated movie...But the lesson that the industry took from the failure of Season of the Witch is we’re never gonna let them do this again.” – Jason [49:11]

Thematic Breadth

• Evil Dead praised for reinvention (“no movie...captured...Looney Tunes better”) and lasting influence, including a musical and TV show. [44:09–45:05]

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Important Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:12] How is horror doing in 2025?
• [06:42] Defining “franchise” and first picks
• [09:58 – 32:00] Rapid-fire yes/no through the major franchises
• [35:33 – 51:51] Building, negotiating, and finalizing the top 10
• [54:16 – 59:39] Horror movie trivia game: “A Nightmare on Film Street”; “The Kills have Eyes”; “Child’s Play” (creepy kid quotes)
• [60:29 – 60:40] Favorite franchise:
  • Jason: Evil Dead
  • Eric: Child’s Play
  • Gilbert: Nightmare on Elm Street

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the breadth of Child’s Play:
  “It does touch on some queer aspects which I personally like...queer horror would be missing something.” – Eric [24:47]
• On Paranormal Activity as a “top 10”:
  “I also love that it came out of nowhere to become this really big hit and has spawned subsequent films and now a stage show...” – Eric [42:25]
• On longevity vs. quality:
  “If we’re honest, the reason that most of these horror franchises have sequel after sequel is to give people more of the same.” – Jason [41:10]
• On horror’s current reputation:
  “We’re in an era of prestige, Oscar bait, horror...this is not in the disreputable era, right?” – Jason [02:55]
• On Universal Monsters as the proto-franchise:
  “You have essentially direct sequels to some of these movies. It feels like this is the beginning.” – Gilbert [09:16]

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The Final Top 10 Horror Franchises (as selected by the panel)

1. Night of the Living Dead
2. Halloween
3. Friday the 13th
4. Evil Dead
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street
6. Child’s Play
7. Final Destination
8. Saw
9. Paranormal Activity
10. The Conjuring

“They are our list—we know people will get mad, and that’s what horror is about.” [51:49]

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For those who missed it

• This episode delivers a brisk crash course in horror movie history, lots of deep nerd references, and a convivial but passionate debate about what makes a franchise matter.
• The hosts intertwine film analysis, pop culture impact, and affection for both classic and trashy entries, while throwing in plenty of signature New York Times dry wit.

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For full franchise lists and the beloved “bubble” entries, check the episode show notes.

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Transcript

[A]

It's the scariest time of the year. No, it's not Halloween. It's just Another Sunday at 4pm Sunday's scary O', clock, the hour that the weekend spell is broken when after all the soccer games and playdates are over, you realize you haven't gone grocery shopping. No dinner tonight. No lunches for the week. But Instacart and New York Times cooking can help take the Sunday fright out of Sunday night. Make easy and delicious recipes your family will actually love without leaving the house. Shop now and get ingredient delivery through Instacart. @instacart.com.

[B]

I'm Gilbert Cruz and this is the Sunday Special. I could not be more excited about today's episode. Producers, cue the spooky music. I love Halloween. I love the spooky vibes. I love candy. I specifically love, like, Mini Heath bars. But maybe more than all of that. I am obsessed with scary movies. And that is what we are talking about today. Here with me is Eric Peepenberg. He is the horror movie columnist at the Times. Hi, Eric.

[C]

Hello, Gilbert.

[B]

And our first returning guest, what an honor. Jason Zinneman, a critic at large and the author of the book Shock Value. How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood and Invented Modern Horror. Why is this subtitle so long?

[D]

It's way too long. I was young, but I just sold the French rights. It's coming out in France, literally. Today. I signed the rights.

[B]

Zut dolor. Welcome, Jason.

[D]

Good to be here.

[B]

Okay, I brought the two of you on here for a very particular reason. Today we're gonna come up with the Defin list of the greatest horror franchises in cinema history. According to us three, we're gonna make this list. We're all gonna agree, we're gonna get along, and then we'll all hug at the end.

[D]

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

[B]

We'll see. Okay.

[D]

Gotta keep some suspense. Gilbert.

[B]

You're right. You're right. Okay. Before we jump into this task, and it is a hearty task, I wanna know how you all are feeling about the currency to horror movies. Like, how are we feeling about where the genre is right now in this year, 2025? Eric?

[C]

I'm feeling good about it. I think we are in a sort of prolonged golden age of horror right now. The period that sort of started with Get Out, I think is continuing. And when I think about just this year alone, weapons as just one of the best horror movies I've seen in quite some time. We're seeing a lot of new features, new ways of seeing horror. Jason do you think so?

[D]

That's a little more optimistic than I would say. I think we're at the end of the golden age, I think maybe. Or maybe the olden age just ended. But I have to say, if I was to, like, sum up the era right now, in a word, it would be respectable, which is in both senses of the word. We're in an era of prestige, Oscar bait, horror, you know, sinners, weapons, Frankenstein. These all are gonna be in the conversation. This is not in the disreputable era, right? Yeah, but if you judge a horror era by its mediocrities, it's not so bad either. I mean, I liked Dangerous Animals, which is like another shark movie. I just watched this movie drop, which, again, is not gonna last the test of time. It's a set all in one bad date, but it kind of works as a thriller. So I think it's been a better year than the last couple, I would say.

[B]

Yeah. It is interesting because both of you talked about these sort of big studio horror movies. Sinner's Weapons, the latest in the Final Destination franchise, which we will talk about Bloodlines. And then the latest conjuring movie, which is one of the most successful horror franchises of all time. Those are all out. But at the same time, it feels like there is still a thriving sort of indie horror scene. You know, this year you had Bring Her Back Yet a Movie Together, which was a Dave Franco Alison Brie movie that was sold. I think it was one of the first movies sold at this year's Sundance Film Festival for a lot of money. So it feels like the studios are putting out pretty good horror. Indies are putting out pretty good horror. The days of Blumhouse being the maker of cheap horror movies alone has sort of faded a little bit because horror is a reliable box office draw. Because whether you're a big studio or a small studio, you know that there is this very rabid fan base that everyone has sort of gotten into the game.

[D]

I'd say the most interesting podcast I heard about the horror genre now this year was Jason Blum went on Matt Bellamy's podcast, the Town.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

To talk about why the sequel to Megan M2 flopped.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. And this is Jason Blum, who is sort of the man behind Blumhouse, which is produced and distributed a bunch of horror movies of the century.

[D]

Yeah, right, exactly.

[B]

Paranormal Activity, Insidious, a bunch of other stuff.

[D]

Yeah. And he said the days when cheap horror was the way to go are gone. And for Jason Blum to say that is really something that he Said that now with all the competition, you need an event. And so you actually need to have an expensive horror. You need to really make a difference. I know a lot of who disagree with that, and that caused a lot of waves. But the fact that he said it suggested there was some anxiety among the horror establishment about, okay, where's the next Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity, et cetera.

[C]

Yeah, I would say sort of on the flip side of the big pictures. I would say one of the nice things about doing this column is that I get to discover under the radar indie movies. I'm thinking of a movie like Bleeding, which came out earlier this year as this vampire story about told through the eyes of addiction. Good boy. This new movie about this dog who goes to a haunted house. These small movies, look, every month I have, I would say from 15 to 20 brand new movies that are streaming to choose from. And that doesn't include the bigger movies. But to be able to just see how many horror movie directors are just doing this small little movie. That, to me, in some ways is far more effective and scary than a movie like Together, which I didn't really like. That, to me, is what's exciting, that you have young faces who are using some of the horror conventions but telling them in new, very disturbing ways.

[B]

So I think we need to move to the meat of this conversation. So here's what we're going to do. We have a list here of a couple dozen or so horror franchises that the group of us came up with. And listeners, I just want to say here, right at the front, if your favorite franchise isn't on here, I don't know what to say. The show can only be so long. These franchises are arranged chronologically. And the goal here is to eventually get to a list of what we consider to be the 10 best horror franchises of all time. So I think we should start by going through this big list. We'll give a quick yes or no to each of these franchises. Some, I think, are gonna move on very quickly. Cause they feel obvious or iconic. And then some we're probably gonna chat about a little bit before we make a decision. And for the sake of this discussion, I'm defining a franchise as a series of related films. There's one film that results in multiple sequels that have recurring villains or recurring heroes or recurring locations. Does that sound right to the two of you?

[D]

I think that's a terrible definition.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

No, I think.

[B]

All right. So this podcast is gonna be.

[D]

Well, I guess let's start at the beginning. I think it's A good start. You asked when we were doing this, when does the horror movie franchise begin? And to me, among the Universal monster movies that started in 1931, which Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde. The first one to have a major follow up is Bride of Frankenstein. You stay. We belong dead. As soon as you have Bride of Frankenstein. To me, that's the first one.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

And I'm not sure that qualifies.

[B]

I think it does. I do think it qualifies. I think if you look back at all the Universal monster movies, it definitely has the feel of a franchise. You have Bride of Frankenstein, as you mentioned, Son of Frankenstein. You have Frankenstein meeting the Wolf Man. Eventually you have this world before we ever thought about interconnected universes in which, you know, there's a house style, characters are interacting with one another. You have essentially direct sequels to some of these movies. It feels like this is the beginning.

[D]

But what ties it all together to me is the monster and the character in a way that I would like to include, like Young Frankenstein in the way I like to include. I like to include Shaun of the Dead in the Dead series. I don't want to go by the rules of Hollywood, producer.

[B]

Yeah, but you understand that we need to have rules here, right?

[D]

Of course. About breaking rules, Gilbert. And that's what I'm here for. No, I'll go along with whatever definition you want.

[B]

Okay, Eric, we know who the Chaos Agent is. Can we agree Universal franchise should proceed?

[C]

I think it should proceed. I hear you, Jason. I also think you make some really good points, but the answer is yes, for our purposes here. Let's continue on that one.

[B]

Okay, we're going to move to the early 1960s, 1960, in fact, when one of the first slasher movies. The first slasher movie. If we consider Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock's all time classic, to be a slasher movie.

[D]

We all go a Little Mad Sometimes.

[B]

Came out in 1960. No one thought it would be a franchise. But starting in the early 80s, you had Psycho 2, Psycho 3, and then Psycho 4, the Beginning, which was a prequel TV movie. This is very weird. We're gonna encounter some of these. It's a franchise where the first movie is one of the greatest movies of all time as a franchise, as something that is all held together. I don't know that I would put it on the list, but I'm looking at Jason and I know.

[D]

Well, no, among horror nerds, Psycho too has developed a reevaluate, you know, famous Quentin Tarantino prefers it to Psycho. And he's not the only one. I watched it again. It's definitely not better than the first one, but it's a very good movie. It really digs into the things that the original does not. And I would also argue Gus Van Santz, equally disliked Shot by Shot remake. I admire the ambition of that. I'm not saying it's my top 10, but I think that Psycho and Psycho II, plus the Gus Van Santa 3 and 4 are terrible. Make it a worthy franchise along with, obviously, you know, one of the most important horror movies ever.

[B]

We're gonna put this one on the bubble. Does that feel right?

[C]

That feels fine with me.

[B]

Yeah. Okay.

[C]

I'm good with that.

[B]

The next one. The Night of the Living Dead series.

[C]

Have concluded that in all cases, the.

[D]

Killers are eating the flesh of the people they murdered.

[B]

Repeating this latest, George Romero's extremely low budget movie that kicked off an entire subgenre within horror, the zombie movie. This feels important and iconic enough that we can automatically move this on to the list of films that we're going to discuss later.

[D]

Right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Next, the Exorcist, 1973.

[D]

You killed your mother.

[B]

You left her alone. I love, love, love, love, love the Exorcist. First time I saw it was one of the scariest experiences I've ever had. I've been chasing that experience ever since for the rest of my life.

[D]

Are you religious, Gilbert?

[B]

I grew up Catholic.

[C]

There you go.

[B]

That makes a difference.

[D]

I got it.

[C]

It does make a difference, I guess.

[D]

Big difference. Yeah.

[C]

I think it's worth putting on this list. I think I don't love the films after the original so much. I know. Jason, I think you picked a jump scare from the Exorcist films as one of your favorite jump scares recently.

[D]

The Exorcist 3 as one of the best jump scares ever.

[C]

Which, look, watching those few minutes of that scene, I think are truly one of the scariest things I've ever seen. So I appreciate that it has one of those scenes, but I don't love them. But is it in this discussion? Thumbs up.

[D]

I'm gonna give it thumbs up for one reason. One of the things I like about a franchise is when there's terrible movies in it I don't like.

[B]

This is good.

[D]

Exorcist 2. All I Can say is James Earl Jones wears a bee suit in Exorcist.

[B]

It is a locust suit.

[D]

I'll lose it. Okay.

[B]

Actually, in Exorcist 2, the Heretic, he wears a locust suit.

[D]

Okay. That alone, that image alone, I think should qualify it to be under consideration as, like a memorable. It's a memorable movie. Eric's absolutely right. The third one has this one scene that's more memorable than most horror movies. I don't think it's gonna end up being one top 10, but I would say we should consider it.

[B]

All right, I'm just gonna say the next one, which is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe hooper's film from 1974. This should continue. So we're gonna keep this one going. Jaws.

[C]

I have a confession. I have never seen Jaws and I will never see Jaws.

[D]

What the hell?

[C]

Sorry.

[B]

What are you doing?

[D]

Producers MOUTHS AGAPE.

[C]

Look, I have confessed this before, so this is not breaking news, but I have a terrible, horrible. I have a severe shark phobia. And I remember sitting in Dairy Queen in Cleveland, Ohio, looking at the poster of the giant Jaws with that tiny little lady up at the top.

[B]

Yeah. Iconic poster.

[C]

Iconic poster. It has scarred me for life. I don't go swimming. I don't go in swimming pools because there might be a Jaws underneath me.

[B]

Lakes. Why would they be. Why would a shark be in a swimming pool?

[C]

Toilets. They could be anywhere. I'm telling you, it's a severe phobia. Don't trigger me.

[B]

I'm going to make an executive decision here. The first movie, I would say one of the great horror movies. And then you have three terrible sequels. This doesn't feel like a horror franchise to me. It feels like a shark franchise. The Omen, 1976.

[A]

Look at me, Damian.

[B]

It's all for you.

[D]

You love this. The first Omen.

[B]

I thought the prequel that came out recently. The first Omen, directed by Arkasha Stevenson, was fantastic.

[C]

Fantastic. I agree.

[B]

The original Omen is a good horror movie. And then you had a bunch of not good stuff. So I actually don't know. It's one of the more famous franchises from the 70s. I actually don't know if I would sort of push it ahead.

[D]

Look, I've laid out a few things I think are important. One that I think we all agree is sort of cultural footprint.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

And I'm not sure the Omen has that.

[B]

Yeah, it's like the Avatar of horror movies.

[D]

Ouch.

[B]

No cultural footprint.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

1977'S the Hills have Eyes. This is the first of several Wes Craven franchises on this list. You fat, fat. You say?

[D]

I got strong opinions on this.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

It should be on the list. It should be on the list. And I'm gonna say there's gonna be some Wes Craven franchises that other people are gonna want to put on, but I'm not.

[B]

I'm not happy with where this is going already.

[D]

I know. I know. Here's my case. The original and the reboot are both great. The reboot, The Alexandra Aja.

[B]

This is a movie about a clan of cannibals that live in the desert.

[D]

And it's sort of building on some Texas Chainsaw elements. But I think it's a great franchise because it has this great movie. It has a crummy sequel. The fact that it has a successful reboot, which I don't think we'll be able to say about that many.

[B]

Have you seen these?

[C]

I haven't. I think it does not belong on this list. Like the Omen, I don't consider it a franchise necessarily. I think I hear what you're saying, Jason. I don't think it belongs here for the similar. Same reasons as.

[B]

Let's give it a yellow. I appreciate Jason's passion.

[C]

Yeah, I do too.

[D]

I appreciate that. I dare you, Eric.

[C]

See, here's the thing about Jason. He's so smart and a very, like. He's a classy thinker where I'm like, I like monster movies.

[B]

Cause heads explode.

[D]

Cause it's stupid.

[C]

That's kind of my sort of.

[D]

Here's the thing about Eric. You might know this. He's from Cleveland and he plays the Cleveland I'm the rube card. He's smarter than any of us. His horror column I never miss Must read. So don't fall for this. He's just trying to get Hills Eye Vies out of here. Put Hills Eye's eyes on the list.

[B]

It's on the bubble. 1978's Halloween.

[D]

You know, it's Halloween.

[B]

I guess everyone's entitled One Good Scare, huh? In the running for the most influential horror movie franchise. One of the most influential horror movie franchises. This is just an automatic. We will discuss this later. We should move this along.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

Okay. Phantasm.

[D]

I've been waiting for you.

[B]

This is the one with the Tall man who's creepy looking and there's these flying balls that have spikes.

[D]

I'm gonna say stone cold classic. Most underrated horror film of the 70s.

[B]

Fair.

[C]

I second that. I.

[D]

The Tall man, one of the great horror movie villains. It should be. If the world. If we lived in a fair world, Gilbert.

[C]

All right.

[D]

If we lived in a just world, the Tall man would be talking about the way Michael Myers and leatherface are. Phantasm1. Great. Phantasm2's great. Just surreal, trippy imagery. Maybe the best mirror Scare of all time, which is no small thing.

[B]

These have straight to video sequels. Do we feel like those count as.

[D]

Part of a video that sweetens the pot?

[B]

Absolutely.

[C]

More delicious. Straight to eat that up.

[B]

Absolutely.

[D]

I put Phantasm as a franchise and we can talk about that above Halloween.

[B]

I.

[C]

Fighting words.

[D]

I literally hear.

[B]

You am struck mute.

[D]

I mean, I got a whole argument for it, but we can wait.

[B]

I'm usually fast with a comeback, but I don't know what to say about that. All right, let's put this on the bubble as well. The Amityville Horror 1979 is the Passage. Well.

[C]

Here'S the thing about the Amityville Horror. I counted There are approximately 70 sequels to Amityville Horror.

[B]

Yeah, Amityville is the name of a town on Long island and you can't copyright the name of a town.

[C]

Correct. Amityville has become the shorthand for just the scary. And then plus this other thing. There's the Amityville, Karen. There's the Amityville Christmas vacation. There's the Amityville gas chamber. I mean, there's just like these ridiculous films made for two doll that you just slap on the word Amityville and the town isn't happy about that. But that's okay. Some of the movies are great. Most of them are bad. But as a franchise, yes.

[B]

You guys are out of your mind.

[D]

I'll say no. I'll say no. I'll say no. I'll say no. No. Because there's.

[B]

Oh, so now Eric's not smart.

[D]

Not on the room. No, not on the room. But he makes a good argument. He's almost persuaded me with a 70. That's crazy. I have no idea. That is a very strong case for it. But I'm gonna say haunted house. There's several haunted house franchises that are better than this one.

[B]

Okay?

[D]

And I think that's part of why its cultural currency, which was huge once upon a time, has diminished. I would say it's not even the most successful horror franchise about a medieval horror.

[B]

All right, let's put it on the bubble. Let's put it when there's wholesale agreement, we'll move it forward. When there is disagreement, put it in the bubble. Alien 1979, first movie, Stone Cold class. Yes. Move on. We'll move it forward. We're in the 80s now, the height of the slasher film. And we are gonna come upon a couple of the all time franchises. Although I think Jason might disagree with one.

[D]

No, no, no.

[B]

Friday the 13th. Move it forward. Okay. Poltergeist.

[D]

They're here.

[C]

I don't know about this one. I don't know. It doesn't feel like it's a franchise worth talking about.

[D]

I'm kind of on the same page with you on that.

[B]

Okay. The Evil Dead. Why have you disturbed our sleep?

[C]

For sure.

[D]

Definitely qualifies.

[B]

Okay. 1984. A Nightmare on Elm Street.

[D]

Please God. This is.

[B]

God. I am a fan of the first one, which I think is tremendous. I know, Eric, you are a fan of the second one. I am a fan of Freddy's Revenge.

[C]

Yeah. I gotta gate up for a second. The second Nightmare on Elm street is considered the. It is not subtext, it is text. And that is what I really enjoy about it. So I think for sure, Nightmare on Elm street, especially the second one, which I think is influential in a lot of ways that I'm not sure if people fully appreciate.

[D]

And I would add that for me, I think a sign of great franchise. We can all point to ones we love. To me, it's the only franchise where the last one is my favorite.

[B]

This is New Nightmare.

[D]

New Nightmare, which I think all the credit that goes to Scream should go to Nightmare on Elm Street. New Nightmare was doing meta winking horror before Scream and Freddy was a comic character, you know, before it was basically turned into a comedy.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

And you know, I sort of like the zigs and zags of it.

[B]

The next one, it's a bit of an odd one, but I'm gonna throw it in here. 1986's Manhunter, which is a Michael Mann movie that's really a crime movie. But it starts what will become a horror franchise five years later with the Silence of the Lambs, which is one of the only horror movies to ever win Best picture. The thing that connects all of these, of course, is Hannibal Lecter, played by Brian Cox in Manhunter, and then Anthony Hopkins for the rest of the movies.

[D]

You fly back to school now, little starling. Fly, flying.

[B]

Now, is this a franchise that feels like it belongs in the all time conversation?

[D]

I'm gonna say no. But I would highly recommend people watch the Brian Cox scene where the detective comes in to visit him in the prison. You are very tanwell.

[B]

Your hands are rough. They don't look like cops hands anymore.

[D]

And then watch the same, the Jodie Foster coming in to see Hannibal Lecter and Silence of the Lambs. Do you know what you look like.

[B]

To me with your good bag and your cheap shoes?

[D]

You look like a rube.

[B]

A well scrubbed, hustling rube with a.

[D]

Little taste to see two genius actors doing the same thing in different ways. But I don't think of it as horror. It's almost like too classy for horror.

[C]

Yeah, that's true.

[B]

Does classiness get in the way a bit? Yeah.

[C]

For me, part of the appeal of horror is to be disreputable. And if something is trying to be too classy, I just don't find that enjoyable.

[B]

Speaking of disreputable, I think the next movie would fall in that category. It's 1987's Hellraiser, of course. About an evil puzzle box that when you manipulate it, it calls a bunch of demons. Explorers in the further regions of experience. Demons to some, angels to others.

[C]

I think that's right. I am not a big fan of the Hellraiser. I think those sort of fancy production design, it all looks a little too party city for me. I don't know, it's just not my. It's not my kink. So, yeah, I think I'm gonna pass it.

[B]

You don't like the leather? No. You don't like the chains?

[C]

No, I don't like the leather and the chains and the drapey, like, muumu stuff and the headgear and the makeup? No, it just looks like Cabaret plus Party City plus Busted.

[B]

So, no, we're not gonna move Hellraiser along. 1988's Child's Play.

[A]

Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play?

[C]

Yeah. This is so great. Again, I'm gonna gate up here. I mean, like, where this franchise goes in terms of queer representation, in terms of non binary. And I think they really set the tone for what queer horror can be today. And I think without the entire Child's Play franchise, I think queer horror would be sort of missing something. So for me, I think for those reasons alone, and because it's Chucky's. Kids love dressing up as Chucky. So for those reasons, like to see a little kid with a plastic knife waddling down the street with that wig and the overalls. I mean, stuff of my nightmares.

[D]

Child's Play is. In some ways, it feels such a franchise.

[B]

Yeah, it is.

[D]

Cause to me, a franchise is also not just the movies. It's the dolls, it's the posters, it's the appearances. You know, I don't even know all the things that Chucky has his hand in. But it feels bigger than what's on the screen.

[B]

We're going into the 90s now. Sorry to leave the 80s. Just the best decade. Candyman, be my victim.

[C]

I think the original Candyman is really Fantastic. But I'm not sure if the subsequent films really stand up to the original so much. And I just don't see it as something canonical that we would want to put as part of the. That we'd want to include in part of this list.

[B]

Okay, we'll move it along. Scream.

[D]

There are certain rules that one must.

[C]

Abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie.

[B]

For instance, this modern slasher franchise is the one that most reminds people of the tropes of a horror movie. You watch horror movies in part because particularly with franchises, you know, they're predictable. And this franchise wears all of that on its sleeve. And there's something that is entertaining and enjoyable about that. The characters that have lasted across six movies now, I think people have great affection for Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox. And I don't just like the screen and the Arquette whose first name I cannot recall.

[D]

No. David Arquette? No. I think actually if the measure was the best movies, Scream would be a mar. I think that the quality control is not bad for Scream. I just think it's a bit basic. I think it's not. I don't taking that personally. I think to a certain kind of horror person, Scream gets on our nerves because there's this idea that horror never had humor and it's. Listen to this conversation. So many of these movies are hilarious. If its calling card is it added this humor and it's not that funny, then what is it?

[B]

Eric?

[C]

I don't find them funny. I find the wink wink stuff too much. Ghost faced again. Looks like something you'd buy at Walgreens. I just don't.

[B]

You can buy it at Walgreens.

[C]

That's true. So I am not going to advocate for that.

[B]

Wow. Okay. I predict this will be controversial with some of our listeners, but we set a set of rules and we are going to abide by them. I'm surprised Scream is not moving forward. What about the next one, Final Destination, which debuted in 2000? But what if it was our time?

[D]

What if we were not meant to.

[B]

Get off that plane? It was sort of in the gutter for a while. And then this year's movie, Bloodlines really sort of brought it back.

[C]

And I think that's why I would save it. For me, Final Destination Bloodlines is really one of the funniest horror movies I've seen in a while. That first scene atop that building and just where to the very end where there's this train that comes out of nowhere. I mean, it's so funny and so Accomplished in the way that it marries horror and comedy. So if I think Four Bloodlines alone, I would say absolutely.

[B]

These are the movies in which I regularly find myself, even while watching them alone, screaming out loud at something ridiculous that just happened in, like, a wonderful way. So we'll move it ahead. Next one. Oh, God. These Saw. I want to play a game. Here's what happens.

[D]

I mean, it's the most franchise y of franchises, at least, unless you count some of those in the 80s. So I would say you have to have Saw on the list.

[C]

Yeah. And in some way, it feels like a sister or a cousin to Final Destination. So I would say, yeah, okay.

[B]

Paranormal Activity 2007. Feel it. I feel it breathing on me.

[C]

I feel good about Paranormal Activity. I think for me, that's top 10 material. I think.

[D]

I agree. Especially we didn't put Blair Witch on here. We gotta have one of those, too.

[B]

Insidious, the next series that James Wansor dealt with.

[A]

I can still hear that voice.

[D]

Just because we can't have both Insidious and the Conjuring, I would say I would err on the side of the Conjuring.

[B]

You got the very wise. It's very wise of you. Thank you.

[C]

I think that's right. And I really want Patrick Wilson to come back to Broadway. I'm sorry. I saw him in Oklahoma, and he needs to come back and sing for us.

[B]

So you guys are the perfect. Perfect player to talk about both of those things. The VHS series.

[D]

Emily.

[C]

Emily. I. I like this as a franchise. I'm a big fan of the anthology film Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, that whole world. And so I think to include an anthology franchise in here, I think would be cool.

[B]

2013'S the Conjuring.

[A]

She possessed the mother to kill the child. She visits Carolyn every night. That's what the bruise marks are. She's feeding off of her.

[B]

I'm just, for the sake of time, gonna say this one has to be on there. The third series that James Wan has worked on, 2013's the Purge. Any and all crime, including murder, will.

[D]

Be legal for 12 continuous months. I'm just gonna say no.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

I'm gonna say no.

[B]

Great. A quiet place.

[D]

The last one bored me, so I'd say no.

[C]

I'm gonna say not yet, guys.

[B]

I love how we're getting really, really vicious here right at the end. And then 2018's terrifier.

[C]

He thinks what he's doing is funny because he's laughing.

[B]

But I know it's not funny because they're all Dead.

[C]

Get the hell away from me.

[B]

One of the most out of nowhere surprising horror success stories in the past many years. These are extremely low budget movies, extremely violent and gory, and Terrifier two and Terrifier three have made a ton of money at the American box office.

[C]

I love the idea of Damien Leone, the director of these films, being on this list because I do think Art the Clown has become a villain, and I think he's the newest villain that I think you could put somewhere in the lineage of Freddy and Jason. I don't think it. For our purposes, I wouldn't put it on the list. But I cannot wait for more Terrifier films to come out. I have a strong stomach, but for these movies. I get a little queasy when I watch these.

[D]

I agree with everything Eric said.

[B]

All right, so Jason, Eric, we just went through so many franchises, but somehow we've narrowed it down to 15 that we've agreed. We're gonna move forward to the debate that we're about to have about what the 10 greatest horror movie franchises of all time are, and I'm going to read those 15 very quickly. The Universal Monsters franchise. The Night of the Living Dead series, the Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, alien, Friday the 13th, the Evil Dead series, Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play, Final Destination, Saw, Paranormal Activity, vhs, and the Conjuring Films. This is a slightly perverse list, but gather your thoughts. We are going to take a break and when we come back, the three of us are going to pick our definitive list that no one will argue with of top 10 horror movie franchises. This podcast is supported by Instacart.

[A]

Mom, what's for dinner? It's almost Halloween, and this year my son Max is going as a magician. Abracadabra. Max, why don't you use some of your magic to set the table? Uh, mom, is that broccoli?

[B]

Indeed, Max, it is I broccoli.

[A]

But broccoli and I go way back. He's really quite lovely. You just need the right recipe.

[B]

That's really nice of you to say. People can be so good to judge.

[A]

Sounds like a job for the kitchen magician. Alakazam and Alakazami transformed this broccoli to make it more yummy. Good work. Your magical powers turned broccoli into a tasty meal. Between us, I found the recipe on New York Times Cooking and ordered the ingredients through Instacart. A delicious dinner packed with veggies in what would have been a week full of candy.

[B]

Get NYT Cooking Recipe ingredients delivered in.

[C]

As fast as 30 minutes.

[D]

Shop [e-mail] hi, this is Ashley.

[A]

I live in San Francisco with my boyfriend. We would love to officially share my New York Times subscription with separate logins. We both love cooking, love being in the kitchen, but I'm a 30 minute and under efficient dinner girly. I want a sheet pan meal. He is very elaborate. He wants to get into the storytelling. I want to be able to save my easy meals and check off the ones that I've completed.

[B]

And.

[A]

And I think him having his own profile would be great.

[D]

Ashley, we heard you introducing the New York Times family subscription. You get your own login and Mr. Elaborate gets his. Plus room for two others. Find out [e-mail] family.

[B]

Jason. Eric, we've just gone through every single important horror movie franchise, at least according to me and the two of you and the producers of the show. And we've narrowed it down to a slim list of 15, and we're gonna make some cuts so that at the end of this, we have a nice, clean, perfect, respectable list of the 10 best horror movie franchises ever. Parentheses, according to us, how are we gonna pare this down? We are gonna go around the room and each of us is going to stump for one franchise that they believe absolutely needs to be on here. And you're also going to have your vote for what you think should be removed. You should make a convincing argument. Jason, we'll start with you.

[D]

So one I think needs to be on is Friday the 13th. The counselors weren't paying any attention. They were making love while that young boy drowned. His name was Jason. What I think franchise is, I think Friday the 13th. It has all the qualities, but it has the classic villain who happens to share my name. So I'm a little biased.

[B]

Okay?

[D]

And also, I like franchises that are silly and go to a lot of crazy places. Jason went to space. Jason went to hell. Jason met Freddy.

[B]

He went to Manhattan.

[D]

He went to Manhattan, of all places. So I think you can't have a list of franchises being taken seriously and not have Friday 13th. So I would vote for that one.

[B]

Okay. And do you want to say now which one you think should go?

[D]

Yeah, I'll say. I'll say the Exorcist. Sorry, Gilbert.

[B]

It's a great movie.

[D]

It's not a great franchise.

[B]

You know what? I'm a peacemaker. Let's get rid of the Exorcist. All right, we can do this guy. We can do this. Little tense here.

[D]

Got a little tense in Here a little bit.

[B]

Eric.

[C]

Yes, I would say we need to keep child's play. I think you have a villain that is hilarious and also creepy. I think there's a through line through the films. I think it does touch on some queer aspects which I personally like. And so I think for those reasons, I think it needs to stay.

[B]

And if you know what's good for you, you are going to love, honor and obey.

[A]

I wouldn't marry you if you had.

[B]

The body of GI Joe.

[D]

Hey, Raggedy Ann, you looked in the mirror lately?

[B]

Now's not the time to get picky.

[C]

I vouched for this or I advocated for this, but I would actually take off the VHS films. I love an anthology series, but I think maybe that is one that could go. Also, we have at least one other found footage franchise here, so I would take VHS off.

[B]

Jason.

[D]

Agree.

[B]

Okay, let's take it off. So much agreement here. I am going to advocate for a Nightmare on Elm Street.

[D]

What's wrong, Joey? Feeling Tongue Tied.

[B]

The first movie, One of my all time favorite horror movies. I think of the major slashers as we think about them. Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies. Michael Myers from the Halloween movies, maybe even Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. Freddy Krueger's the only one with personality. He is the only one that has a little verb, a little pop. And that's important. I think if you are going to be a character that holds a franchise over multiple movies. You were right, Jason, he gets silly. He becomes a comedic character. I think that comedy and horror coexist very easily. And I know you agree.

[D]

Oh, I mean, I agree that comedy and horror are two sides of the same coin. The structure of a suspense sequence that builds tension and leads to a scream is analogous to the structure of a joke which builds tension and then leads to a laugh. And I think you see that in Nightmare on Elm street, which, you know, it melds them very well. And then I think you also just have the. The visual palette is for a big blockbuster franchise. It's quite surreal and yeah, I agree. I think your point about personality is a good one. You didn't see that before.

[B]

I also think there's something about these movies. You use the right word, surreal, particularly in the first movie. The fact that you are operating with dream logic for much of these movies just gives it a different flavor than all of these other ones which ostensibly other than the supernatural ones exist in the real world and you just have a bunch of people getting murdered in, you know, Very ornate ways.

[D]

No, it means you can do things visually you can't otherwise. I mean, I think you see, like the arms through the walls. A lot of the vocabulary, the cinematic vocabulary of horror comes from Nightmare, which comes from Polanski, which, you know, has all the look. You can watch it with a sound owl. And it's great. So I think it's tremendously influential too.

[B]

Okay, so that is the one that I absolutely think should stay on. And I would remove Saw. I recently rewatched the first one, which is fine. But I think the conceits of these films, over 10 movies, is just a bit more than I care to experience. I don't think they iterates on the original idea in particularly interesting ways. I think the Final Destination franchise does this better, although they're two very different things. I say take out Saw.

[C]

I'm fine with that.

[B]

Jason is rubbing his lips.

[D]

It feels wrong.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Why? Well, because we're not here talking about horror movies. We're here talking about horror movie franchises. And as you pointed out before, every year you could expect a Saw movie like you could expect Halloween. What's around the Saw movie was as significant as the Saw movies. So you're right. There is a consistency. And a lot of this podcast I've been going on about how much I admire movies that zag. Right. But if we're honest, the reason that most of these horror franchises have sequel after sequel is to give people more of the same.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

And the Saw movies did that more effectively than anything past the 80s classic slasher foods.

[B]

You know what, Jason? You're right. Let's add Saw back on my favorite three words. And we are gonna take Alien off.

[C]

Oh, I'm fine with that.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

I'm fine with that.

[B]

You wanna argue this is what happens. Alien's gone.

[C]

Also, I think Alien is more science fiction. And if we're gonna be sticklers about definitions, to me, it's a little more of the Alien creature type. And so to me, yes, there are horror elements. Yes, there are crossovers of the two, but to me, that's the maybe top 10 science fiction franchise.

[B]

Yeah. Everyone says the original Alien is a haunted house story in space.

[D]

Sure.

[B]

But it's still in space.

[C]

It's still in space.

[B]

Okay, so we're gonna go back to you, Eric, and you are gonna suggest one franchise that absolutely needs to stay on and one that should fall off.

[C]

I'm going to advocate for Paranormal Activity to stay on the list.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[D]

Scratch myself.

[A]

Oh, did you hear that?

[D]

Uh, yeah, it's okay.

[B]

It's okay.

[D]

It's all right.

[A]

It's all right.

[B]

It's okay.

[C]

It is a found footage film. The first one is really, really good. I also love that it came out of nowhere to become this really big hit and has spawned subsequent films and now a stage show which is.

[B]

Is that true?

[C]

It's at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater right now. It's coming to D.C. later on. They have. I haven't seen it, so I don't know if it's good or not, but they have managed to transfer this found footage story, which. I don't know how you do that on stage, but I'm very curious to see that. Theater keeps coming up. Jason, I don't know what's going on here, but anything that has a show attached to it, I sort of say, you know what, let's keep that on the list.

[B]

And these are the films that popularized, in my mind, at least someone getting dragged off by an offscreen presence. Whenever I think about that happening. Yeah, these are the movies I think about.

[C]

Yeah, agreed. I guess I'm struggling with this because I love the Universal Monsters, but I almost wonder if that's not quite a franchise. I used to stay up.

[B]

This is ageism.

[C]

I was just about to say. I used to stay up for the 11:30pm late night movie with my grandmother who loved the universal monsters, Channel 43, back when they showed movies.

[B]

Where was this?

[C]

This was in Cleveland, Ohio.

[B]

Cleveland. Cleveland, right. Got it.

[C]

And I have such warm memor of being with my grandmother and watching these films. So it pains me to take that off, but I'm not sure if it's a franchise. I get the spirit of it. They're great movies, but is it a franchise? For our purposes, I say no.

[B]

Okay, let's strike it off. Jason, we're coming back to you. One for one against one for Evil Dead. Groovy.

[D]

The first movie is a great horror movie. The second movie, you were talking about horror and comedy. There's no movie, period, that's captured in live action. The Looney Tunes better than the Evil Dead sequel. There's a sequence, people can look it up on YouTube, of the main character, Ash, played by Bruce Campbell, who is a brilliant actor in these movies where his hand gets possessed and he fights with his hand. And it's just a tremendous bit of physical comedy that's still wrapped up. It's a possessed hand and it still is a horror movie. And then, you know, it keeps going. It shifted again into like kind of a medieval adventure. And then you've got the reboots, the two, which I think are more kind of gnarly horror films. I don't think there's a bad Evil Dead movie.

[C]

Also a musical.

[D]

Also a musical. Also a musical. And a TV show.

[C]

And a TV show.

[B]

This is the last time I invite theater people on this podcast.

[D]

Evil Dead belongs. Evil Dead has to be on the list.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

And to take off the list. God, this is getting very hard. Oh, no, it's not. I would say. All right. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. But I have a theory that Texas Chainsaw and Halloween, they're both the originals, are so great and they're so distinct that they kind of haunt the rest of the franchise. And Texas Chainsaw Massacre, all the rest of them, pale in comparison. I would say the only. The most interesting thing about Texas Chainsaw Massacre is it's the movie that's beloved by filmmakers that they've had the hardest time trying to capture what makes it great. The first movie that I saw that got close is another franchise that I would have put on this list, but we didn't get there, which is Ti West's trilogy. X really is an homage to Texas Chainsaw and captures the gnarly, gritty, gross, backwoods element of it. So, anyways.

[B]

And that's X, Pearl and Maxine, correct?

[D]

Correct. I would say if you want to get to a slightly artier kind of franchise, that would make it. But I'd say take off Texas Chainsaw.

[B]

Okay. That was unexpected, but I respect your decision. Okay. So I think we're officially at 10 on the list now, but I'm gonna use my pick anyway to stump for the Conjuring movies. This just seems like for people of a certain generation, maybe no one of that generation is in this room. These are the. Their franchise. It is the sort of modern ghost demon franchise. And it just feels like it would be. It's sort of undeniable. It would be sick and perverse to leave him off, which would be fine, given the topic that we are discussing here.

[D]

Maybe appropriate. I know. Maybe we're being too responsible.

[B]

The first two movies, the Conjuring and Conjuring two, I think, are quite good, the first one in particular. But when we're talking about franchises, this is. You have these characters. They're sort of moving out in and out of all of these movies. You have four Conjuring films, all starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as just the cutest little spirit exorcising couple. You have two films in the Nun Series. There are three Annabelle films. There are some people that consider the Curse of La Llorona to be part of the series. It has become sort of this universe in and of itself. It just feels like the modern definition of a franchise for me. We haven't hit the conjuring TV series yet. I don't know anyone dressing up as Ed and Lorraine Warren for Halloween. Maybe I'll do that this year, but this is the one that I would keep on for sure. Okay, guys, we have our 10. But obviously we cannot end the show without talking about our last two franchises. And it is insane that we have saved Halloween until the very end here.

[D]

What's the other one? Halloween.

[B]

The Night of the Living Dead series. Halloween. So the Halloween series, I think when most people think of horror movie franchise, this is one of the ones that automatically comes to mind. The first is again, a horror classic. And then you go in some weird directions with some weird sequels.

[C]

Halloween, I think, is such a perfect movie. But I also would make the case for Halloween 3, season of the Witch, which has nothing to do with the Michael Myers world at all. It's about basically these jack o Lantern masks, hoods that you put on, and there's mind control. And I think it is really one of the underrated films in the Halloween series, at least by non nerds. Jason, I think you made the point that a franchise that can sort of go outside of its world and be something else. Shape shift. I think this is the perfect example of that. And I think that that's why for me, Halloween, I think, is maybe one of my favorite franchises.

[D]

I'm so glad Eric brought up this movie. Cause when I heard that you guys wanted me to talk about franchise, I rewatched Season of the Witch because I think it's the key turning point in the whole history of the franchise. Because John Carpenter didn't want to make a sequel, they twisted around. He made the sequel, right? Which was basically Halloween 2. Took up right where Halloween 1 ended. Made kind of the same movie, right? And he said, all right, I'll come back for Halloween 3, but only if we can. We don't have Michael Myers. This has never been done before. And here's the key part. And after, because people came to see this, they go to see Michael Myers. And the only time you see Michael Myers in this movie is when one of the characters turns the TV set on and they're playing Halloween. And everyone was like, that's the movie I want to see now. I agree with everything Eric said. I think Season of The Witch is a tremendously underrated movie. Really interesting on many counts, and really trippy imagery in it. But the lesson that the industry took from the failure of Season of the Witch is we're never gonna let them do this again. We gotta have the music, we gotta have the Michael Myers ask, and we'll let you mess around a little bit at the edges. But it kind of ruined the franchise. So I agree with all of Eric's premise, but I come to the opposite conclusion, which is because of the Season of the Witch, the rest of the Halloween franchise became less interesting to me, where. Let's compare it to Night of the Living Dead.

[B]

When there's no more room in hell.

[D]

The dead will walk the earth. This is the rare movie where the sequel is better than the. Or more ambitious, certainly than the original. Dawn of the Dead is a tremendous movie, and I think, you know, the movies varied in quality, but I think they really set a high bar in terms of ambition and created not just one character, but a whole new character that was taken off in a million other directions. So I would say if I had to choose the Night of the Living Dead franchise, I would pick over Halloween, which seems crazy, but the one other thing I was.

[B]

Well, we're not picking. They're both on the list.

[D]

Oh, they're both on the list.

[B]

Okay. Yeah. So let's review the final list. There have been a lot of lists. This is the final list. I'm gonna read it out, and you can tell me how you feel about all these together. Night of the Living Dead, Halloween, Friday the 13th, the Evil Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play, Final Destination, Saw Paranormal Activity and the Conjuring. These are our 10. Are these our 10?

[D]

Yeah. Good list.

[C]

I feel good about it.

[B]

Do you think anyone's gonna get angry about this list?

[D]

Oh, yeah, definitely.

[C]

Absolutely.

[D]

I should hope so.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

The producers look angry.

[B]

All right, we have come up with a definitive. Look up the definition of the word definitive list of the top 10 horror movie franchises of all time. Tweet it. Jason Zinneman. Okay.

[D]

Or threads.

[B]

Or Threads. Listeners, those of you who are not mad at the movies we left off, you can find both our master list and our top 10 in the show notes. So you can basically recreate this debate with your friends. We're going to take another break, and when we return, as we do every week, we're going to play a little game. This podcast is supported by Instacart.

[A]

Mom, what's for dinner? It's almost Halloween, and this year, my Son, Max is going as a magician. Abracadabra. Max, why don't you use some of your magic to set the table? Uh, mom, is that broccoli?

[B]

Indeed, Max, it is I broccoli.

[A]

But broccoli and I go way back. He's really quite lovely. You just need the right recipe.

[B]

That's really nice of you to say. People can be so quick to judge.

[A]

Sounds like a job for the kitchen magician. Alakazam and Elliot Alakazami transform this broccoli to make it more yummy. Good work. Your magical powers turned broccoli into a tasty meal. Between us, I found the recipe on New York Times cooking and ordered the ingredients through Instacart. A delicious dinner packed with veggies in what would have been a week full of candy.

[B]

Get NYT Cooking Recipe ingredients delivered in.

[C]

As fast as 30 minutes.

[D]

Shop [e-mail] hey, it's Lauren Dragan from.

[A]

Wirecutter, the product recommendation service from the New York Times. And I test headphones. We basically make our own fake sweat and spray it over and over on these headphones to see what happens to them over time. We're gonna put on some noise canceling headphones and see how well they actually block out the sound. I have 3,136 entries in my database. Kids workout. What version of Bluetooth? At Wirecutter, we do the work so you don't have to. For independent product reviews and recommendations for the real world, come Visit [e-mail] Wirecutter.

[B]

Welcome back. Welcome to our Holo. Scream. Spook. Hack. Boo. Scare. Oh, man. Oh, man.

[D]

It's a regular Elvira over here.

[B]

Here you go, Di. I've got Eric Peepenberg and Jason Zinnemann here. They both look slightly uncomfortable because we're about to play a game. I've got three rounds for you gentlemen. Please put your hands on your buzzers and let us begin round one, which we are calling a Nightmare on Film Street. Let's see how much you know about the films on our list. What fictional Illinois town is the main setting of the Halloween franchise?

[D]

Jason Haddonfield.

[B]

That is correct. Haddonfield. Next question. Chucky, the murderous doll at the center of the Child's Play franchise, is a possessed version of what doll manufactured by the Play Pal's Toy Factory?

[D]

Eric Good Guy doll.

[B]

Good Guy. That is correct. The first Paranormal Activity movie's $194 million worldwide box office made it the most profitable movie of all time, displacing what other found footage, horror Movie, Eric.

[C]

Blair Witch Project.

[B]

The Blair Witch Project. This guy's quick on the draw.

[D]

I know, I know.

[B]

How many principal shooting locations From Friday the 13th? Part 8, Jason takes Manhattan. We're actually in Manhattan. Jason.

[D]

It's gotta be at least one. Cause he comes 1 1.

[B]

That is correct. The Times Square sequence.

[D]

The subway sequence. Yeah, Right. Exactly.

[B]

Okay, that was the end of round one. Round two is called the Kills have Eyes.

[D]

You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. I mean, you know, this is Jimmy Fallon's looking down his nose.

[B]

I guess it was a mistake to have a comedy person on this episode. I'm going to give you three ways that characters meet their ends in a franchise. And you tell me the name of the franchise. So again, I'm going to give you three ways that people die. Tell me the name of the franchise. Stabbed through the throat with an arrow. Head frozen with liquid nitrogen and then shattered. Swung around in a sleeping bag and smashed into a tree. Jason.

[D]

That is Friday the 13th.

[B]

That is correct. All of those kills happen in the Friday the 13th franchise. Next. Turned into a cockroach and squished inside a roach motel. Drowned in a waterbed, sliced by an animatronic claw hand. Eric.

[C]

Nightmare on Elm Street.

[B]

Correct. Nightmare on Elm Street.

[D]

It was close.

[B]

Next. Strangled with a Yo Yo. Beaten to death with a yardstick. Choked on a doll arm. Jason.

[D]

Child's Play.

[B]

Child's Play. Absolutely right. Final question in this round. Burned alive inside a tanning bed, flattened by a huge pane of glass, crushed by logs falling off the back the. Of. Of a truck on the highway. Eric.

[C]

Final Destination.

[B]

Final Destination. This is really close. You guys are neck and neck here. We're at our final round. It's called Child's Play. Some of these horror franchises contain some iconic, extremely creepy lines of dialogue. And as we all know, there's nothing scarier than a creepy little kid. So we found a little kid to creepily read some iconic horror movie dialogue for us. Please listen to the quote, wait until the quote is over and then tell me what movie it's from.

[A]

I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice canty.

[B]

Jason.

[D]

Silence of the Lambs.

[B]

The Silence of the Lambs. Correct. Next quote.

[A]

They're coming to get you, Barbara.

[B]

Jason.

[D]

Nigh the living dead.

[B]

Nigh the living dead. That is correct. Next quote.

[A]

All right, you primitive screw heads, listen up. You see this? This is my boomstick.

[D]

Really good line reading. Yeah.

[B]

You guys, you're both stumped. That is from army of Darkness, the third Evil Dead film. Boomstick was the. He should have tipped you off.

[D]

I was distracted by how good a performance that was. Really?

[B]

Okay, next clue.

[A]

A boy's best friend is his mother.

[D]

Jason, unless this is, like, a trick, I'm gonna say psycho.

[B]

Psycho. That is correct. That is a quote from Norman Bates. And our final clue in this category and in the game overall, it's a lot.

[A]

Alive.

[B]

Jason.

[D]

Frankenstein.

[B]

Frank. That is correct. Frankenstein.

[D]

Also, it's alive. The Larry. Great Larry Cohen movie.

[B]

That's not the one about the killer yogurt, is it?

[D]

No, that's about the killer baby.

[B]

Oh, right, right, right. Okay. My mistake. Okay. Our producers are telling us that we have a winner, and that winner is. Jason.

[C]

Congratulations.

[B]

You pulled it out right at the end. Amazing. Amazing. Jason, I have something to give you.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

It's a prize. This is the ninth one of these that we have awarded. It is a cheap, tiny plastic trophy with my face on it. We call it the Gilby.

[D]

Oh, my God.

[B]

And it is now yours.

[D]

I'm so honored. I'm flattered. I'm humbled. Thank you. Thank you, Gilbert.

[B]

That is. Those are all the emotions that that cheap trophy are supposed to.

[D]

It really feels like you get it from, like, a gumball machine and then throw it away.

[B]

It's a secret where we get it from. Jason, Eric, thank you both for joining this fantastic conversation about great horror movie franchises.

[D]

Great to be here. My pleasure.

[C]

Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Thank you.

[B]

Wait, before we go, if you had to pick a number one, what would it be?

[D]

I'm gonna go with Evil Dead Eric.

[C]

I'm gonna say child's play for me.

[B]

Nightmare on Elm street all the way. One, two. Freddy's Coming true. This episode was produced by Alex Barrett, who's also our quizmaster, with help from Kate lopresti, Luke Van Der Plug, and Tina Antolini. We had production assistance from Dahlia Haddad. It was edited by Wendy Doerr and engineered by Daniel Ramirez. Rosalie Barron. Read all those scary lines from horror movies in our game. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Alicia Ba itup, and Diane Wang. Special thanks to Paula S.H. schumann. Thanks for listening. See you next week.

[A]

This podcast is supported by Instacart. Whether it's spooky season, the holiday season, or just a busy school week ahead, Meal prep doesn't have to be a Sunday scary. Order ingredients for New York Times cooking recipes through Instacart shop [e-mail].