Best Film In a Horror Series

[Shadow Master]

Hey all, been a member of the site for a while but for some reason have never gotten around to posting until now, largely due to the fact I sort of forgot about here until I checked my e-mails and saw my membership for here. I thought this would be a fun topic to share. Of all these Horror series, which is your single favorite entry in each? You can add more series I didn't list before if you'd like, right now I'm just listing some of the notable ones.

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Friday The 13th
Halloween
A Nightmare On Elm Street
Saw
Scream
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Alien
Predator
Phantasm
Evil Dead
Hellraiser
Child's Play
Final Destination
Paranormal Activity

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IMO the best in each:


Friday The 13th - The Final Chapter
Halloween - 1978 Original
A Nightmare On Elm Street - New Nightmare
Saw - Saw II
Scream - Original
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 2003 Remake
Alien - Aliens
Predator - Predator 2
Phantasm - Phantasm II
Evil Dead - Evil Dead II
Hellraiser - Original
Child's Play - Original
Final Destination - Original
Paranormal Activity - Original


Some additional ones I'll throw in too with my favorite film in each:


Hannibal Lecter - The Silence Of The Lambs
Puppet Master - Puppet Master 4
Maniac Cop - Maniac Cop 2
Romero's Living Dead - Day Of The Dead (1985)
Return Of The Living Dead - Part II
Poltergeist - Poltergeist II
Jaws - Original
Tremors - Original
Leprechaun - Original
Cube - Original


A few of my picks will probably be slightly controversial, like Predator 2 or the TCM remake or ROTLD2, which isn't to say I hate the originals, just enjoyed the sequel or remake a little more overall.

[rongravy]

Friday The 13th - Part V.
Halloween - None, I hate them all. Why didn't anyone just listen to Donald Pleasance?
A Nightmare On Elm Street - I guess the 1st one, not really a fan.
Saw - The 1st one.
Scream - None.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Part dos. Dog will hunt...
Alien - Alien uno.
Predator - Predator uno.
Phantasm - Phantasm II
Evil Dead - Evil Dead II
Hellraiser - I'm going with 2 for sentimental reasons.
Child's Play - No thanks.
Final Destination - 1st one.
Paranormal Activity - Ugh, no.
Hannibal Lecter - The Silence Of The Lambs
Puppet Master - Uhhhhhhhhh, never been bored enough to give any a try.
Maniac Cop - ^^^See last answer^^^
Romero's Living Dead - Day Of The Dead (1985)
Return Of The Living Dead - Part II.

[EvilNed]

Friday The 13th
Friday the 13th Part 6 - Jason Lives. Funny and good looking. As far as kills go, it's the best.

Halloween
Original, probably. Most of the sequels are rather alike one another (and the original) so I'll say Part 6 simply because it's quite a fun ride.

A Nightmare On Elm Street
Original. The ONLY good one. (I have not seen part 4)

Saw
Original, based on only having seen 1 and 2.

Scream
Original, I guess. They all kinda seem the same to me.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Only seen original and remake. So original, I guess. The remake is not half-bad tho.

Alien
I like them all. But only the first one is considered Horror as far as I know.

Predator
Horror? Where? Uhm, first, I guess. Predator 2 is OK, tho! Gangland LA was a pretty nifty switch from the jungles of the first one.

Evil Dead
Probably part 2. But in all honesty, having recently rewatched Part 1 and 2, they're not really that good... And Army of Darkness is kinda silly.

Hellraiser
Part 1 and 2, definetly. But I really like the style they went for in Part 5, half of the film representing the main character's personal hell. Love that.

Child's Play
Original, I can barely remember the rest actually.

Final Destination
Only seen the original.

[Shadow Master]

I always considered the Alien and Predator movies to be a hybrid of Action, Horror and Sci-Fi.

[MinionZombie]

Friday The 13th - Part IV, although Parts 1 and 6 are close rivals for my biggest affections in the franchise.
Halloween - the first one.
A Nightmare On Elm Street - the first one, although part 3 runs a close second.
Saw - the first one, and I think they should have stopped with part 3.
Scream - the first one.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - the first one, although I also love TCM2.
Alien - Aliens
Predator - the first one.
Phantasm - never seen any of them.
Evil Dead - the first one, but again, the second one runs a close second.
Hellraiser - the first one.
Child's Play - hmmm ... I've seen all of them except the most recent one, but it's never been much of a franchise favourite for me ... but Bride of Chucky (#4).
Final Destination - first one, but I was also pleasantly surprised by the fifth one too.
Paranormal Activity - never seen any of them and have no interest in seeing any of them either. :D
Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs.
Puppet Master - never seen any of them.
Maniac Cop - the first one.
Romero's Living Dead - Dawn of the Dead.
Return Of The Living Dead - the first one.
Poltergeist - the first one.
Jaws - the first one.
Tremors - the first one, but I the second movie is close.
Leprechaun - never seen any of them.
Cube - only seen the first one, so that one. :p

Additional:

The Omen - the first one ... I saw the second one, which was shite, and still have the third one to watch out of a boxset I won at a film festival several years ago.
Sorority House Massacre - the second one.
Slumber Party Massacre - the first one.

[bassman]

Friday The 13th - Never cared too much about them, but the original is best. Jason Takes Manhattan is so cheesy it's fun though.
Halloween - The Remake.
A Nightmare On Elm Street - Again, never cared too much for them, but I'd have to go with the original.
Saw - Only the first. The sequels weren't necessary at all.
Scream - Original. Although I have a strange soft spot for the second film.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The original and it's sequel. Two totally different films but both great in their own ways. II is just loads of fun.
Alien - I like all three of the original trilogy. Particularly the assembly cut of Alien 3. However, Aliens has always been my favorite.
Predator - I like all three, but the original is of course the best. Followed by Predators, then Predator 2.
Phantasm - I don't even remember these...
Evil Dead - Army of Darkness.
Hellraiser - Original.
Child's Play - The first two were the best but I also have a soft spot for 3.
Final Destination - Original. Although I seem to remember thinking the second film was okay. The highway disaster was pretty cool...
Paranormal Activity - None. I honestly thought the first one was a bad comedy it was so far from scary.

[MoonSylver]

F13th - Part 3 - I like the characters (the Bikers are a nice touch), love the setting of Higgens Haven, love Jason in this one, love the chase at the end through the house, the bridge, the barn. And of course, 1st appearance of the hock. :D

Halloween - 1st, although the 2nd is damn close. Hospital setting is cool & the showdown between Loomis & Michael at the end is aces.

Nightmare- 1st. Used to love the series, but the latter you go in it, the less well they've aged IMO. But the 1st one hasn't lost a beat.

Saw - Only watched the 1st. It was so good, I didn't want to taint it with "more".

Scream - 1st. Though I like the overarc of 1-3 taken as a whole. 4 I even liked as a commentary on reboots/remakes. But 1 is the best. It's easy to forget how fresh & new it was at the time.

TCM - 1st. Not a series that holds up well as a series, overall IMO. "TCM: The Beginning" was pretty good, as was the "remake". But again, it's easy to forget the raw horror of the first, for the time it was released.

Alien - 2nd. Great, great, great action/sci-fi. Makes such a great companion piece to "The Terminator","Predator", & "Robocop". ;) 1st one is good too. Beyond that, I don't like any of the rest.

Predator - 1st only.

Phantasm - 1st. Though the 2nd is bad-ass. :D

Evil Dead - 2nd. Though the others are tops too. :)

Hellraiser - 1st. Have seen any of the others beyond 2 & 3.

Childs Play - 1st one. Though "Bride" was a good bit of fun.

FD - Have no interest in.

PA - Only seen the 1st one, which I liked, in its original cut/ending.

Lector - Only seen "Manhunter" & "Silence" (the latter of which is really the only "Hannibal" movie of the 2 per se). Read "Hannibal", have no interest in the movie, or subsequent material.

Puppet Master - 1st one. It series overall is good, cheesy, dumb, fun. :)

Maniac Cop - Haven't seen them in a long time, but I remember 2 being bad ass. That fire walk at the end I thought was great.

Romero - NOTLD as the 1st & the classic...though Dawn in bad ass & Day is great too.

ROTLD - 1st one. But #2 is fun too.

Poltergeist - 1st one only.

Jaws - 1st one only.

Tremors - 1st.

Leprechaun - I saw the 1st at least a million years ago. Don't remember it, or if I saw any of the others.

Cube - Only saw the 1st.

What about Basket Case? There's another fun little series. :) Pumpkin Head? Jeepers Creepers?


Phantasm - never seen any of them..

:eek: Seriously...?!?!? I mean...:eek: Get thee to a DVD stat young man. I expect a full report on I-IV in within the week. :D

[Shadow Master]

Phantasm is an awesome series and recommended for any newcomer.

[MinionZombie]

I've heard of the Phantasm films ... just never got around to seeing any of them.

If it rolls around on The Horror Channel or something I'll give it a looksee. I've heard about bits of the movies on SModcast, and Tell Em Steve-Dave (both are podcasts), but nope ... never seen any of the Phantasm movies.

[MoonSylver]

I've heard of the Phantasm films ... just never got around to seeing any of them.

If it rolls around on The Horror Channel or something I'll give it a looksee. I've heard about bits of the movies on SModcast, and Tell Em Steve-Dave (both are podcasts), but nope ... never seen any of the Phantasm movies.

As into cult films as you are, I find this mind boggling. It doesn't get a lot more wierd, bizzarro, & distinct than Phantasm. When I first saw it it was a total "WTF did I just see...?" :lol:

[Shadow Master]

You got to see the entire series at some point.

I was also thinking best segment in an anthology movie might be a fun addition to this, with movies like Creepshow 1 and 2, Cat's Eye, Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, etc.

[Geordie9]

Friday The 13th - hmmm i love all of them but i would probably say number 4 The Final Chapter with a young Corey Feldman in as my favourite (although i do love Jason Takes Manhattan!)

Halloween - Probably my all time favourite horror series, hard to choose a favourite, 1st is a classic, H2O one of my faves, but i have a special place for Halloween 4.

A Nightmare on Elm Street - Definitely the 1st one, its creepy, atmospheric, it has it all, but i love the rest of them as well (minus the remake)

Saw - the 1st one, i think the storyline went stupid after number 3 but i still liked the kills.

Scream - definitely number 1

Texas Chainsaw - number 1

Alien - dont like any of them

Predator - 1st one

Phantasm - Havent seen them in ages so cant really choose a fave yet

Evil Dead - Do i have to choose? cant choose a favourite

Hellraiser - 1st one followed closely by number 3

Childs Play - Bride of Chucky

Final Destination - 1st one, was blown away by it when it first came out

Paranormal Activity - 1st one

Puppet Master - 1st one

Romeros Living Dead - Dawn of the Dead followed very very closely by Day.

Return of the Living Dead - love the first 3 but number 2 my fave

[Neil]

Alien - dont like any of them
O!M!G!

Not even Aliens (the second one)? One of the best scifi action flicks surely ever made?

[MinionZombie]

Speaking of the Alien franchise, last night I watched Alien Resurrection for the first time in ages ... ... as a 13 year old I really dug it, but now ... oof ... mostly it's effin' awful. The plot is all over the shop, the pacing is pretty bizarre at times, you can't help but think "how dumb are these Weyland/private military guys that they'd make this same mistake AGAIN?!", Winona Ryder's character is just rubbish (and I'm not fond of her performance in this flick either), there's numerous extraneous/stupid scenes (e.g. that stupid bit with the boxing gloves), and the pay off is pants.

On the plus side Ron Perlman's character and performance are great, the visuals are excellent, the effects are of a rather high standard, the two respective captains (military guy, and pirate guy) are awesome, the creepy/dark humour mostly works, Brad Dourif is always worth watching, and the 'hybrid Ripley' idea is interesting, if clumsily implemented. However, it's too little to really save the flick. It's certainly unique and stands out from the rest, but for the most part that's not a particularly good thing.

[shootemindehead]

A terrible, terrible film.

[krisvds]

The original Alien film is by far the best in the series. As much fun as Aliens is, to me nothing comes close to those opening 30 minutes of ALien. Once the Alien appears it all becomes a little too conventional maybe, but it is so well crafted that I find myself revisiting it way more than the second one.

Also: no mention of the "It's Alive!' series in the above lists?

[Shadow Master]

I may have seen one of two of the It's Alive films, can't remember which, though. It's a good addition to the list.

[Shadow Master]

I was thinking best segment in an anthology would be a cool addition to this topic, picking the best segment from an anthology film like Creepshow, Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, Body Bags, etc.

[Shadow Master]

I was thinking best segment in an anthology would be a cool addition to this topic, picking the best segment from an anthology film like Creepshow, Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, Body Bags, etc.


And here it is:


We should do best segment in an anthology, too. Here's my picks:


Creepshow - The Crate
Creepshow 2 - The Hitchhiker
Cat's Eye - General
Tales From The Darkside: The Movie - Lover's Vow
Tales From The Hood - Boys Do Get Bruised


Haven't seen the two V/H/S films yet and it's been too long since I last saw Body Bags and the 1972 Tales From The Crypt movie.

[Shadow Master]

Dang, has it really been a year since I started this? Time flies :eek:

On the subject of anthology, I was also thinking of best episode per season of a Horror TV show. Here's some that come to mind for me:


Tales From The Crypt S1 - The Man Who Was Death
Tales From The Crypt S2 - Television Terror
Tales From The Crypt S3 - Undertaking Palor
Tales From The Crypt S4 - The New Arrival
Tales From The Crypt S5 - House Of Horror
Tales From The Crypt S6 - Doctor Of Horror
Tales From The Crypt S7 - The Third Pig

Tales From The Darkside S1 - Inside The Closet
Tales From The Darkside S2 - Halloween Candy
Tales From The Darkside S3 - Seasons Of Belief
Tales From The Darkside S4 - The Family Reunion

Tales From The Cryptkeeper S1 - While The Cat's Away
Tales From The Cryptkeeper S2 - The Haunted Mine
Tales From The Cryptkeeper S3 - Too Cool For School

Are You Afraid Of The Dark? S1 - The Tale Of The Pinball Wizard
Are You Afraid Of The Dark? S2 - The Tale Of The Midnight Madness
Are You Afraid Of The Dark? S3 - The Tale Of The Quicksilver
Are You Afraid Of The Dark? S4 - The Tale Of The Fire Ghost
Are You Afraid Of The Dark? S5 - The Tale Of The Dead Man's Float
Are You Afraid Of The Dark? S6 - The Tale Of Vampire Town
Are You Afraid Of The Dark? S7 - The Tale Of The Silver Sight (all three parts)

Masters Of Horror S1 - Cigarette Burns
Masters Of Horror S2 - Family


It's been too long since I last watched all of the seasons of some of the other anthologies like Monsters and Fear Itself, so I need to rewatch those to determine.