Why do Michael Myers And Ghost Face Keep on Living?

I recently saw on TikTok that the cast and crew for Scream 6 are in production. Then of course we have Halloween Ends that just came out which is the 13^th movie of that franchise (oh wow), and this has got me all thinking; why are there so many Halloween/Scream movies? Why do they keep adding to the plot? Why do they keep the story alive?

Now, bear with me, I am a big fan of slasher movies and would say slasher movies and psychological thrillers are my favorite movies of all time, but I still question why are they making so many of these films.

I have not watched any of the Halloween movies because I am saving them all for a rainy October day, okay? They are known to be really good movies and the original is such a classic I want to make a celebration out of it, you know? But I can say the original Scream is like one of my favorite movies of all time! Scream 2 is pretty good, Scream 3 is okay, and Scream 4 is pretty good, and unfortunately, I have not seen Scream 5 yet (due to COVID-19 and not being near a movie theater that played it).

But why are these two franchises still making movies all this year? I think after pondering the idea for so long I’ve come to the following terms: The Halloween Franchise really started the uproar of slasher movies and set the bar high, as well as the concept of a final girl. And Scream has continued to elevate the slasher genre to a meta-horror concept and brought in comedy and themes into the horror genre.

I truly believe this Ney York Times article when it comes to the Halloween Franchise. While the article is titled “’Halloween’ and the Problem With Its Sequels” I think it’s a good article that draws on what makes a good film good. I thought this quote represented the first film quite well:

So rather than reveling in guts and gore, the original film’s emphasis is on suspense, terror, and mood. Carpenter’s elegant direction makes inventive use of negative space and darkness (particularly when moving Michael’s ghostly white mask in and out of the cinematographer Dean Cundey’s inky night spaces), and of foregrounds and backgrounds, which frequently reveal the killer’s presence to the viewer before he is seen by his potential victims. Carpenter also masterfully manipulates the pace, which rises and falls in waves through the first and second acts, casually accumulating dread and fear, before moving into the relentlessly scary closing scenes.

When it comes to Scream, this article by screenrant.com really pulls on how the details and themes of the franchise have such praise. One big thing I wanted to pull is that “Scream gave a facelift to the slasher genre by perfecting upon elements that were too campy to actually exist in modern Hollywood. The movie has often been described as the thinking man’s slasher, considering how it featured a nuanced narrative of a dysfunctional family at the heart of it, which made the story much more relatable.” The article goes on to give 5 reasons why the film changed horror for the better and then 5 for the worst, which is such a great take. So, I highly recommend you read the rest of the article here.

While you can’t really compare these movies together, I think both franchises are here just trying to keep a story alive that once had people hooked on dread and fear, and a little humor. I hope to sit down and binge each franchise soon (and I hope you do too), and maybe revisit this topic.

All information and quotes are credited to the websites nytimes.com and screenrant.com.