Horror Movie Franchises

This week we're discussing the "28 Days Later" franchise. There are currently four movies (with another on the way).  28 Days Later (2002) 28 Weeks Later (2007) 28 Years Later (2025) 28 Years Later: Bone Temple (2026) There is a movie named "28 Months Later". It has ZERO to do with the franchise and is just a cash grab.    The 2002 movie, along with "Resident Evil" and "Dawn of the Dead", is credited with reinvigorating the zombie genre. Gone are the sluggish Romero zombies These zombies are super fast and almost impossible to escape. Yes, I know these "technically" aren't zombies (since they aren't reanimated corpses). But they are mindless crazies who want to eat us-- so close enough.    A lot has happened since the first movie came out in 2002. One of the biggest events is of course Covid. We no longer have to hypothesis about how such a disease could spread and how people would react. I shudder to think what would happen IRL if Ebola began to spread widely.    TBH, I am a bit disappointed by the last two movies. "28 Years Later" is more a coming of age story. And "Bone Temple" is a follow-up to that. I'm all for having some characters we care about.. but I watch zombie movies to see zombies. I hope they get back on track in the final movie and remember that's what most of us are here for.    Did you like these movies? Am I way off base about the last two? Please let me know in the comments below.    Photo Credit: https://www.tvinsider.com/show/28-days-later/

This episode of Horror Movie Franchises examines the major screen adaptations of Stephen King’s "Salem’s Lot" — the 1979 CBS miniseries, the 2004 TNT remake, the 2024 HBO Max film, and the obscure 1987 sequel. T We discuss faithfulness to the novel, standout scenes (the Glick brothers and Barlow), trivia and where to find each version. The 1979 original is a cult classic well worth watching,    Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salemslotthemovie.jpg

In this episode we explore "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" trilogy: production details, plot summaries, critical reception, and the actors and designers behind Gillman. The original 1954 movie holds up surprisingly well (even if we cant see it in 3D). The straightforward plot allows little time for filler (and that's where most movies lose me). The underwater photography is beautiful. I highly recommend a watch. The same can't be said for other two movies. They are a retread of the first, the plot is uninspired and the creature designs are ugly.  There have been numerous sequel/remake attempts over the years. Unfortunately, none were successful. Let's hope James Wan (best known for "Saw", "The Conjuring" and "Insidious") can get a movie over the finish line. I love everything he does so I have high hopes. We definitely need more Gillman in our lives.    Photo Credit: Here

This episode covers the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" franchise. From it's 1984 start (apparently Killer Santas were controversial back in the day). through four stand alone movies (most of which have very little to do with Christmas) to two reboots. And dont forget the second entry--which is often touted as one of the worst movies ever. Besides it's horrible over the top acting, it's "Garbage Day" meme has a life of it's own.  Did you enjoy any/all of these movies? Please let me know in the comments. I'm especially interested in your feedback about the 2025 reboot. Did I miss the mark?    Photo Credit: Here

This week we're covering the obscure "Carnosaur" franchise. It consists of a trilogy and 2 spinoffs. These movies that were produced by Roger Corman (known as "The King of B Movies"). Due to budget constraints, they kept using the same two dinos and the same scenes from the first movie over and over again.  The plots are all over the place and dont make any sense. The first movie has a geneticist (Diane Ladd) creating dinosaurs from chickens so she can wipe out the human race. She also devises a virus that makes women give birth to dinosaurs-- thus eventually killing all humans. Say what? The second movie is a straight up rip off of "Aliens"-- just with dinosaurs. The third movie has dinos in a warehouse and then on a ship for some reason. Now they must be saved because they contain human DNA and hold the secret to curing diseases. And the last two movies, I wont even bother to try to explain the story lines.  Despite these being hokey movies, Corman gets a surprising number of prominent actors to appear-- Diane Ladd, Clint Howard, John Savage, Eric Roberts, Corbin Bernsen, Tony Todd and Dee Wallace (to name a few).  I can't say I recommend these movies but if you want a good laugh, check them out. With the Rifftrax/MST3000 treatment, they would be much more interesting.  Did I miss the mark? Do you love these movies? Let me know in the comments section.    Photo Credit: Here