5 Horror Franchises That Absolutely Need to Make A Modern Comeback

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Hollywood has always loved revisiting successful ideas with reboots and sequels – if a movie makes money, studios often want to make it again. Right now, the horror genre is experiencing a huge wave of these revivals. As the movie *Scream* calls them, it’s a “requel” era – bringing back old, popular franchises for new installments. We’re seeing this with *Friday the 13th* (now the Jason Universe), a complete trilogy of new *Halloween* films, another *Texas Chainsaw* movie in the works, a thriving *Alien* franchise across both movies and TV, and yet another *Predator* film on the way, just to name a few.

However, some franchises seem to be inactive and need to be revitalized.

5) Tremors

The 1990 film *Tremors* is a classic example of a cult hit. While it didn’t perform well in cinemas, it became incredibly popular on VHS. This success led to six direct-to-video sequels, and the franchise continues today – the most recent installment, *Tremors: Shrieker Island*, was released in 2020.

What fans really want is a proper sequel to *Tremors*, and it needs a reasonable budget to make it happen. Crucially, it also needs Kevin Bacon back in the starring role – he’s repeatedly expressed his enthusiasm to return, and the studio should definitely take him up on it. While it’s heartbreaking that we won’t see his character, Val McKee, alongside Fred Ward’s Earl, a new *Tremors* film is still a worthwhile endeavor.

4) George A. Romero’s Living Dead Saga

George A. Romero, the creator of the modern zombie film, died in 2017. But his *Living Dead* series still has plenty of life left and could easily continue.

The series really needs a concluding installment to finish strong. While *Night of the Living Dead*, *Dawn of the Dead*, and *Day of the Dead* are classics, the three films that came after weren’t nearly as good. We’re hoping to finally see *Twilight of the Dead*, which George Romero intended as the final chapter, but we’ll wait for actual filming to begin before we get our hopes up. It was originally scheduled to start shooting in March, but six months have passed and it still hasn’t.

Stream Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead on Peacock.

3) The Thing

For years, *The Thing* wasn’t really a series of movies – it was just this one incredible horror film that, sadly, didn’t get the recognition it deserved when it first came out. Luckily, it built up a really dedicated following, and that’s what eventually led to the prequel we got in 2011. As a big fan, I was thrilled to see it get some more attention!

Despite a strong performance from Mary Elizabeth Winstead, the movie unfortunately didn’t succeed. The biggest problem was the special effects. Because the original film was known for its impressive practical effects, this version’s reliance on unconvincing CGI was a major letdown. Any future installments absolutely need to prioritize practical effects instead.

Stream The Thing (1982) and The Thing (2011) on Peacock.

2) Gremlins

I remember when *Gremlins* came out in 1984 – it was huge! But the sequel, *Gremlins 2: The New Batch* in 1990, didn’t do so well, and that seemed to be the end of that franchise. It’s been 35 years, and we haven’t seen anything new since. But honestly, with everything getting revived these days – like *Beverly Hills Cop* and *Beetlejuice* – an ’80s classic like *Gremlins* feels perfectly primed for a comeback.

While fans of *Gremlins* received an animated series on HBO Max, that’s been the only continuation of the story. There was some talk earlier this year about a potential live-action sequel – Zach Galligan mentioned a script was with Steven Spielberg – but Warner Bros. hasn’t made any official announcements about it yet.

Stream Gremlins 2: The New Batch on HBO Max.

1) A Nightmare on Elm Street

Robert Englund, at 78, has indicated he’s finished playing Freddy Krueger, which is understandable. However, since Heather Langenkamp has expressed interest in reprising her role as Nancy Thompson for a final time, it would be great to see both characters return and then pass the mantle on to a new generation.

This approach could also allow the franchise to move past simply revisiting old stories. While dedicated fans would be thrilled to see Robert Englund reprise his role as Krueger – it’s been over 20 years since he was on the big screen – they’d likely be more open to a new dream demon, whether that character is named Krueger or not, if Englund were involved in introducing them. Essentially, *A Nightmare on Elm Street* is too popular to stay untouched in an era of reboots and sequels.

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2025-09-25 01:16