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10 Best Number 3s In Horror Movie History
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00:00Horror often gets criticised for having too many sequels, and that is not an unfair criticism,
00:05but a third go-around is not always a death sentence in the genre. Some of the films carried
00:09on the momentum of the ones before it, some of them bounce back from awful second instalments,
00:14and some aren't as good as the movies that preceded them, but are still good films that
00:19should not be overlooked. So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here with the
00:23best number threes in horror movie history. Number 10. The Conjuring 2
00:30Hold your horses, we can explain. Despite its misleading name, The Conjuring 2 is actually
00:36the third instalment in the franchise. After the initial Conjuring film, a spin-off was released
00:42called Annabelle, which was about the evil doll featured in the first film. The first proper
00:46Conjuring sequel arrived in 2016 and told a fictionalised version of the Enfield Poltergeist
00:53story, in which a ghost haunted a family living in a London council estate. A third film bearing
00:58The Conjuring name was released in 2021, but that isn't as good, so we're going to ignore it.
01:03The Conjuring 2 made just as much money and scored just as highly among the critics as the original.
01:08Fans were impressed that the sequel kept up the suspense and terror of the first without ever
01:13getting gimmicky or over the top. On the whole, The Conjuring 2 is a solid horror sequel that builds
01:18on the foundations of what came before it. It would be a lot higher on this list, but considering
01:22we've pushed our luck by even including it in the first place, 10th place will have to do.
01:27Number 9, Puppet Master 3, Toulon's Revenge. The Puppet Master films are quite hard to come
01:34by, considering they were all released straight to DVD. Those that have seen them will know that
01:38they're about a group of puppets brought to life by an ancient Egyptian spell. They will also know
01:43that there are loads of these films. Of the 15 Puppet Master films, which is hilarious when you
01:48consider that the fifth one was called The Final Chapter. One of the best is the third one,
01:53subtitled Toulon's Revenge. The Toulon in the title is André Toulon, a puppeteer living in Berlin during
01:59World War II. After his wife is killed for her involvement in his Nazi-bashing puppet show,
02:04Toulon uses his magically animated marionettes to seek revenge on the Third Reich. Whilst that might
02:09sound like the ravings of a madman, Toulon's Revenge is a lot of fun with a lot of interesting
02:14characters. Who doesn't love murderous puppets? Well, maybe the child's play legal team. Puppet
02:19Master 3 is a great instalment in a franchise that is still going strong to this day. It's
02:24definitely worth a watch, if you can somehow get your hands on a copy.
02:27Number 8. Insidious Chapter 3
02:30Insidious, which came out in 2010, tells that classic horror story of a couple trying to save
02:36their child from demonic possession. Critics praised the film's suspenseful atmosphere and strong use of
02:41conventions, but were less than complimentary about its second half. Still, it did well enough to get
02:46a sequel, and for that sequel to get a sequel, which hit cinemas in 2015. Directed by Leigh Whannell,
02:52who wrote the first two Insidious films, and the first three Saw movies, Insidious Chapter 3 is set
02:58before the events of the first two films, and features a young girl who becomes possessed while
03:02trying to contact the spirit of her dead mother. Critics loved the darkness of Chapter 3, and we're not
03:07talking about the lighting design. It's the creepiest Insidious film of the first three,
03:12which is really saying something, and it was also praised for its concentration on grief as a central
03:16theme. With a new Insidious film set to premiere in 2023, now is a great time to re-watch all of
03:22the previous films to catch up, but if you do that, then you're in for a treat when you reach number
03:27three. Number 7. Halloween 3 Season of the Witch
03:31A controversial pick, to say the least, the third film in the Halloween franchise is the
03:36first and only not to feature signature antagonist Michael Myers. Instead, the main villain of this
03:42movie is a plastic jack-o'-lantern mask. Uh, really? Season of the Witch was a risky move for
03:47the franchise, and one that ultimately didn't pay off, as Myers was back for the next film.
03:52However, just because it wasn't a commercial success, that doesn't mean we shouldn't applaud
03:56Season of the Witch for trying something new. So many horror franchises find themselves stuck in a
04:01holding pattern, especially when it comes to their villains. How many monsters and murderers have
04:05we seen watered down through years of overexposure? Michael Myers was able to take seven years,
04:10meaning that, when he made his return to cinema, he was exciting and fresh again. Anyway, Season of the
04:16Witch isn't as bad as people say it is. Sure, the plot sounds goofy on paper, but in reality, it's
04:22actually quite chilling and really well told. This was also the last Halloween film to involve
04:27original director John Carpenter for 36 years, which gives it enough pedigree to be worth checking
04:32out. Number 6, The Exorcist 3. Now, the fact that there's one sequel to The Exorcist, let alone
04:39multiple, is for want of a better word, sacrilegious. However, this 1990 release isn't as bad as you'd
04:46think. For starters, it brings original Exorcist writer William Peter Blatty back into the fold as
04:51scriptwriter and director. Secondly, it completely ignores the events of The Exorcist 2, The Heretic,
04:56which is a good thing because that is widely considered one of the worst films ever made.
05:00The Exorcist 3 is based on Legion, the third book in the Exorcist novel series, also written by Blatty.
05:06It follows Lieutenant William Kinderman, who fans of the original film will remember as the detective
05:11who investigates the murders caused by a possessed Reagan. This time, Kinderman is on the trail of the
05:17Gemini killer, a serial murderer who had been executed 15 years earlier. Whilst it's not up
05:22to the level of the first Exorcist film, the third instalment in the franchise still offers some great
05:27scares and continues the stories of many of the characters from the original film. Don't count
05:32this film out based on what it's not. See it first, then make up your mind.
05:36Number 5, Hellraiser 3. Hell on Earth. Everyone's favourite Cenobite, Pinhead, returns once more in this
05:441992 flick. Now imprisoned in a stone pillar, Pinhead manipulates an arrogant nightclub owner
05:50into setting him free, whilst a plucky rapport attempts to stop him. Hell on Earth does a great
05:54job in building on the character of Pinhead, particularly after the revelation in Hellraiser
05:592 that he used to be human. Pinhead's human form, World War I soldier Captain Elliot Spencer,
06:04contacts protagonist Joey's summer skill throughout the movie, using his insight into the demon to help
06:09her defeat him. As well as some strong character development, Hellraiser 3 is all
06:13chock full of blood, guts and gore. Pinhead's trademark hooked chains make mincemeat out of
06:19several people in the film, which will more than satisfy any viewer's bloodlust. The film was viewed
06:23as being more commercial than previous Hellraiser films, something that was applauded and criticised
06:29in equal measures. Either way, Hellraiser 3 is a marked improvement on its predecessor and a really
06:34good watch. Also, it gave the world Motorhead's version of the song Hellraiser, so it deserves all the
06:39praise in the world. Number 4, Paranormal Activity 3. The first Paranormal Activity movie changed the
06:47horror landscape forever when it was released in 2007. It took over the mantle of most profitable
06:52film of all time from The Blair Witch Project and helped boost the found footage craze that the film
06:57had started. It's not surprising that the success of the original led to a wave of sequels, the first
07:02coming in 2010 and the second just one year later. This prequel – oh boy, horror franchises do love
07:09their third movie prequels, don't they? – is set during the childhood of main protagonist Katie,
07:14who appears as a young girl through old home movies. Paranormal Activity 3 pays off the
07:18conversations Katie and her sister Christy had in the second film about being haunted by a demon in
07:23their youth. This nicely ties the first three films together, creating a fuller, more well-rounded
07:28universe. The scares as strong as ever, the atmosphere as unsettling as ever, and the older
07:33setting breathes some new life into a franchise that was in danger of getting stale. Whilst the
07:38series would take a nosedive after this film, Paranormal Activity 3 is still a great follow-up
07:43to a horror innovator. Number 3, Army of Darkness. Let's get this out of the way early. Army of Darkness
07:51is nowhere near as good as The Evil Dead or Evil Dead 2, but let's give it some credit here because that
07:56was always going to be a tough ask. Still, as we mentioned with The Exorcist, let's not count
08:00this movie out based on what came before it. Army of Darkness picks up right where Evil Dead 2 left
08:05off, with Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams trapped in the Middle Ages. To return to the present day,
08:10he must find and use the Necronomicon, the mythical book of the dead that got him into this mess in the
08:15first place. There's plenty of gore, brutality, and zombie killing in this movie, all the usual Evil
08:20Dead sense of humour, except this time Ash is truly out of his depth in a time that he knows
08:25nothing about. If you put this film off because you heard it wasn't as good as the first two,
08:29then you're doing yourself a massive disservice. Army of Darkness is still a lot of fun,
08:34especially for Evil Dead, so get online and get yourself a three-disc box set right this instant.
08:40Number 2, Day of the Dead. Seven years after the seminal dawn of the dead, and almost two decades
08:45after the release of Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero unleashed his third zombie horror
08:50classic on the world in the form of 1985's Day of the Dead. This movie features none of the
08:55characters in the previous two films, instead focusing on a group of scientists working to
09:00find a cure for the ongoing zombie apocalypse. One scientist insists that the undead can be
09:04domesticated with proper training, and keep several of them captive to experiment on.
09:09Yeah, that'll end well. Being part of a legendary franchise certainly helps a film,
09:13but Day of the Dead also stands up on its own. It's a much bigger production in terms of characters
09:18and ideas, as well as having the biggest budget of any of Romero's zombie films at that point.
09:23Despite being the lowest rated of the first three dead films, Day of the Dead still captures the
09:27series' perfect blend of bloody horror, tense action, and scathing social commentary. And the
09:32best part is that you can watch it without having seen any of the others. Although you should also
09:36watch the others, they're also very good. Number 1, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Dream Warriors.
09:43After missing out on the second Nightmare on Elm Street movie, series creator Wes
09:47Craven was back for the third instalment, and it shows. Dream Warriors is set in a mental hospital,
09:53a great setting for any horror, and follows the exploits of a group of children as Freddy Krueger
09:58hunts them down in their dreams. The kids, aided by original protagonist Nancy Thompson,
10:02have to then track down Krueger's bones in order to lay his spirit to rest and end his killing spree.
10:08The third Elm Street movie is often regarded as one of the best in the entire series,
10:12and with good reason. It takes the series in a new direction, giving Freddy multiple adversaries
10:17instead of one. The kills are inventive, the characters are likeable, and this film is also
10:21very, very funny. Humour is an underrated part of horror. Strange considering how inherently silly
10:28the genre is, but the laughs, both accidentally and on purpose, are present throughout this film.
10:32Later Elm Street movies would go off the deep end, but this one manages to capture the spirit of the
10:37original, whilst giving its own, often side-splitting twist.
10:41And that concludes our list. If you think we missed any, then do let us know in the comments
10:45below, and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe, and tap that notification bell.
10:50Also head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
10:54just by searching Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day,
10:59and I'll see you real soon.
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