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Give Gremlins another shot.
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00:00Reboots kind of always feel like a no-win scenario. If one copies its predecessor beat
00:05for beat, then it feels like a hollow retread. However, if the remake see as too far away from
00:10the original, then you'll wonder why the studio just didn't make it a separate property entirely.
00:15Luckily, however, the horror genre has kind of figured out a way to please people who want
00:20something familiar and different, and that is, of course, by delivering the legacy sequel.
00:25And in 2023, it's actually kind of more rare for a horror franchise to not have received one of
00:30these than have. I mean, just look at the likes of Halloween or Texas Chainsaw Massacre or a whole
00:36load of others that are in development. However, there are a few lingering properties that absolutely
00:41do deserve the proper full legacy sequel treatment. I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com,
00:47and these are 8 legacy horror movie sequels everyone actually wants to see.
00:518. Candyman Though 2021's Candyman was portrayed
00:55already as a quasi-legacy sequel reboot thing and was pretty good to be fair, the film concludes with
01:02the return of Tony Todd's iconic villain, reconfirming the idea that this story does take place in the
01:08same continuity as the original. And even though fans were chuffed to see Todd reprise his most iconic
01:14role, it was a shame that he only uttered two words and was de-aged. So if there is a
01:19sequel,
01:20then this character has to play a more prominent part, as you can't just tease him in the climax
01:25and then leave it at that, can you? However, there is another key character who needs to be revived
01:30as well, and that's Helen Lyle. In the original Candyman movie, Helen tried to discredit the Candyman
01:36urban legend, which inspired the villain to shed innocent blood to perpetuate his legacy. Now,
01:41Helen might have met her maker in the climax of that picture, but the final scene teases that she's
01:47also been reborn as a vengeful spirit. However, despite the fact that the ending implied Helen
01:52would be cursed to kill innocents just like her predecessor, she never appeared again. Although
01:57her voice can be heard during a flashback in 2021's Candyman, the character is noticeably absent
02:03throughout. And yeah, while her appearance would go against the strong mythos established in the
02:08reboot, which was incredibly rich, she doesn't have to be the Candyman herself, but rather another
02:14vengeful spirit born from a different kind of trauma. There's no reason you can't have both
02:19characters in the movie, is all I'm saying. Number 7, Evil Dead. Now, hold up a second,
02:25I know we're getting Evil Dead Rise later this year, and yes, it looks absolutely incredible.
02:31As a big, big fan of the 2013 reboot myself, I genuinely can't wait for this, and I'm so so
02:37glad
02:37that it exists, and I'm also glad I get to see it in the theaters. But the thing is,
02:42if you can't tell already, I am a very, very greedy man. And despite getting a great reboot,
02:48a continuation TV show, and the upcoming Rise, part of me still pines for a proper horror-focused
02:55Evil Dead 4, starring Bruce Campbell and directed by Sam Raimi. And yes, I know we got some Sam Raimi
03:02directed episodes of Ash vs. the Evil Dead, and they were great, but they weren't a full movie,
03:07Willy. Picking up with an older Ash and with Raimi given a proper budget and resources to do a full
03:12film right still keeps me up at night dreaming of the possibilities. Sadly, I just need to come to
03:19terms with the fact that this is never actually going to happen. Campbell has fully retired from
03:23the role in live action, and Raimi understandably is fine to simply produce the franchise and find
03:29other fresher talents to take the reins of his horror baby. And again, that is awesome, but
03:34God, I'm just so greedy for this franchise. Number 6, The Mummy.
03:39Brendan Fraser is back, baby, and the more interviews he does, the more it seems like
03:44a fourth Mummy movie is only a matter of time. And while yes, the original film is as much of
03:49an
03:49action-adventure as it is a horror, I'm still counting it here because a fourth flick absolutely
03:55should continue to embrace the darker aspects of the first two flicks in particular. Like,
04:00bring back the scarabs, bring back people having their skin and bones sucked off their body,
04:05and bring back the horror-inspired filmmaking. And of course, bring back the characters while you're at
04:11it. If a fourth movie were to happen, we need Brendan Fraser's Rick, Rachel Weisz's Evie,
04:16and of course, John Hanna's Jonathan, at minimum. Catch up with these characters older,
04:21maybe not wiser, being the only experts on a returning threat. If Indiana Jones can come back
04:28for another round, then The Mummy definitely deserves a shot too. Number 5, Friday the 13th.
04:34It's hard to pinpoint the protagonist of the Friday the 13th series. Alice, of course,
04:39was the heroine of the first installment, but was axed off pretty quickly in the sequel.
04:44And although Tommy Jarvis has made the most appearances and even killed Jason dead,
04:48he kind of acts like a different character each time he's on screen, and didn't speak at all in
04:53one entry. So, according to some horror veterans, the true final girl is actually the protagonist of
04:59Friday the 13th Part 2, Ginny Field. Not only is she smart, resourceful and adaptable, she's one of
05:05the only main characters who didn't wind up dead. And so, because she's one of the few who walked away
05:11from Jason Voorhees with all of her limbs and organs intact, Ginny has grown quite a fanbase.
05:16And in fact, originally, Friday the 13th Part 3 would have centered around Ginny locked in a
05:22psychiatric institution, with the machete-wielding maniac breaking in to exact his revenge. However,
05:28actress Amy Steele passed on the offer, worried that she would be typecast if she kept associating
05:33with the franchise. But since Steele recently reprised the role in a 2021 fanfilm, it's safe to
05:39assume that she's game for having a rematch with the hockey mask-wearing psychopath in an official
05:44sequel. And no, I'm not saying they should just take the original storyboard for that movie
05:49and regurgitate it years later, but it would be cool to get a proper legacy sequel for this franchise
05:55and see some characters return. Until then though, I guess we'll just have to make due
06:00with that prequel series that's coming. Number 4, 28 Days Later. There is no question that Danny Boyle's
06:0628 Days Later is directly responsible for reigniting interest in the zombie genre, which is kind of ironic,
06:12since there are technically no zombies in the movie, as Danny Boyle has insisted so much over the years.
06:18Not only that, but this British horror popularized the idea of fast infected, a trend that's still
06:24firmly established in modern zombie law. And since 28 Days Later took the world by storm, the sequels 28
06:30weeks later was inevitable. However, because this solid in its own right follow-up focused on a different
06:36ensemble, we never actually learned what happened to the survivors of the first film. Most notably,
06:41Killian Murphy's character Jim. Although fans hoped that we would learn of Jim's fate in the next
06:46installment, it never materialized. And even though there have been rumors that 28 months later,
06:52or maybe even 28 years later, was on the cards since 2007, the threequel never seemed to come
06:58together. But in 2019, Danny Boyle did confirm that he had met with 28 Days Later's writer, Alex
07:04Garland, to discuss the story of a potential third film. Better still, star Killian Murphy stated that he
07:10would love to revisit the franchise, meaning it's very possible that 28 months later,
07:15or whatever it's called, will be a direct continuation of Jim's story. And God,
07:20please guys, do it for me. I have been checking the IMDB page for this movie since, like, 2008 or
07:279 or whatever it was. I feel like I've been waiting for it my entire life. Please, finally do it.
07:33Number 3, Gremlins. Gremlins left a massive mark on cinema, despite the fact that it only spawned
07:38two installments. Chris Columbus' films inspired tons of mini-monster ripoffs, such as Ghoulies,
07:44Hobgoblins and Troll. And even though the last entry debuted decades ago, the characters themselves
07:50keep popping up in other mediums, including Space Jam, The Lego Batman Movie, and Multiverses,
07:57proving that fans still want to see these little critters. But if a Gremlins film is in the works,
08:02let's hope it's a sequel rather than a reboot. Because the original story was tied so deeply to
08:09Gizmo's relationship with Billy, it just wouldn't work without him. And although Billy was originally
08:14depicted as timid and unassertive, it would be interesting to see in return, even if only for
08:19a cameo. Hell, Billy could also be depicted like Gizmo's original owner, Mr. Wing, warning others of
08:25the dangers of owning one of these creatures after experiencing it firsthand himself. Either way,
08:30a new Gremlins movie that keeps the events of the first two in mind would be amazing.
08:352. Nightmare on Elm Street
08:37Because the reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street turned out so badly, you can kind of understand
08:41why Wes Craven's beloved franchise has languished in limbo for over a decade. However, a great way
08:47to enliven the series would be to go back to basics. Simply put, we need a direct continuation of
08:53the original, with Robert Englund reprising the role of Freddy Krueger. And look, I know,
08:58Englund doesn't seem eager to don the fedora again, and I don't blame him. The guy is 75 years old,
09:05and I would also run a mile at the prospect of spending all of those hours in the makeup chair
09:09again as well. However, the issue with Nightmare is that Englund is Freddy. Even a great actor like
09:16Jackie Earl Haley couldn't do the character justice because it's such a dedicated performance.
09:22Hope is alive for this one though, as Jason Blum just last year said that he was confident that he
09:28could lure Englund back to the role. Blum has, of course, revived Halloween with a legacy sequel
09:33trilogy and is planning the same for The Exorcist. So hey, why stop there? Let's go all the way and
09:39pick up in a world where Freddy returns after his original killing spree is all but being forgotten
09:45about. Number one, Alien. Could it have been anything else? In 2015, Neil Blomkamp was all set
09:53to write and direct an Alien sequel, which would serve as a direct follow-up to Aliens. And when
09:59sci-fi fans and horror fans saw the concept art for this supposed Alien 5, which is actually just
10:05technically Alien 3 again I guess, it blew our minds. With Sigourney Weaver and Michael being set
10:11to return, it looked like this proposed installment could get the franchise back on track. Sadly,
10:17though, these plans of course fell apart. Instead, we got Alien Covenant, which, you know, fair enough,
10:23decent movie, but was it worth the cost? I personally would say no. Like, Neil Blomkamp is not the best
10:31director in the world, in fact you could say he's not even one of the good directors of the world,
10:36but the concept art looked cool, and if any series needed a reset or a rejigged legacy sequel where
10:43we ignore some of the events, it's definitely this franchise. How many lists have we done where we've
10:49talked about how insulting Newton Hicks' death was in Alien 3? Anyway, I'm starting to ramble now,
10:55you really don't want to get me talking about Alien 5, but in my opinion, this decision was a colossal
11:01waste since Blomkamp's proposed sequel had so many fascinating avenues that it could have gone down.
11:08So that's our list. I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below. How many of
11:11these legacy sequels would you want to see? And are there any other franchises you'd be chomping at
11:16the bit to see revived? Let me know while you're down there. If you could, please give us a like,
11:20share, subscribe, and head over to WhatCultureHorror for more lists like this on the regular. Even if you
11:24don't feel I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.
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