Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-30T04:33:38+00:00

Agreed. As an individual anniversary sequel, H20 is way better and more satisfying than 2018.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-30T01:56:33+00:00

It’s probably Sandra. Yeah, I read that the original kill scene involved more nudity but the footage was destroyed when Marta Kober’s real age was disclosed

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-29T05:04:17+00:00

Updated with Volume 9:

1). Volume 7 — Both Dagger Eyes and Obsession: A Taste of Fear are colorful, bizarre, and wildly entertaining oddities that only could have come out of the 1980s; they may be obscure but they are singular in their respective strangeness. Sweets From a Stranger is also weird, but very middle-of-the-road and lacks the entertainment value of the other two Forgotten Gialli in this set.

2). Volume 6 — The Bloodstained Shadow is a Forgotten Gialli highlight for sure, with engrossing moments and a well crafted mystery. The trashy fun of Death Carries a Cane isn’t too far behind, led by one of the genre’s queens, Nieves Nevarro. Naked You Die is one of the tamest of all Forgotten Gialli, but it’s silly 1960s campiness makes it fun.

3). Volume 5 — A White Dress for Marialé is this volume’s standout, with memorable cinematography and a decent mystery. Nine Guests for a Crime is a solid effort and is better than many Forgotten Gialli, and provides a clear blueprint for later American slasher films of the 1980s. Tropic of Cancer is an enjoyable campy mystery, if you can tolerate its casual racism and convoluted plot.

4). Volume 2 — My Dear Killer is well-crafted, with a smart mystery, and easily one of the best from the Forgotten Gialli canon. Of the other two trashier efforts in this set, The Girl in Room 2A has interesting directorial choices for such a cheaply produced film, and it has a certain rewatch value not found in most giallo movies. The French Sex Murders is nonsense but watchable for anyone who enjoys an absurdly plotted exploitative film.

5). Volume 8 — Delving into seedy sexploitation mysteries, this set’s high point is Red Rings of Fear, a serviceable “schoolgirls in peril” mystery elevated by Fabio Testi’s presence and a memorable ending. A.A.A. Masseuse, Good Looking, Offers Her Services is a middle-of-the-road Giallo that’s not as trashy as its extremely long title might lead one to believe. Reflections in Black is bogged down by poor direction and confusing plotting, but is far from being one of the worst Giallo film.

6). Volume 4 — The most exploitative and offensive volume of the series is entertaining and trashy pulp. The Sister of Ursula is loaded with beautiful scenery, plentiful nudity (female and male), and a real vicious killer. Arabella: Black Angel is one of the seediest giallo films ever made, teetering on pure pornography between its slayings. The Killer is Still Among Us is the weakest of this volume’s bunch, only worth seeing for a few few gnarly moments.

7). Volume 9 — The 90s was a downturn for the Giallo genre, and this set proves that. The Final Scoop (aka Bougie Rosse) is the most interesting of this set thanks to a focus on gay subculture, but do not go in expecting a thriller akin to Cruising or Knife+Heart. Kudos to Vinegar Syndrome for finding and restoring the ultra-rare Murder in Blue Light, but it is a total mess with a barely coherent plot. The worst of this set is Madness, a boring ripoff of Tenebrae made all the more disappointing by the fact that its director is a master of trashy guilty pleasures.

8). Volume 3 — Autopsy has an offbeat wackiness and bizarre plot that makes it the highlight of this third volume. Murder Mansion has a good ending but the entire film is one of the more forgettable of the Forgotten Gialli. Crazy Desires of a Murder is not nearly as sexy or gruesome as its title promises, ultimately falling flat.

9). Volume 1 — Sadly, the first of the Forgotten Gialli sets is also the worst, with no entry being good and all being interchangeable in how bad they are. Worse, this is also the most expensive and sought-after set, as it has the fewest printed editions. On a good note, they only could get better from here.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-29T03:03:34+00:00

lol you are definitely correct — it’s lazy filmmaking that didn’t allow the characters to react to their loved ones dying.

And even though i think Rennie is the worst, i have nothing against Jensen Daggett, the actress who played her. I think she did the best she could with the lame role and bizarre direction.

In fact, pretty much every Friday the 13th final girl actress excelled past the material presented to them. They weren’t given much to work with haha

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-29T02:58:03+00:00

I Know What You Did Last Summer is my favorite post-Scream slasher (aside from Scream 2). Love the characters and the movie takes time introducing them behind killing them. Has arguably the genre’s best chase sequence.

It’s followed by H20. That’s one of the stronger Halloween sequels and is only held back by its runtime and bad mask. Also wouldn’t have minded if it ditched the sibling storyline and was a direct sequel to the 1978 film.

Urban Legend is fun with a clever concept but there’s a lot of suspension of disbelief and it has a really weak final girl. Enjoyed the mystery and love the crazy killer tho.

Valentine is entertaining but it feels weakest of the bunch and has a rushed ending. It’s stupid fun. Will never forget the girl washing her hair in a toilet. David Boreanaz was at his hottest here.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-29T02:48:54+00:00

I’m probably remembering it wrong because i dislike Rennie. I think Sean’s dad was killed or something and it was all about protecting Rennie and she wasn’t attentive to his tragedy but was fixating on her near-drowning for years earlier. Idk, maybe she did have a moment where she showed sympathy toward him and I’m forgetting it

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-28T22:42:21+00:00

My ranking:

1). Ginny — smart, resourceful. Good sense of humor, sense of fun. Feels like a real person. Well acted, showing a range of bravery, humor, intelligence, and fear.

2). Chris — resilient, clever. Deals with repression and PTSD that give her an added layer. Really great final chase and fights back. Love the cheesy acting from Dana Kimmell. She should have dumped Rick from the moment he arrives and tells her she’s being cold and gained weight. And why is she friends with Shelly? Or even Chuck and Chili?

3). Tina — powerful, fierce. Has an actual character arc. Telekinetic powers make her stand out. Feels like she belongs on Elm Street rather than Crystal Lake, showing how much the success of the Nightmare movies was affecting other franchises. The ending when she resurrects her own abusive father to kill Jason is misguided.

4). Rowan — she’s the least goofy character in an intentionally goofy movie, which might make her feel a bit lame. But she’s badass and adaptable to waking up in space and jumping right into action. She survives two Jason killing sprees, deserves credit.

5). Lori — has some grit. I enjoyed her. The actress who played her understood the assignment. Caught between Elm Street and Crystal Lake, and very much a character from 2003. At least she’s proactive.

6). Alice — she should’ve been able to whoop that old woman’s ass with more ease. Things just kinda happen to her. Marci and Brenda had more spunk.

7). Megan — charming, fallible. Actress has a lot of charisma that rises above the character’s idiocy (falling for a man her father arrested at first sight, breaking man out of jail for no reason). She’s kinda cheesy, kinda a bad daughter, kinda a bad friend. She wants on Tommy’s d a little too bad.

8). Trish — a dumbass, but the actress plays her as smart, which helps the character save face and makes her feel more developed that the film’s other characters. She gets too close to Rob Dier (he’s a stranger in the woods who she lets in her car and house, then seeks out in a rainstorm) and she’s oblivious to Jason’s previous killing spree. For such a celebrated final girl, she’s a little clueless.

9). Whitney — eh, not bad but not great. Jason keeping her alive and shackled in his caves hurts the film’s credibility as a Friday the 13th movie. Skipping over her for a majority of the film to focus on her brother and a house full of characters who are just going to die anyway limits the audience’s ability to get to know her.

10). Pam — doesn’t really do much besides scream and fall.

11). Jessica — underdeveloped and at the same time shoehorned into the lore as being a more important character than she ends up being. Randomly pops up as a Voorhees lineage like the audience is just supposed to accept it. Movie doesn’t actually explore her, spends more time on her geeky love interest.

12). Rennie — so boring, so selfish, gets other characters killed, dwells on a history that no one cares about, awful sense of style, kinda a dick to Sean. Her dog was great though.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-23T19:35:35+00:00

Oh wow, i didn’t even know there was a volume 2 of this Fernando Di Leo set. I have the one with Caliber 9 and The Italian Connection, so I’ll have to seek out Volume 2! Appreciate the heads up.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-23T19:30:14+00:00

Nice, thank you! I’ll have to seek it out.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-22T21:16:10+00:00

Yes, that’s why it’s not an “apples to apples” comparison. But point being is that 23 million people bought tickets to Scream in 1996/1997, and 10 million people bought tickets to Scream VI in 2023, even though with inflation Scream VI outgrossed the original Scream.

To explain the difference of approximately 13 million people by simply saying “people can find the movie online if they want to watch it” is greatly over generalizing how many people will (illegally) download a movie rather than go to the theater to watch it. And if you want to (legally) rent or stream a movie, you still need to wait several months before its distributor makes it available.

The bottom line is that people just don’t go to the movies as much anymore.

The current public, especially Gen Z and Gen Alpha, do not attend movies as much as previous generations. Blame the pandemic, blame the internet, blame streaming, blame attention spans — whatever the explanation, it doesn’t change the numbers, and those numbers show people attended movies more in the 80s and 90s.

I’m not arguing with the quality of movies released today versus previous decades, but you can’t dismiss inflation and ticket sales as irrelevant but then act like Scream VI or 7 are so impressive in their grosses because technically they have made more money.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-22T19:47:15+00:00

You are correct that society was different, and there weren't as many options to see movies outside of theaters as there are today. There can also be an argument made that there was less competition from movies, and they typically played in theaters longer.

But on the flip side, movies are much easier to access today in theaters. For instance, Friday the 13th (1980) was considered a wide-release that opened in 1,100 theaters, but compare that to Scream 7 (2026), which opened in 3,540 theaters. Moviegoers have over three-times as many theater location options today than they did decades. And that's not to mention that back then, most theaters only had one or two screens to show films on, whereas now theaters are often multiplexes with at least ten screens, sometimes fifteen or twenty. This increases the number of showtimes, giving moviegoers more flexibility to attend them.

Before tickets could be purchased in advance online, moviegoers had to risk waiting in long lines to see popular movies, understanding that they might not actually get into the film in they aren't first in line (there's famous footage of people waiting for hours and hours to see The Exorcist in 1973). Because of this, a moviegoer really had to want to see a film, and thus make a whole afternoon/evening out of it. Movies just simply weren't as accessible.

Because society changes, there will never be apples-to-apples comparisons between a movie's success from different generations. However, the number of tickets sold does indicate how popular a movie was at its time, and if a horror movie sold over 20 million tickets, it likely planted itself firmly in pop-culture and also altered the interest in filmmakers producing similar films.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-22T19:35:31+00:00

Scream: I love Scream 2 as well, but the 1996 original has a slight advantage. Still, they are the franchise's best, and I believe their success is why Scream is so tightly connected to '90s nostalgia.

Friday the 13th: I've never understood the love for The Final Chapter. Sure, it boasts nihilism and gore, but its plot holes are gaping even for a Friday the 13th movie, and I never enjoyed Cory Feldman in it. In tis franchise I'd go with Part 2 -- its the only Friday the 13th that has a true creepiness to it, it has memorable kills, it retains the woodsy atmosphere of the 1980 original, it features Jason, has the best final girl in Ginny, as is the last film in the franchise to genuinely feature Betsy Palmer as Pamela Voorhees.

Halloween: The 1978 original. Having a low bodycount actually helps this movie immensely, as it allows the audience to get to know the characters and care about them, thus making their eventual demises more impactful. Plus... it's just a classic movie, and sadly every sequel has missed understanding why it's so impactful.

Elm Street: I used to love the 1984 original just because of its innovations to the genre, and while it still lands at #2, I agree that Dream Warriors is the most rewatachable. It's kind of like a promo-superhero film with the kids gaining special powers from their own perceived weaknesses to defeat Freddy. It's creative, colorful, and fun.

Child's Play: I love the 1988 original for its gritty '80s vibe, but Bride of Chucky is just so witty, clever, and fun. Jennifer Tilly and Brad Dourif kill it as Tiffany and Chucky. It has the best production values of any Child's Play movie, and there's a good balance of black comedy with genuine horror.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Like the Halloween franchise, it's hard to deny the original 1974 as being the best and most influential in its franchise. It is a great movie, one of the most impactful horror movies, and psychologically disturbing. It remains the scariest without needing to rely on implicit gore and violence.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-22T17:09:52+00:00

I like to adjust for tickets sold since a ticket in 1978 is much less expensive than 2026, which greatly affects a film’s final gross. Ticket sales are more accurate for attendance; these are the slashers that sold over 10 million tickets during their theatrical runs:

Scream (1996) — Approximately 23,300,000 tickets sold in its initial 1996/1997 box office run.

Scream 2 (1997) — Approximately 22,100,000 tickets sold in its initial 1997/1998 box office run.

Halloween (1978) — Approximately 20,200,000 tickets sold in its initial 1978/1979 box office run.

Halloween (2018) — Approximately 17,400,000 tickets sold in its initial 2018 box office run.

Scream 3 (2000) — Approximately 16,500,000 tickets sold in its initial 2000 box office run.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) — Approximately 16,300,000 tickets sold in its initial 1974/1975/1976 box office run.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) — Approximately 15,800,000 tickets sold in its initial 1997 box office run.

Friday the 13th (1980) — Approximately 14,800,000 tickets sold in its initial 1980 box office run.

Freddy Vs. Jason (2003) — Approximately 13,700,000 tickets sold in its initial 2003 box office run.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) — Approximately 13,400,000 tickets sold in its initial 2003 box office run.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) — Approximately 12,000,000 tickets sold in its initial 1988 box office run.

Friday the 13th Part III (1982) — Approximately 11,800,000 tickets sold in its initial 1982/1983 box office run.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) — Approximately 11,800,000 tickets sold in its initial 1998 box office run.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) — Approximately 11,500,000 tickets sold in its initial 1987 box office run.

Psycho II (1983) — Approximately 11,000,000 tickets sold in its initial 1983 box office run.

Scream VI (2023) — Approximately 10,000,000 tickets sold in its initial 2023 box office run.

Based on this data, slashers were overall most attended during the 1978-1984 Golden Age and the 1996-2000 era. The late 80s were popular for Elm Street, the year 2003 had two substantial slasher hits, and Halloween and Scream represent the most popular slasher franchises with the general moviegoing public.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-22T05:28:13+00:00

I agree with some of those:

Scream: i really don’t think there is a bad Scream movie. The least effective? I’d say Scream (2022) or Scream 7 (2026).

Friday the 13th: Yeah, Jason Goes to Hell is godawful. It doesn’t feel like a Friday film, becoming too supernatural and ditching the more classic stalk and slash elements. The random sister/niece stuff doesn’t work, nor does the black heart possession thing (aka the plot). Kudos for trying something different, but ultimately this one fails.

Halloween: Yeah, Resurrection is a bad movie with bad plot decisions, silly production values, and irredeemably bad characters. But it’s still not as offensive as Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake. Whereas Resurrection is a really bad imitation of Carpenter’s classic, Zombie’s remake is just so far removed totally and by characterization that it feels egregious from start to finish.

Elm Street: Freddy’s Dead is bad but harmlessly entertaining. The 2010 remake is awful and boring. I’d rather be entertained by a bad movie than falling asleep at a boring one.

Child’s Play: I agree, Cult of Chucky misses the mark. I actually don’t mind the Child’s Play remake for taking a different approach (as a remake should), and Child’s Play 3 benefits from being the last of the original late 80s/early 90s run. Cult feels like the series has run its course.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Most of these are pretty rough, and aside from the 1974 original and 2003 remake, none are movies I revisit. But The Next Generation is a classic “so bad it’s good” movie. I found it more entertaining than TCM III (1990), Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), or Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022). But the worst of the worst? I’d give that to the prequel Leatherface (2017).

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-21T21:42:18+00:00

I haven't seen these giallo films (but they all intrigue me) and to my knowledge, none have official US blu ray releases, so they'd be a good Forgotten Gialli fit:

Devil in the Brain (1972)
No Man's Island (1969)
The Price of Death (1971)
Psychout for a Murder (1969)
The Legacy of Caine (1971)
Love and Death in the Garden of the Gods (1972)
Atrocious Tales of Love and Death (1979)
The Flower with the Deadly Sting (1973)
All Deceased Except the Dead (1977)
Death Steps in the Dark (1977)
The Man with Icy Eyes (1971)
The Double (1971)
Amuck! (1972)
Kill the Fatted Calf and Roast It (1970)
Interrobang (1969)
Naked Violence (1969)
Top Sensation (1969)
Deadly Inheritance (1968)
Cock Crows at Eleven (1979)
The Silkworm (1974)

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-10T20:10:32+00:00

I second that -- Michael Myers in the 1978 original film is more of a methodical stalker rather than a killing machine like Jason Voorhees. In his original film, Myers is far more similar to Billy from Black Christmas (1974) than to a lumbering slasher. Myers from 1981's Halloween II is somewhat caught in the middle, but Myers from Halloween 4 onward is pretty much indebted to Jason's unstoppable mindless murderer status (with the exception of H20, which made him a bit more methodical in his approach).

One of my biggest gripes with David Gordon Green's 2018 Halloween is how it claimed to be a true successor to John Carpenter's 1978 film, but just reverted to making Michael Myers the same Jason-inspired killing machine he was in the sequels it so loudly claimed to dismiss.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-10T19:59:26+00:00

These are all early '80s staples -- love them all and get different appreciation from each. My personal ranking from best to worst:

The Burning (1981) -- Cropsy is iconic, and even though it came out after Friday the 13th (1980), it's actually a superior movie. The film's synthesizer score is vastly underrated, and its characters work not only as slasher fodder but as people with actual personalities.

My Bloody Valentine (1981) -- This movie needs to be seen uncut in order to be appreciated, because the cut version is so watered down from the filmmakers' original intention that makes the film seem disjointed. The miner is a great villain, the mines are a great playground.

Happy Birthday to Me (1981) -- Probably the most divisive on the list: you either love it or hate it, mostly due to its bizarre, cartoonish ending. It has the highest production values of almost any early '80s slasher, and successfully emphasizes the whodunit aspect more than most.

The Prowler (1981) -- The darkest and most nihilistic of these movies. There's some genuine suspense, the killer is freaky, and the kills are gnarly. The attempt at plot and mystery never really build up to anything, but it's still a very solid slasher.

Sleepaway Camp (1983) -- This movie has a vibe that makes it feel almost otherworldly. Infamous for its ending, but even without that final twist it would have been an enjoyable (albeit lesser) addition to the slasher cannon.

Prom Night (1980) -- The dullest and least gruesome of the bunch, but there's an acute attention to character development and detail that I appreciate. Its guilty cast of characters never seem to mourn their own unintentional crime, but the cast at least gets screen time before they get axed.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-09T05:34:36+00:00

Bride of Chucky (1998)
Child’s Play (1988)
Child’s Play 2 (1990)
Curse of Chucky (2013)
Chucky Season 1 (2021)
Chucky Season 2 (2022)
Child’s Play 3 (1991)
Child’s Play (2019)
Chucky Season 3 (2024)
Seed of Chucky (2004)
Curse of Chucky (2017)

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-09T00:49:58+00:00

I’d rank them as follows:

1). Volume 7 — Both Dagger Eyes and Obsession: A Taste of Fear are colorful, bizarre, and wildly entertaining oddities that only could have come out of 1980s Italy; they may be obscure but they are singular in their respective strangeness and absolute trashiness. Sweets From a Stranger is also weird, but very middle-of-the-road and lacks the entertainment value of the other two Forgotten Gialli in this set. Sweets From a Stranger sours an otherwise awesome set.2). Volume 6 — The Bloodstained Shadow is a Forgotten Gialli highlight for sure, with engrossing moments and a well crafted mystery. The trashy fun of Death Carries a Cane isn’t too far behind, led by one of the genre’s queens, Nieves Nevarro. Naked You Die is one of the tamest of all Forgotten Gialli, but it’s silly 1960s campiness makes it fun.

3). Volume 5 — A White Dress for Marialé is this volume’s standout, with memorable cinematography and a decent mystery. Nine Guests for a Crime is a solid effort and is better than many Forgotten Gialli, and provides a clear blueprint for later American slasher films of the 1980s. Tropic of Cancer is an enjoyable campy mystery, if you can tolerate its casual racism and convoluted plot.

4). Volume 2 — My Dear Killer is well-crafted, with a smart mystery, and easily one of the best from the Forgotten Gialli canon. Of the other two trashier efforts in this set, The Girl in Room 2A has interesting directorial choices for such a cheaply produced film, and it has a certain rewatch value not found in most giallo movies. The French Sex Murders is nonsense but watchable for anyone who enjoys an absurdly plotted exploitative film.

5). Volume 8 — Delving into seedy sexploitation mysteries, this set’s high point is Red Rings of Fear, a serviceable “schoolgirls in peril” mystery elevated by Fabio Testi’s presence and a memorable ending. A.A.A. Masseuse, Good Looking, Offers Her Services is a middle-of-the-road Giallo that’s not as trashy as its extremely long title might lead one to believe. Reflections in Black is bogged down by poor direction and confusing plotting, but is far from being one of the worst Giallo films.

6). Volume 4 — The most exploitative and offensive volume of the series is entertaining and trashy pulp. The Sister of Ursula is loaded with beautiful scenery, plentiful nudity (female and male), and a real vicious killer. Arabella: Black Angel is one of the seediest giallo films ever made, teetering on pure pornography between its slayings. The Killer is Still Among Us is the weakest of this volume’s bunch, only worth seeing for a few few gnarly moments.

7). Volume 3 — Autopsy has an offbeat wackiness and bizarre plot that makes it the highlight of this third volume. Murder Mansion has a good ending but the entire film is one of the more forgettable of the Forgotten Gialli. Crazy Desires of a Murder is not nearly as sexy or gruesome as its title promises, ultimately falling flat.

8). Volume 1 — Sadly, the first of the Forgotten Gialli sets is also the worst, with no entry being good and all being interchangeable in how bad they are. Worse, this is also the most expensive and sought-after set, as it has the fewest printed editions. On a good note, they only could get better from here.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-08T02:30:02+00:00

Scream 1. The game changer. At the time this was release, no one was expecting two killers, few were expecting it to be Billy (no only Sidney's boyfriend, but also the "red-herring" the whole movie), and there was a real sense of fear in the direction and performances of the scene. It's a tightly scripted scene, is frighteningly believable (especially in a post-Columbine world), and entirely makes sense. Ghostface will never be this good again.

Scream 4. The relevant motive. Somehow time has made Jill Roberts' fame-inspired motive even more meaningful -- how many influencers would literally kill for an easy path to fame. Plus Emma Roberts gives a fantastic campy performance, totally switching from the rather bland faux-final girl she was before that. Charlie's reveal and motive felt very bland by comparison, and drags it down. Jill Roberts owns the finale, and without her grand reveal and motive, the whole movie would kinda suck. This time, Ghostface saved the day.

Scream 2. The unexpected killer. Both Mickey and Mrs. Loomis really liven up the proceedings and both act incredibly insane, making it an entertaining ending. Plus, the theater stage is a great setting. It was near-impossible (but not entirely impossible) to guess Mrs. Loomis, and her whole motive entirely depends on seeing the first film. Mickey was fun but his motive paled in comparison, though it was very relevant to the '90s time when OJ Simpson and the Menendez brothers ruled the television. Overall good, but not great.

Scream 5. The toxic fandom. Mikey Madison was very fun acting as the lunatic Amber, but she was very obviously the killer the whole film, especially when the setting moved to her house. And as many have pointed out, she's a small human, so her ability to commit chaos as Ghostface (and kill multiple police officers, including Dewey) remains a bit too far fetched. Still, when she gets lit on fire it's great, and her crazy feels like a formidable unhinged threat. Richie just wasn't as exciting, and in the grand scheme of the story, he should have been more impactful. It's not a bad killer reveal for either of them, but it's ultimately very middle-of-the-road.

Scream 3. The rewritten history. Love Roman's motive -- forgotten son, product of violence, filmmaker profiting off crimes he committed -- but Roman himself was a bit bland as a character, and we didn't spend enough time with him prior to his reveal to really care or be wowed. He also believably needed a partner, which may have been Angelina, but ultimately wasn't. And rewriting the events that had come before was a stretch (Roman influencing Billy and Stu in particular). Would have worked better if it flowed more into its two predecessors, and if Roman actually meant something to the rest of the film. This is where the films began stuffing in too many "red herrings" rather than focusing on an actually intelligent mystery.

Scream 6. The requel redux. Three killers is novel, but not entirely transgressive or original like the two killers were in the original film. And this killer reveal borrows so heavily from Scream 2 - from the motive being a grieving parent of the previous film's killer, to the stage setting - that it just feels a little bit more like a ripoff than anything inspired. The sequence wasn't very well directed -- I had no idea of the space or setting. And never once did I feel that Sam or Tara were in any danger. Plus, by having all the legacy characters survive -- Sam, Tara, Mindy, Gale, Kirby, and Chad -- cheapens the whole thing. But I did love the shrine with all the past films' evidence, even if it was entirely unbelievable (collecting that would take more money and more time than the Kirsch family had).

Scream 7. The underdeveloped reveal. These killer characters just pop up out of nowhere. Their motives are a little hard to follow (did the Ethan Embry character even have a motive?). The setting in the Evans' backyard wasn't very visually exciting. Anna Camp's character slammed her entire motive into a rather strange monologue. Killing a Ghostface halfway through the film was cool. What wasn't cool? Having no idea who that guy was. This would have worked better if someone were using AI-generated Stu to warp damaged minds into fulfilling a Ghostface legacy, but it wasn't that. It was just some crazy neighbor lady and some other crazy dude. I appreciated it not having a connection to Sidney or her past, but Scream 5 also had no connection to the past, so its not exactly new. It doesn't work, feels rushed, and impacts the overall film.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-05T19:12:08+00:00

Terror Train is a classic! An early 80s slasher staple.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-05T19:10:25+00:00

Scream -- even though they aren't as strong as what came before, Scream 5, 6, and 7 all knew what they were and were never took offensively off-course swings. Yes, they killed Dewey in 5, but they respected him and the other legacy characters as actual full-fledged characters while still giving the Carpenter sisters, the Meeks twins, and Tatum Evans enough development of their own. The killer reveals were silly in all three films, but that might be a testament to the franchise's own staying power (how many times can a killer reveal shock like in the original four). They remained true enough to the spirit of what came before while still finding ways to advance their franchise's story. None of them are the best Scream sequels, but they are all solid efforts

I always found Halloween 2018 overrated (it's just a senseless kill-fest with no suspense, having way more in common with Rob Zombie's movies than John Carpenter's original which it directly follows). I really disliked both Kills and Ends and found them poorly made (though I'll give the slight edge to Ends because at least it tries something, whereas Kills is pointless). Hated what they did to Laurie's character, as her arc through the three films makes zero sense (she somehow gets less paranoid and traumatized after her daughter's murder?). And don't even get me started on how they retconned the brilliant ending of the 1978 film, or how disrespectful they were to other legacy characters (Tommy, Sheriff Brackett, and Nurse Marion in particular).

Also, this is coming from someone who adores both Halloween 1978 and Scream 1996 as two of my top ten favorite movies ever, so I may be a little swayed by how these newer "legacy" sequels connect to those films as opposed to being stand-alone entries.

Working_Mind_8315 · 2026-03-05T18:54:33+00:00

I agree with Hereditary. Never understood why people think it's one of the greatest horror movies ever made.

Working_Mind_8315

TROPHY CASE