#the amityville horror franchise

[horrorfixxx]

The Amityville Horror (1979)

[ladamarossa]

The Amityville Curse (1990)

[hellboyslady]

Wearing my Amityville Horror glow-In-The-Dark shirt. Got it a frew months ago and I just got it washed and decided to wear it, what do you all think?

I baught it off here, (Sadly their all Sold out now!) now the Glow In The Dark The Amityville Horror T-Shirt located here: LINK

Hope you all like the photos and the amazing shirt. Stay tune for more stuff to be posted to my page.

~Elita One (Hellboy’s Lady)

[poweringthroughthis]

birthday cake | lee sangyeon

nsfw, mature content, minors DNI!

ship: lee sangyeon x male reader

desc: (name) isn't a big fan of his birthdays, so his friends decide to cheer him up with a particularly handsome gift this year.

Birthdays are no easy feat for (name). Between corporate slavery, a horrendous economy and a dead love life, there really isn't much to celebrate. Well, maybe except for his friends. With New constantly reprimanding him for his bad decisions, Changmin being the sweetest guy ever, Juyeon raising his standards in men and Kevin teaching him all the naughty things of the world, (name) appreciated those little troublemakers deeply.

So, despite not being the biggest self-lover on birthdays, the male did expect his friends would, at the very least, come over to his place, watch horror movies and build pillow forts as they bitch about anyone and everyone. Being far away from family made (name) cherish the boys' efforts all the more.

However, with no one even replying to his texts, let alone showing up at his apartment, he was more than a bit confused. The male was just about to call New and demand the reason behind their sudden silence when the doorbell rang.

(name) was more than relieved to hear the chime and was quick to open the door, not wanting the person to ring it again. The man's mouth opened, a bright smile already on his lips but before any words could leave him, a cake was shoved into his face and his vision was obstructed by the sugary mess.

The male was still blinking in surprise when the candles were blown off and someone clapped happily, a voice exclaiming, "Happy birthday!"

(name) finally managed to pry the cake away from his eyes, looking at the group of four that stood before him. They were all holding gifts and smiling widely at him.

"You're here," he mumbled, not even bothering to hide the happiness in his voice.

"Of course," Kevin exclaimed, stepping inside the house and taking off his shoes. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"I'm surprised you guys are here, to be honest," the birthday boy mumbled, still wiping the icing from his eyes and nose.

"And why is that?" Changmin asked.

"You weren't answering your phones."

"Oh, those..." Juyeon mumbled, looking at the other three for a brief second before continuing. "We left them in the car. You know how the signal sucks here."

(name) nodded. He didn't believe a word of it. "And who brought the cake?"

"Me," the black-haired male replied. "You said you loved that cheesecake so I decided to surprise you."

"Thank you, Chanhee." (name) smiled.

"No problem, dude. Now let's go and open your gifts!"

"Yes, please. I have a present too and I've been dying to give it to you!" Juyeon added excitedly, pushing past his friends and into the house.

The others followed him, leaving their shoes at the door.

(name) was feeling like the happiest person alive. His friends came to visit, brought him gifts and baked a cake for him. They didn't have to, but they did it anyway.

Chanhee noticed (name) and gave him a small smile. "It was a pretty last minute decision. Sorry, we couldn't do better."

"I think this is already amazing," the male replied, mirroring the other's smile.

"Hey! Stop flirting and get your asses in here," Juyeon called out.

Chanhee rolled his eyes. "We should go and stop him before he does something stupid."

The younger one nodded, following his friend into the living room.

They did all that (name) had envisioned. Watching horror movies(The Amityville franchise this year), eating the cake Chanhee baked and talking smack. Like clockwork. The smile didn't leave (name)'s face the entire night. A few drinks in and the guys were still sober, but way more relaxed.

"Guys, I have to say something." (name) began, the boys turning around to look at him with fond smiles on their faces.

"Thank you. Thank you for doing this every year. And on days when it's not even my birthday. Life is a lot less shittier because I have you all."

Perhaps it was the soju talking, but (name) felt like he needed to make it known how grateful he was for his boys.

"Aww you cutie, c'mere.." Kevin cooed at the male, making kissy faces as he tackled him into a hug, the birthday boy yelling for him to get away.

"Ewww cringe!" Chanhee fake-gagged as he made a disgusted expression.

"Shut up, Chanhee. We know you're the biggest crybaby deep down" Changmin shushed him.

"I think it's time to give you your gift," Juyeon whispered into (name)'s ear, his hot breath sending shivers down (name)'s spine.

"O-okay."

Juyeon smiled, standing up and walking towards the door, leaving (name) confused. Why didn't Juyeon bring the gift inside with him initially? He glanced over at the others who were looking into space, avoiding his gaze. Alert number 1.

"I swear to god y'all if this is something stupid like last ti-"

"Hello."

(name) stopped dead in his tracks as a deep, matured voice interrupted him. He turned around to see: Lee Sangyeon. His very attractive, very charming and very well-spoken neighbor, though (name) had barely exchanged anything past normal greetings with the man.

"So, remember how we were late? We were hastily searching for a good gift shop as the old one recently closed, and ran into this guy who was kind enough to help us navigate to a new one. Guess who it was?" Juyeon explained the last bit in a sing-song voice. "Exactly! Sangyeon hyung."

"And when we left for the same way, we talked a little more and realized he's your neighbor! What a small world." Changmin added.

Hyung? Damn Juyeon and his extroverted nature. And yes, Changmin, (name) is well aware of his hot neighbor. Thank yew. He's been purposely treading carefully around him in order to NOT make a fool of himself, which you've kinda defeated the whole point of?!

"Happy birthday! I hope you don't mind me. I was free and your friends insisted I join." Sangyeon offered a charming grin.

"Thank you. And ,N-no, no, not at all! I don't mind. Please, feel free to join anytime you'd like. I mean-" (name) rambled.

"Oh boy. I knew he was gonna shit himself" New sighed.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. It's kinda cute. YOU'RE kinda cute." Sangyeon chuckled, and if the sound of it didn't send an electric jolt down (name)'s spine.

"So are we done yet or..?" Kevin yawned, leaning onto the couch. Everyone scurried off back to their places in the living room, continuing the movie they'd paused to drink. For a while, the boys made small talk with Sangyeon, (name) getting to know the man better. As time passed, they all became increasingly sleepy, but (name) and Sangyeon hardly ceased talking to each other, now cuddled up with each other. They clicked rather well.

"So, I think there's one last gift left. For both of you." Chanhee smirked.

"I agree," Sangyeon whispered.

Before (name) could blink, he was pulled into a warm embrace and his lips met Sangyeon's. It was gentle, yet firm, and (name) felt like he could die and be satisfied. The latter tasted of sweet wine, and the older's scent filled his senses as he pulled him closer, a soft sigh escaping him. Sangyeon's lips were soft and warm, and his tongue moved confidently against his own, making (name)'s toes curl.

As Sangyeon pulled back, a smile appeared on his face. (name) had been crushing over him for 2 weeks now. So is it safe to assume his feelings are somewhat reciprocated?

"How was that?" Sangyeon asked, his fingers stroking (name)'s hair.

"Amazing.." the latter breathed.

"I'm glad." The elder smiled, a soft chuckle escaping him. "Well, I hope you had a good birthday."

"Yes, and I have you to thank for it."

"Then perhaps we should do this again?"

"Definitely."

And (name) was sure his heart was about to burst with joy.

"Ahem."

New's voice caught their attention.

"Sorry for the interruption but it's getting late and we should leave," he announced, gesturing at the other 3 who were already gathering their belongings.

"Alright. You guys have fun and behave yourselves." Kevin grinned, bidding them a goodbye.

(name)'s eyes widened. "Yeah, bye Kevin!" he offered a tight-lipped smile, mouthing "I.will.Kill.You", knowing fully well it must have been the Canadian's idea to pull this stunt. "You needed this babe" Kevin whispered in the other's ear. "Thank me later", he left after blowing (name) a kiss, Chanhee and Changmin dragging him.

"Sangyeon, we hope we can see you around soon." Juyeon said.

"Definitely."

The birthday boy's eyes met with Sangyeon's, and (name) didn't miss the way the man's pupils dilated. He wasn't alone in his feelings.

"Happy birthday, again." The eldest of the 4 leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on (name)'s cheek, the gesture sending warmth throughout his body.

The moment the 4 left, (name) plopped onto the couch, still dazed from what had transpired.

"They really thought of everything."

"It seems so."

"Are you happy?"

"Yes, very."

"Good, that's what matters."

"Can I...can I kiss you again?"

"Of course."

Sangyeon cupped his cheeks, bringing their lips together. It was gentle and slow, yet there was a hint of hunger behind it.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time," Sangyeon admitted, his thumb brushing over (name)'s bottom lip.

"So have I."

"That's good to know."

The eldest captured (name)'s lips again, this time with more urgency. He sucked on his bottom lip, drawing a low moan from him. The sound spurred Sangyeon on, and his tongue slipped into the younger's mouth, eliciting another moan.

"I'm not quite finished yet. There are many other things I'd like to do to you."

"Such as?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

The next thing (name) knew, he was being lifted up, the male's legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. Sangyeon carried him to his room, and the two fell onto the bed in a heap of tangled limbs. Their lips met again, the kiss becoming more passionate and urgent.

"Do you want me to keep going?" Sangyeon whispered against his lips, his fingers brushing the younger's cheek.

"Yes, please," (name) whined.

The older one wasted no time and started undressing the male beneath him. After he had stripped him down, the two kissed some more, their hands roaming each other's bodies.

"I'm going to make you feel good," Sangyeon breathed against his ear, his fingers trailing down his abdomen, causing him to shiver.

(name)'s eyes widened as the elder stood up and stripped down his lower half, his thick member on full display. The birthday boy swallowed nervously, his cock throbbing at the sight.

"You're already so hard." (name) breathed.

The latter was about to apologize, but his words were caught in his throat when he felt a wet heat envelope his length. He couldn't hold back a moan as he threw his head back.

(name) continued to suck on his length, eliciting a chorus of moans from the elder.

After a few minutes, Sangyeon hurriedly pulled (name)'s mouth away, biting his lips to stop himself from cumming.

"Mmh, I think you're ready," Sangyeon mumbled, and (name) let go of his member, wiping his mouth with his hand.

He reached the hem of the birthday boy's underwear, tugging it down. The cool air of the room caused the latter's member to twitch, and Sangyeon smiled. He laid (name) down face first on the bed, spread out. Kneeling between the younger's legs, he leaned down and spread his ass cheeks apart using his hands, licking his lips at the sight of the male's pink, puckered hole.

(name) gasped as he felt the wet heat of the elder's tongue circling his entrance. He gripped the sheets tightly as he felt the sensation of being stretched.

The younger male could only moan in response, the feeling of being penetrated by the elder's tongue was intoxicating. He could feel his orgasm approaching, and he arched his back, pressing his hips against Sangyeon's face.

"It's your birthday, but i'm the one eating the cake," the elder chuckled, and (name) whimpered, feeling the latter's tongue slide in deeper.

"Oh fuck," he moaned, his eyes rolling back in pleasure.

Sangyeon continued to fuck (name) with his tongue, and the younger male couldn't help but cry out in pleasure.

"I-I'm gonna cum," (name) whined.

"Go ahead, baby," the elder encouraged, and the younger male could only gasp and shudder as his orgasm ripped through him.

Sangyeon sat up and grabbed the bottle of lube on the bedside table. He squirted a generous amount onto his palm and spread it over his length.

"Ready, baby?"

"Yes, please," (name) nodded, spreading his legs wider.

Sangyeon lined himself up with the younger's entrance and pushed inside, eliciting a loud moan from the younger.

"F-fuck, you're so tight," the elder moaned, his eyes fluttering shut.

"Feels so good," (name) panted.

The elder started to thrust in and out of the younger male, and the latter could only moan in response.

"You feel so good around me," Sangyeon moaned, and (name) could only whine in response, his eyes rolling back in pleasure.

The older one leaned over, capturing his lips in a heated kiss.

The elder started thrusting faster, the sound of their skin slapping filling the room.

"Fuck, I'm close," the elder moaned, his eyes screwed shut.

"M-me too," (name) gasped.

Sangyeon gripped the younger's hips tighter and increased his pace, causing the latter to moan loudly.

"Fuck, I'm cumming," the elder growled, and he spilled inside the birthday boy.

"Holy shit," (name) breathed, his orgasm rippling through him.

The elder pulled out, the latter's cum coating the tip of his cock.

"Happy birthday to you," Sangyeon breathed, leaning down to kiss the birthday boy.

(name) sighed contently. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Making my birthday special."

"I'll make every birthday special, if you'll let me," the elder smiled, and the two kissed once more.

When the 4 were far away, New's voice broke the silence.

"Hey Juyeon.."

"Yes?"

"Do you think he'll actually thank us for setting him up with his crush?"

"Probably not.." Juyeon answered.

"Should we start running?"

"Yup."

"We're doomed."

"Well, it was worth it."

"Definitely."

"Happy Birthday, (name)." Kevin yelled into the night, wishing nothing but happiness for their friend, as the 4 walked home.

[lizardsfromspace]

Cinema's most incoherent franchise death fight:

Amityville (hundreds of unrelated horror movies based on it not being possible to copyright the name of a town) versus National Lampoon (a dead comedy magazine continuing to lend its name to random frat comedies) versus La Casa (the Italian Evil Dead franchise which includes Evil Dead, multiple Italian horror films, and the House [1986] sequels but not House [1986] or Army of Darkness)

[breelandwalker]

My previous place of work watched the entire Conjuring universe during night shift as of summer 2022. I was deeply annoyed with the Warrens when I found out the truth of their behavior.

I'm with you there. The Conjuring films, as horror movies, are WONDERFUL films and I enjoy them quite a bit. Props to James Wan and crew for all their hard work and creativity. But the second I remember that the Warrens were real people who took public and financial advantage of the Perrons for their own aggrandizement, I want to chew the leg off a table.

Also it puckers several of my orifices when grifters and con artists with a religious bent get to have a pop culture stage because Whatever Church-Related Group sees such projects as free advertising and will happily throw money at anything that tells the viewing public that ghosts and demons are Out To Get Them at every possible opportunity and that the only possible solution is An Intercessory Christian Ritual.

See: The Conjuring movies, The Amityville movies, the recent spate of big-budget exorcism-related movies, and any ghost-oriented show that mentions the Warrens or their lore, including but not limited to A Haunting (which is literally bankrolled by the Catholic Church), the Ghost Adventures franchise, Paranormal State, A Ghost Ruined My Life, etc.

So yeah, fuck the Warrens, and fuck all the other evangelical opportunists that carry on this gross tradition of scaring people through church doors and profiting from it.

That being said, let's enjoy our creepy movies for what they are but also educate ourselves about the allegedly-true stories behind those Based On True Events claims.

[mediamixs]

The 10 horror franchises with the most movies

 Horror movies are typically cheap to produce, yet they yield high rewards. Sequels to popular horror movies are often made because they are profitable.  Sequels to horror movies can be a challenge to filmmakers to come up with new and creative ways to scare audiences. Comedic horror sequels inspired by 80s slashers proved that the two genres could co-exist simultaneously and successfully.

Here are the horror franchises with the most movies:

Dracula: 23 films (1931-2023)

Puppet Master: 15 films (1989-2022)

Halloween: 13 films

Amityville: over 20 films, but not connected as a singular franchise

Friday the 13th: 12 films (1980-2009)

Saw: 9 films

A Nightmare on Elm Street: 9 films

Hellraiser: 10 films

Children of the Corn: 10 films

Leprechaun: 8 films

It's worth noting that different sources may have slightly different rankings and numbers, but these are some of the most commonly cited horror franchises with the most movies.

[inmyjaws]

stoppppp using the saw franchise as your token example for cynical money grubbing torture porn with no themes or character depth amidst the decline of horror quality in the 2000s im begging you there’s literally 27 amityville movies and the final destination sequels right there!! leave saw alone!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ceasarslegion]

Im a huge horror movie buff and i think that genre is a perfect example of how, in this weird pursuit to make cinema appeal to everybody of every human experience and walk of life, it often just ends up appealing to nobody.

Like, okay, let me be more specific. Let's use The Conjuring franchise.

I LOVE the first Conjuring film. It's a fantastic supernatural horror film. Has a really cool premise, harkens back to the old Amityville Horror classic but with more modern filmmaking tech and capabilities, and it knows how to do a "true story" (insofar as you believe in demons or the word of the Warrens) horror film. It's creepy, it's unsettling, it builds and builds and knows just when to release the tension to give you a big thrill without relying entirely on jumpscares. And it was loved by audiences and critics alike, and for good reason.

But that doesn't mean that making it a franchise was a good idea. You gotta remember that horror films getting positive critical attention wasn't much of a thing outside of horror circles until very VERY recently. Horror has always been a bit of a pariah among other genre films. It's an acquired taste that most people can't acquire. You can rely on a steady and consistent audience when you decide to become a horror filmmaker, but you just can't rely on that audience to grow.

And you definitely shouldn't try to pull outsiders in by force. Outside of the first one, I've seen The Conjuring 2 and The Nun. Both are... underwhelming, at best. At worst, I wouldn't even call them horror anymore. The creepiness is gone, it's no longer vaguely unsettling, it's all jumpscares, the payoffs are in these big action sequences instead of a thrill meant to instill fear. They feel more like action movies, and not even very good ones. It's like they're trying to ride on their initial success by appealing to audiences they just don't have, and have lost the foundational horror audience in the process.

And the thing is, I feel like it could've been good. The concept of an anthology series based on the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren could've been a really cool horror franchise, if they actually stuck to their target audience instead of trying to pull in the fringes. In the case of The Conjuring, I think that was just profit motivated, but the point still stands when youre talking about any form of representation, I feel.

How many times do you hear, especially on the internet, that x media was bad or even "problematic" because they don't appeal to a hugely sweeping demographic of everybody on earth and every human experience? "I think as an adult that this pixar movie for children is the death of art." "I think as a white person that blackwashing exists." "I think this underground arthouse film was snuffed at the academy awards." "I think not having every type of minority on screen is inherently bigoted." Okay! But sometimes movies arent made for you! If you feel like there isnt enough attention paid to your experiences, thats one thing. Thats an issue of your target audience not being considered in the industry, but its not an issue of other target audiences having movies for them. We can have both, one existing doesnt negate or take away from yours, youre fighting the wrong crusade here.

And honestly, I can tell you as a horror fan that saw The Conjuring rise and fall as a series that you really DONT want widely sweeping hypergeneralized art that appeals to everybody. I don't give a shit about that Annabelle doll that gets good SEO with its urban legends, can I please just have a good horror movie made for horror audiences again instead of all the thrills being sanded down and sanitized for action audience ticket sales?

[frankendykes-monster]

This week marks the 20th anniversary of Marcus Nispel’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a remake of Tobe Hooper’s iconic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Nispel’s gory and grungy slasher is hardly a great piece of cinema, but it is a surprisingly important one. Texas Chainsaw Massacre altered the course of mainstream populist horror cinema, at least for a couple of years, by ushering in an era of horror remakes. Pop culture is inevitably guided by larger trends. This is particularly true of horror cinema, where the tendency to make movies cheaply and quickly allows studios to chase popular fads. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre arrived at the end of one such fad. The renaissance in teen slasher movies sparked by the release of Scream in December 1996 was already dying down, giving way to diminishing returns like Scream 3 and Urban Legend: Final Cut along with spoofs like Scary Movie.

That late ’90s slasher fad was self-evidently nostalgic. In Scream, film nerd Randy (Jamie Kennedy) pauses a pivotal scene from John Carpenter’s Halloween to explain the rules of the slasher movie. Scream writer Kevin Williamson would go on to work on the slasher sequel Halloween H20, which would include a sequence of its characters watching Scream 2. However, there was a layer of irony and self-awareness to this nostalgia. These movies referenced classics, but stood apart from them. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre removes that layer of self-reflexive irony. It doesn’t just pay homage to one of the classics of American horror, it straight up remakes it. It reboots the franchise and starts over, as if offering a young moviegoing audience a chance to witness their version of the beloved horror movie. The gambit worked. The movie grossed $29.1 million in its opening weekend. “To say that it exceeded [our] expectations is an understatement,” conceded David Tuckerman of New Line Cinema.

Nispel’s remake had a profound impact on both the franchise and the larger industry. While many other major classic horror franchises, like Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th, tended to slow down as they entered the new millennium, Texas Chainsaw Massacre roared to life. The franchise has released more entries in the past twenty years than it did in the previous thirty, including the reboot, a prequel to the reboot, two sequels to the original, and a separate prequel to the original. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre made an even bigger impression on the horror genre as a whole. For the next seven years or so, theaters were flooded with remakes of 1970s and 1980s horror classics: Dawn of the Dead, The Amityville Horror, House of Wax, The Fog, Assault on Precinct 13, Black Christmas, The Hills Have Eyes, The Omen, When a Stranger Calls, The Wicker Man, The Hitcher, Prom Night, Friday the 13th, Sorority Row, The Stepfather, My Bloody Valentine, and many more.

Of course, trends do not exist in isolation. These remakes overlapped with a similar push to adapt Japanese horrors like Ring and The Grudge for American audiences. More interestingly, they seemed to unfold in parallel with the “torture porn” fad, which really kicked into gear with the release of Saw in October 2004 and Hostel in January 2006. Both trends seemed to be displaced by the embrace of “found footage,” and many of these remakes were notably gorier than the originals. It’s worth revisiting this trend in general and Nispel’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre in particular. There is a tendency to overlook the horror genre in discussions of popular cinema. This is most obvious when it comes to awards recognition, but also applies to general discussions of the artform. There’s also an understandable impulse to dismiss these sorts of remakes as inherently unworthy of discussion or scrutiny. Five years ago, Keith Phipps noted that these remakes were largely forgotten.

One of the more interesting – and frustrating – aspects of Nispel’s remake is the fact that it is a horror movie that exists in the context of decades of slasher movies. Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre may not have been the first slasher movie, but it was released before Halloween codified the conventions of the genre. Even watched today, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a delightfully and unsettlingly odd experience. It can seem uncanny to a viewer versed in the films that followed. Hooper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre begins with a sense of a world that is unraveling, reflecting the chaos of the early 1970s. It begins with a news broadcast about the handing down of an indictment, an invocation of Watergate. Sally (Marilyn Burns) and Franklin Hardesty (Paul A. Partain) are traveling with their friends to visit their grandfather’s grave, following a series of desecrations in the region. There’s an apocalyptic vibe to all this, recalling George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.

In contrast, Nispel’s remake is much more conventional in its framing. It is set in 1973, but there is no real sense that the larger world is collapsing. None of that apocalyptic dread hangs in the air. These teenage leads are not investigating a case of potential grave robbery. Instead, they are driving to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert after purchasing drugs in Mexico. This is a standard start to a slasher like this. The teenagers transgressed, so will be punished. They broke the rules, so must die. In contrast to the irony that defined the meta-slashers of the previous few years, this is all played remarkably straight. The movie’s final girl, Erin (Jessica Biel), is entirely innocent. She is shocked to discover that her friends used the trip to Mexico as an excuse to buy marijuana. Her friend Kemper (Eric Balfour) jokes that she didn’t even drink the tequila down there. As such, Erin’s survival feels like it plays the socially conservative tropes of the slasher movie remarkably straight.

To give the movie some credit, it is at least somewhat equal opportunity in terms of the violence it inflicts on its teenage victims. In Hooper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the male characters tended to die quickly while the female characters suffered longer. Nispel’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre reverses that dynamic somewhat. Pepper (Erica Leerhsen) dies abruptly in the distance, while Andy (Mike Vogel) hangs from a meat hook in place of Pam (Teri McMinn) in the original. That said, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is hardly a reconstructed slasher movie. Nispel’s camera lingers on Jessica Biel, particularly her exposed midriff. It seems to luxuriate in shots of her running and panting. It’s an approach that feels very similar to how Michael Bay’s camera would treat Megan Fox during the Transformers films a few years later. Biel may not be hanging on a hook, but there are certainly times when Texas Chainsaw Massacre treats the actor as a piece of meat.

There is a sense that the remake is revisiting the original through the lens of the decades of slasher movies that followed, smoothing down the rougher edges of the original film to make it more easily fit within an established template. This is true of most of the uninspired remakes that followed, which would take messy and clumsy original films that were figuring out what these horror movies looked like in real time, and apply a “one-size-fits-all” structure to them. These movies could be grungy and grimy. They could feature graphic gore. However, these remakes also tended to be products of a more ruthlessly efficient studio system than the films that inspired them. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre sets early scenes to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama, a song that the original could never have afforded to include. Biel and Balfour may not have been movie stars, but they are more established than any actors in the original. There is a polish to these remakes that exists at odds with the power of the original.

Notably, there is no sense of mystery or ambiguity to Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film offers the iconic horror villain a backstory involving horrific skin disease and even a name: Thomas Hewitt. Hooper’s original film was so scary because it suggested that this violence couldn’t be explained or rationalized. It had the logic of a nightmare. It’s very hard to replicate that sense of existential dread when so much of the appeal of a remake is the familiarity. Then again, perhaps this makes a certain amount of sense in context. As with the “torture porn” trend, these horror remakes were largely a product of the Bush era. They existed in the context of the War on Terror. This may explain why they were so much more graphic than the original, and why they tended to fixate upon torture and brutality. The War on Terror was defined by a desire to understand the horrors lurking out in the darkness, to understand, “Why do they hate us?”

Released a little more than two years after 9/11, Nispel’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre is rooted in that moment. The biggest alteration to the original narrative is the introduction of R. Lee Ermey as Sheriff Hoyt, a sadistic local law enforcement official who feels more at home in Deliverance rather than The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Hoyt is a product of the Bush era. A former governor of Texas, Bush was likened to a western sheriff when he boasted about posting “Wanted” signs in the wake of the attacks. Hoyt physically and psychologically brutalizes these teenagers. He forces Morgan (Jonathan Tucker) to reenact a suicide that the characters witnessed, pushing Morgan to place what he believes to be a loaded gun in his mouth. When Morgan resists, Hoyt handcuffs him and loads him into the back of his police car. He takes Morgan away, but not to experience due process. On the drive, he smashes a nearly empty bottle of liquor in Morgan’s face. It seems likely that Morgan is just going to disappear.

This is perhaps the most unsettling sequence in the film. It resonates with contemporary anxieties over the “enhanced interrogations” and “extraordinary renditions” that defined the War on Terror. Of course, Hoyt doesn’t have any authority to do what he is doing. In perhaps the film’s sharpest jab at the Bush administration, it is eventually revealed that Hoyt isn’t even really the local sheriff. None of this is as overt as the cultural context of Hooper’s original, but these are films of their moment. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is ultimately an underwhelming, generic, and gory imitation of a much richer film. It takes one of the most transgressive horror films of its era, and reduces it down to a standard slasher template. In doing so, it provided a sustainable model for mainstream horror over the next few years, an assembly line that could reliably churn out low-budget and low-effort films to solid box office returns.

In its own weird and grotesque way, Nispel’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre turned mainstream horror into a charnel house. It pushed away from the knowing detachment of the self-aware slashers, and embraced a more direct mode of recycling. It carved up the corpses of classic horror movies to be repackaged as subprime cuts.

[cor-ardens-archive]

the amityville film franchise has titles like the fast and the furious:

The Amityville Horror

Amityville II: The Possession

Amityville 3-D

Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes

The Amityville Curse

Amityville: It's About Time

Amityville: A New Generation

Amityville Dollhouse

[back2themax]

Same rule as my early 80s horror in not having the ‘typical’ big name franchises that always sweep (I know half of you are lying when you pick them I just know-)

[cyarsk5230]

These events will inspire the amityville horror movie franchise

[anhed-nia]

It is my duty to inform you that the new edition of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, to which I contributed a commentary track along with my colleague/boss/executive director of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies Josh Saco. I've been working on Amityville for a few years now, since the day I woke up thinking--wait a minute, WHY do people believe that the so-called Amityville Horror is a true story? What does the lore contain, that has allowed it to hang on in our collective consciousness for so long, and that generated a 30+ movie franchise that shows no signs of stopping? I can't say I have all the answers, but I drop as many clues as I've managed to find in this recording. It's funny to me that they used the commentary and intro by "Dr." Hans Holzer, the parapsychologist who I call out directly in my commentary as a low rent exploitation artist--the views I express are only those of um myself and do not reflect the views of 88 Films, 20th Century Fox, MGM, and whoever else is in the rights chain of command! Ahem. I'm too scared to listen to my own recording probably ever, I don't wanna hear how nervous and frantic I probably sound, but I hope you guys can enjoy it!

As you were.

[lambychop]

It’s that time of year again besties!! In the spirit of the season, I present to you:

Athina’s Horror Masterlist

Slashers

The Halloween Franchise

The Friday the 13th Franchise

The Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise

The Scream Franchise

The Child’s Play Franchise

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Franchise

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

The Burning

Alice, Sweet Alice

The Town That Dreaded Sundown

Slumber Party Massacre

Sleepaway Camp

You’re Next

Black Christmas

Prom Night

Happy Death Day

Maniac

Hatchet

Pieces

The Prowler

The Candyman Franchise

The Hellraiser Franchise

Psycho

Tourist Trap

When a Stranger Calls

Terror Train

The Last House on the Left

The Hills Have Eyes

The Stepfather (1987)

The House on Sorority Row

I Know What You Did Last Summer Franchise

Urban Legends

American Psycho

Rob Zombie’s Firefly Series

The Strangers

The Purge Franchise

Don’t Breathe

The Wrong Turn Franchise

There’s Someone Inside Your House

X

Haunt

Hell Fest

Terrified

Trick

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

31

Fear Street Series

Creature Features

A Quite Place I and II

The Thing

Underwater

The Descent

The Alien Franchise

The Predator Franchise

Jaws

47 Meters Down

Shark Night

Black Water

Rogue

Alligator

Anaconda

The Fly

C.H.U.D.

The Tremors Franchise

The Ruins

Castle Freak

Basket Case

Supernatural

The Conjuring Franchise

The Insidious Franchise

The Amityville Horror

The Poltergeist Franchise

Sinister

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Lights Out

The Exorcist

The Grudge

The Ring

The Evil Dead Series

The Night House

The Woman in Black

It Follows

Susperia

The Babadook

Hereditary

The Witch

The Changeling

1408

Dead Silence

It (Chapters 1 & 2)

The Shining

Doctor Sleep

Oculus

Crimson Peak

The Orphanage

The Empty Man

Thirteen Ghosts

Rosemary’s Baby

Carrie

The Skeleton Key

The Omen

Devil

Mama

The Rite

Sleepy Hollow

The Ritual

Pet Sematary

The Endless

The Dark and the Wicked

The Void

The Wretched

Eli

In the Tall Grass

Werewolves

An American Werewolf in London

The Howling

Howl

Ginger Snaps

The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Bad Moon

Wer

Dog Soldiers

Silver Bullet

The Cursed

Vampires

The Lost Boys

Fright Night

Salem’s Lot

30 Days of Night

Nosferatu

From Dusk Till Dawn

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Bran Stoker’s Dracula

I Am Legend

Zombies

Night of the Living Dead

Dawn of the Dead

Day of the Dead

Train to Busan

28 Days Later & 28 Weeks Later

Pontypool

Blood Quantum

Re-Animator

World War Z

Found Footage

Paranormal Activity Franchise

Grave Encounters

V/H/S Franchise

Host

As Above So Below

Hell House, LLC. Franchise

Creep

Spree

Dashcam

Gonjiam Haunted Asylum

Unfriended and Unfriended: Dark Web

The Blair With Project

The Taking of Deborah Logan

Devil’s Pass

Savageland

Apollo 18

The Mirror

Troll Hunter

Lake Mungo

REC / Quarantine

The Bay

The Conspiracy

Cloverfield

Cannibal Holocaust

The Last Exorcism

The Final Prayer (aka Borderlands)

The Tunnel

Willow Creek

The Visit

Ratter

Butterfly Kisses

The Poughkeepsie Tapes

The Den

The Gallows

Psychological

Watcher

1 BR

What Keeps You Alive

Triangle

The Invitation

Super Dark Times

Men

The Rental

Last Night In Soho

Possessor

The Lodge

Midsommar

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Us

The Invisible Man

The Girl on the Third Floor

It Comes At Night

Split

The Silence of the Lambs

Jacob’s Ladder

The Lighthouse

The Wickerman

Orphan

The Others

Goodnight Mommy

The Killing of a Sacred Dear

Annihilation

Get Out

Session 9

Split

Eraserhead

The Color Out of Space

1922

Things Heard & Seen

Apostle

The Perfection

His House

Cadaver

Hush

Incident in a Ghostland

Coming Home in the Dark

Body Horror/ Gory

The Saw Franchise

The Hostel Franchise

The Green Inferno

Audition

The Collector and The Collection

The Final Destination Franchise

The Belko Experiment

Society

Tusk

Martyrs

Cabin Fever

Videodrome

Raw

The Girl Next Door

Giallo

Tenebrae

Deep Red

Torso

Phenomena

Orgasm I

The Black Belly of the Tarantula

The New York Ripper

StageFright

The Cat O’Nine Tails

Anthologies

Trick r’ Treat

Creepshow I and II

The Mortuary Collection

Body Bags

Cats Eye

Southbound

Family Friendly

Coraline

Paranorman

Corpse Bride

Beetlejuice

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Monster House

Frankenweenie

The Haunted Mansion

Gremlins

Ghostbusters

Little Shop of Horrors

Labyrinth

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Shows

American Horror Story

Creepshow the Series

Slasher

NOS4A2

Channel Zero

The Twilight Zone

Midnight Mass

The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Haunting of Hill House

Castle Rock

Archive 81

Penny Dreadful

Hemlock Grove

Bates Motel

The Devil in Ohio

I’m sure there’s a ton that I missed, so don’t be afraid to reblog and add to the list! Keep in mind that trigger warnings may apply to all of these movies, so feel free to reach out and ask about any in particular. I love to talk horror, so send me your thoughts, questions, etc about any horror stuff! Happy spooky season and stay safe!