Horror Marathon of the Day: Horror Sequels

Every weekday until the end of October, CraveOnline will present an all-new Horror Movie Marathon to help you avoid showing the same old movies at your Halloween parties. Keep coming back every day for new schedules and party ideas!

 

Sequelitis

Why would you watch only horror sequels and none of the originals? In the case of horror movies, sequels are often where the elements a franchise is most famous for come to be. Jason isn’t really a killer until Friday the 13th Part 2 and doesn’t even get the hockey mask until Friday the 13th Part 3. My first pick for the marathon is an example of a sequel that’s even more famous than the original. 

Also, since horror movies tend to be low budget labors of love, the sequel often affords them the resources necessary to do what they really set out to do. I earned the nickname “Franchise Fred” because I always defend sequels. I truly believe there should always be more sequels to every film, indefinitely. Doesn’t matter if a sequel is bad. The next one could be better. Even in a conclusive story, those characters have more adventures. Life doesn’t stop when you fall in love and defeat the bad guy. And if all the characters die at the end? Come on, this is horror sequels we’re talking about. 

 

 

Marketing Rules

For decorations, we’re in luck when it comes to sequels because the more popular the franchise gets, the more marketing materials get produced. Freddy Krueger essentially became a children’s toy by Nightmare on Elm Street 3, and you can even get Billy bobbleheads from the Saw films now. 

Posters and lobby cards from later entries in horror franchises should be easy to locate online and print out for temporary hanging on your wall. 

 

Check Out: Horror Movie Marathon of the Day: Slashers

 

Franchise Food

It’s too bad they don’t make sequels to food, or you could stock up on Doritos 2 and Budweiser: The Final Chapter. I’m going to have to get a little broad with this, but since we’re discussing horror franchises and my Franchise moniker, I’m going to recommend food from the biggest franchise chains in the company.

Domino’s should be a no-brainer for pizza, but if you prefer Pizza Hut or Papa John’s, they’re pretty lucrative franchises too. Subway caters now, so subs from the top fast food franchise would work. Or, drive through McDonald’s or Burger King to pick up some burgers and fries in bulk. It’s gonna be a long night.

 

 

Get The Right Movies

You can find a lot of decent, sometimes even great horror movies on Instant Streaming. Then again, so can everyone else. If you’re hosting a horror movie marathon, your guests expect you to show them something they haven’t seen before along with a handful of classic standbys.

So go to your local video store – the odds are good it still has a better selection than Netflix – or, if there aren’t any left in your neighborhood (such a shame), track them down online. Most of the movies we’re recommending are great movies that are either so popular they’re pretty cheap by now, or so obscure they are probably priced low since the demand isn’t high. But obscure movies can be the best surprises, and trust us, we’re about to recommend a ton of them.

 

Check Out: Horror Movie Marathon of the Day: Witchcraft

 

Put a Schedule Together

The film critics at CraveOnline have a tried-and-true formula for movie marathons. You start with a “Duh” movie (a popular film everyone has seen), partially to get it out of the way and partially because there’s a good chance some of your guests will arrive late and you don’t want them to miss the good stuff. 

Then you get everyone’s attention with the “Unknown Classic,” a film that none of your guests have (probably) seen, so even someone who goes home early will feel like they got something special out of the evening.

Follow that up with some “Background Noise,” i.e. a film that won’t necessarily capture everyone’s attention. That’ll play in the background while everyone socializes. But you’ve got to make sure it has enough good parts that people don’t take their eyes off the TV for too long and forget why they came.

Now the time has come for a “Jumpstarter,” a really lively, crazy film that’ll grab everyone’s attention again. You’ll follow that up with something even weirder, the “Oddball,” to reward the folks who are still going. This will be the strangest film of the evening, maybe a genre-bender or the work of a mad genius, and it will be a great capper for the masses who will probably call it an evening afterwards.

And now that the evening is coming to an end, you’ll want to throw in something stupid. A real “Stinker.” Take the edge off the night’s festivities by talking back to the screen or falling asleep to a film that doesn’t really deserve your attention. It’s the perfect way to end an evening of otherwise great movies.

Then again, you may want to just pick films from one of those categories to test your endurance. How many classics can you get through in one night? How many unsung classics can you discover? How can one weird-ass film top the next? We have multiple suggestions in every category to get you through the night, if that’s the way you want to play it. 

Just remember: don’t overextend yourself. Six movies is probably the maximum number that anyone can handle. Don’t feel bad if people leave early. Just make sure the folks who stay get something special for their trouble. 

 

Let’s Plan Your Horror Sequel Marathon!

 


Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.

TRENDING

X