Fight to The Death is an ongoing feature where staffers and readers get to vote and explain why one film is better than the other OR whether one fictional character would be able to kill another. This month’s featured rumble is THE HORROR FILM FRANCHISE TOURNAMENT. UPDATED: CONTEST IS OVER.
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32 of cinema’s most infamous HORROR MOVIE FRANCHISES are going toe to toe this month to see which one reigns supreme in time for HALLOWEEN 2018.
There will be TWO battles every day until the winner is crowned October 31, 2018 – so check our TWITTER and FACEBOOK pages for LIVE UPDATES (however the tournament bracket will be updated with results every day along with UPDATES below on the battle progress with voter tallies and more! **Follow the action daily with the hashtag #FIGHTTOTHEDEATH **
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UPDATE FEED:
October 17, 2018
Child’s Play Vs. Puppet Master
I think I was in the very low minority of people who prefer Puppet Master over Child’s Play. Chucky is definitely the more iconic horror character (remember his Ready Player One cameo?) but I tend to lean Puppet Master because it truly is such a vicious and bizarre franchise. Did anyone else see The Littlest Reich (the latest Puppet Master flick)? How about that scene with the pregnant lady? Right? Yeah I almost vomited too. Maybe it is appropriate that Child’s Play takes this win.
Evil Dead Vs. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I was shocked but delighted to see how many Evil Dead fans there were. Nobody came to the aid of Leatherface on this one and Evil Dead handily took this victory which shocked me. I’m not even counting the wonderful but short-lived TV series Ash Vs. The Evil Dead either in this one, so the three legendary Sam Raimi films alone took the win. Groovy.
Alien Vs. Predator
This was the closest battle so far but Alien took the win by the tiniest of margins (just over 55%). In my opinion, Alien deserves it anyway and that’s because the franchise holds Academy Award victories. Alien is also home to the most iconic horror movie moment OF ALL TIME. Yes I’m proclaiming the first ever chestburster appearance to be even more memorable than Psycho’s shower scene. Congratulations Xenomorph.
Critters Vs. Tremors
Nobody else was on board the Critters train with me. I rode that one sad and alone, surrounded by hilarious B-Movie Gremlins knockoffs chattering in their own language about how to eat me alive. People love them some underground man-eating alien worms don’t they? Tremors is still alive and strong to this day with several straight-to-video sequels still breathing life into this franchise. Even though Kevin Bacon’s SyFy Tremors TV series pilot wasn’t picked up – I’m still holding out hope that one day someone will just say F it and give us at least one season of that mess.
October 19, 2018
Leprechaun Vs. The Toxic Avenger
TROMA couldn’t catch a break with their grindhouse premiere franchise The Toxic Avenger. People love them some Leprechaun and I have to admit it’s hard not to vote for Warwick Davis’ portrayal of the vicious little murder machine. He may have stopped playing the Leprechaun in the last two films, but Davis did one helluva job stepping into a role that forever changed how people view St. Patrick’s Day. Toxie, although defeated handily, will always have a special place in my heart considering I accidentally watched one of those movies when I was around 6 years old thinking it would be like the animated kids show. Whoops!
SAW Vs. Scream
I thought this would be a closer battle, but people are so fed up with torture porn these days that they didn’t give a shit about how essential SAW was in creating/revitalising a brand new genre of horror films. Scream definitely did reignite the scary movie craze of the 90’s though and that film franchise was truly groundbreaking. Plus – the Ghostface mask is now an iconic piece of horror imagery, right up there amongst the masks of Michael Myers and Jason. I’m OK with Scream taking the win on this one even though I think SAW may have influenced more filmmakers to ramp up the grisly and disturbing kills in their horror projects.
Final Destination Vs. The Conjuring Cinematic Universe
The Conjuring dominated this fight but I still can’t drive behind a vehicle hauling ANYTHING without thinking about the logging truck sequence in Final Destination 2… I voted for Final Destination simply because of that moment but The Conjuring has managed to create two masterful films with a plethora of spin-offs that have all dominated the box office. The impact that The Conjuring has had in the genre and specifically GHOST films, is extremely powerful and created some of the most intense and terrifying movie moments since the first Exorcist.
Underworld Vs. Resident Evil
The battle of the badass ladies of horror was close, but in the end Underworld took the win because people appreciated the world-building of the Underworld franchise over the spastic and genre hopping action horror of Resident Evil. I have to agree with the fans on this one because Underworld took a silly mash-up concept of vampires fighting werewolves and created a movie series that was far better than it had any right to be. Underworld is like The Matrix meets Monster Squad. The series takes itself far too seriously but that’s also part of the charm. Plus it had vampires fighting werewolves and that to me is more entertaining than watching Milla Jovovich mow down a bunch of zombies.
October 23, 2018
Paranormal Activity Vs. The Purge
The new era of horror! Found footage kings Paranormal Activity seemed to pick up the slack when SAW took an absence from their annual October romp and have been dominating theaters for years now but The Purge slaughtered it in the voting. There’s just something about the INSANE concept of “one day of the year all crime is legal, including murder” that really gets audiences hopped up for some good action horror at the cinema. The series didn’t pop until the sequel, but I’m happy that fans voted Purge over the dull Paranormal Activity franchise which I think has been overdone at this point.
Friday The 13th Vs. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Look. I didn’t say this tournament would be easy – we get to the shit, right off the bat because if I didn’t have matchups like Freddy versus Jason right away, we may never see the two go at it. This one was really close – REALLY close, but Friday The 13th edged out Nightmare by the slimmest of margins. I’m happy about this personally because there’s something adorable about Jason’s franchise and all of his hilarious kills. Plus — when it comes down to it – the hockey mask is probably the most famous piece of horror attire of all time now. Sorry Freddy – love you, but Jason wins this one.
Halloween Vs. Hellraiser
Whereas the Hellraiser franchise has lost an incredible amount of steam over the course of its legacy – the Halloween one has only become more renowned. Just check out the latest flick that broke box office records this year? That flick in my opinion is actually the best in the franchise (edging out the first three which are iconic). Pinhead may be a more menacing and scary villain but there’s something far more intriguing about Michael Myers and his unknown motives for just wanting to KILL AT RANDOM (or his family of course). I’m happy that Halloween took this win as it was my favorite as well.
The Exorcist Vs. Night of The Living Dead
This contest was WAAAAAAAY closer than I thought it would be. I expected a domination victory for George A. Romero’s Dead franchise, but it came down to a damn-near tie and one that I had to break in favour of my beloved zombies. I think that the Exorcist (the first film) is legendary – top 5 horror flicks of all time, but when it comes to The Night of The Living Dead and the films that followed it? Come on. I know we are suffering from zombie fatigue to some degree but the Dead franchise deserves its win here.
The Amityville Horror Vs. The Omen
In my opinion both of these franchises have gotten dry over the years, but there’s just something about the Amityville Horror house that just defines the haunted house genre of horror. More than the Psycho house, more than the Poltergeist flicks – the Amityville Horror is just so damn unnerving. This battle was super close too but the win goes to Amityville because even though the films may have gotten weaker over time, I think The Omen did too, and there are far creepier kid horror flicks than this one whereas Amityville is the KING of haunted houses.
The Grudge Vs. The Ring
I don’t think either of these films are particularly that great, but I will admit that the first time we see that dead girl in the closet after she watched THE RING VHS tape and we saw that gaping jaw and shit… I almost died. That image was supremely haunting and messed up in ways I wasn’t accustomed to seeing in my horror movies. People voted Ring over the Grudge in the most lop-sided victory of the first round too.
Sharknado Vs. The Howling
I’m not a fan of The Asylum. Aka the movie/TV studio that produces a constant flow of “knock-off” direct to video/streaming projects eerily similar to the real deal. However – I’ll give them credit for Sharknado, which was far more fun than it had any right to be. The Howling won though and I was SHOCKED. People love them some stupid B-Movie werewolf shit and I love that people still love that kind of movie. I ADORE the SIXTH film in the Howling franchise where we get to see a vampire fight a werewolf in a carnival setting of all places. The Howling could be a sleeper assassin in this tournament and I’m really happy about that.
Candyman Vs. Hatchet
Hatchet is a beloved “newer” horror franchise that really pays homage to slasher classics like Friday The 13th but with enough gore to make a young Peter Jackson blush. Candyman just has that effect on people though all these years later which is why it wins. Tony Todd’s performance as the titular villain is iconic and so much so that there are rumors of yet another film in this franchise with Jordan Peele being called upon to breathe life back into this world. Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman – for the win.
October 29, 2018
Child’s Play Vs. Evil Dead
Evil Dead crushed Child’s Play with over 75% of the votes overall, in a contest that I personally thought would be a bit closer. Even with only three films (and a TV series we can’t factor into the decisions since this is a FILM FRANCHISE ONLY tournament), Evil Dead is still a heavy favorite amongst horror fans. I personally stopped watching the Child’s Play movies after Bride of Chucky, so I’m not sure how it holds up later on, but I do know that a remake without any of the original crew is a HUGE mistake. So let’s not do that please and let’s not encourage it either.
Alien Vs. Tremors
Tremors was winning this fight for a good chunk of time and that fact scared the absolute shit out of me. By the time the dust settled, the Facebook polls evened up but Twitter told a different story as Alien annihilated their dusty space-worm foes handily in order to pull out a last-minute win. Honestly, Tremors may be the more “fun” franchise but I haven’t seen a bad Alien flick either and I’ve seen them all. Even at the franchise’s lowest point – Prometheus – there’s still some quality horror there including the self-surgery sequence and that moment alone is more memorable than anything I’ve seen in any Tremors film.
Leprechaun Vs. Scream
I thought for sure that when I used the Leprechaun smoking a bong image in the voting posts that Leprechaun had a better chance at competing with Scream but this battle wasn’t close either. Scream won over 90% of the votes in this extremely lopsided victory. Come on guys – WARWICK DAVIS – IN FULL LEPRECHAUN MODE – SMOKING WEED. Nothing? No love for the little green man? You’re all far too serious.
The Conjuring Vs. Underworld
I was stunned at the results in this battle. I thought for certain that The Conjuring cinematic universe was going to make it to the semi-finals, but Underworld has a lot of love from the horror community and they pulled out the win with over 60% of the overall votes. Look – I love both franchises but even I’ll admit that as cheesy as the Underworld movies are, they’re still a blast to watch and even though they’ve gotten weaker over time, I’ll re-watch those before a Conjuring movie any day.
The Purge Vs. Friday The 13th
You can’t F with Jason Voorhees. Over 90% of the votes went to Friday The 13th and The Purge was finally purged from this competition in brutal fashion. Also – after thinking about it, how cool would a Purge mashup with Friday The 13th be? Just having Jason walk around on Purge night free to slaughter other mask-wearing wannabe douchebags…. That would be a fun time at the theater.
Halloween Vs. Night of The Living Dead
The closest contest of the tournament yet, with Night of The Living Dead just landing barely over 50% of the votes to take out the franchise that I thought would be a potential overall tournament winner. People still have love for Romero’s zombie franchise even though Halloween is dominating the current box office with the latest and greatest film to date featuring Michael Myers. I’m happy with The Dead taking the victory though in this one, because I’ve proclaimed Romero to be the greatest horror director of all time and I stand by that statement.
The Amityville Horror Vs. The Ring
Haunted house versus haunted VHS tape. House is bigger, house beats VHS tape. That or people remembered all of a sudden that a jacked Ryan Reynolds starred in the big-screen remake of Amityville Horror and that may have swayed some fans to throw a few votes his way. I honestly think Amityville is the better franchise but I’m not in love with either of these to be honest and that’s probably why the voting turnout for this fight was the lowest yet.
The Howling Vs. Candyman
This was another VERY close brawl with another VERY low voter turnout. Candyman is the better known franchise, but once again The Howling continues to surprise me by advancing further into the tournament with their unique brand of various werewolf stories. I like that and Candyman, I think, tends to get by solely because of that badass name recognition even though true horror nuts know what they want and they go for it.
Evil Dead Vs. Alien
Evil Dead nearly won this epic battle, but a late push for Alien finally buried Ash and the deadites. I truly believe that this battle would determine the overall winner of the entire tournament and now that Alien has advanced to the semi-final, I believe it will take the final crown as well. There’s just something so powerful and iconic about the ALIEN franchise that I think it probably will end up being proclaimed the best ever. Facehuggers scurrying along the floor are just scarier than a severed possessed hand skittering up the wall. Sorry.
Scream Vs. Underworld
I truly thought Underworld had a fighting chance to make it all the way to the semi-final matchup, but Scream just has a dedicated fanbase that won’t stop showing Ghostface love. Scream dominated this battle as well with over 75% of the total votes. Thinking back on it though, I think I may personally like the Underworld movies more because although I’ve seen Scream 4, I don’t remember ANY OF IT. Seriously – zero clue. And I remember the last couple Underworld movies – that’s right – the last two were WAY better than their bullshit tomato-meter scores would indicate.
October 31, 2018
Friday The 13th Vs. Night of The Living Dead
This one was TOUGH. It was sad for me to see the Dead franchise go down after beating out the mighty Halloween, but Friday The 13th is a powerhouse steamroller of death. Jason Voorhees is just too damn iconic and the people vote for what they know and love. I personally consider the George A. Romero’s Dead franchise as the greatest in the history of horror, with ALIEN a close second, but it is what it is and the readers want what they want. You bastards.
The Amityville Horror Vs. The Howling
It had to happen eventually, but I truly thought that the beloved B-Movie franchise The Howling had a legit shot of making it all the way to the semi-finals only for the iconic Amityville Horror to pull out another victory. I was sad to see my werewolves go out, but honestly this was the most boring battle of the tournament so far anyway and voter turnout was low as Hell. Whichever franchise won this was going to be thrown into the meatgrinder of the semi-finals anyway.
Alien Vs. Scream
This semi-final matchup was WAY closer than I anticipated with ALIEN only pulling off the win late in the game by taking in 65% of the votes. The love for Scream in this tournament was probably the most surprising aspect of this Fight to The Death for me personally. I don’t even remember the fourth Scream film – at all and I’ve seen it. I have ZERO recollection of what happened, who the killer(s) was – NOTHING. I remember EVERY single Alien movie and the FOURTH Alien flick is badass. I don’t care what anyone says – that flick was a riot. Alien goes to the final. Sorry Ghostface – you just got FACE-HUGGED – TO DEATH.
Friday The 13th Vs. The Amityville Horror
Amityville Horror went much further in this tournament than it had any right to, so it was absolutely necessary to see Friday The 13th just absolutely annihilate it in the semi-finals. Well over 90% of the readers made the right call here and Amityville went out like a poor camp counsellor inside a sleeping bag getting thwacked into the side of a tree. I’m not a huge Friday The 13th fan, but even I was happy to see that readers weren’t just trolling the votes.
THE FINAL BATTLE
Alien Vs. Friday The 13th
With over 80% of the votes – ALIEN has claimed victory over Friday The 13th to become the official HORROR FILM FRANCHISE TOURNAMENT CHAMPION! This #FightToTheDeath has been a blast and I’m happy with the results over these past couple weeks. If I had to personally choose one of these two iconic franchises, it would be ALIEN by a mile. There’s just so much to love in the Alien franchise and the best part of it all, is that ALIEN is BOTH horror and SCI-FI, so I think it would have a legit shot at being proclaimed the greatest science fiction movie franchise as well… (yes – the SCI-FI #FightToTheDeath tournament is something we will be doing in 2019).
Starring Sigourney Weaver as the greatest female protagonist in cinematic history, the ALIEN franchise is a masterwork in all regards. From the groundbreaking special effects, which won the first film an Academy Award, to the long list of memorable sequels, there’s just no way in Hell that Friday The 13th stands a chance against the xenomorphs. In space, no-one can hear you scream — and that includes you Jason X…
For the rules of FIGHT TO THE DEATH click HERE