The past several decades have been ruled by a few franchises in the horror genre. There have been countless films with increasingly silly and convoluted sequels about film character legends such as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Norman Bates, and Chucky. Even Evil Dead and The Exorcist are coming back to cinemas soon. Myers has become the king of horror in the past few years thanks to David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy. At the conclusion of Halloween Ends, the Boogeyman is very much dead, leading many to wonder what’s next for the franchise. A reboot seems to be the most logical conclusion, but as many other franchises have shown, success could be found by turning Halloween into a TV series.
'Freddy's Nightmares'
A Nightmare on Elm Street tried this approach decades ago with the short-lived Freddy’s Nightmares. At the height of Freddy Krueger’s popularity in 1988, the anthology series was created as a way to expand on the Elm Street universe. Taking place in the fictional town of Springwood, Ohio, where the horrendous crimes of Krueger took place, the series told the story of the town’s residents, sometimes with Freddy involved, but mostly without his presence. Even though it didn’t last long, it was a bold approach, and one that other franchises would much later find more success with. Friday the 13th did something similar, though that show - titled Friday the 13th: The Series - had absolutely nothing to do with Jason Voorhees or Camp Crystal Lake. It was the same in name alone.
'Bates Motel'
The best examples of this recent approach started in 2013 with A&E’s Bates Motel. Serving as a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho about crazed Norman Bates, the series took a look at a younger Norman (Freddie Highmore), with a mother (Vera Farmiga) who is not deceased and existing as part of his breaking psyche like in the film, but who is still very much alive. It was an intriguing approach that gave us insight into how Norman became a murderous psychopath. It was a critical success, lasting five seasons, while being nominated for multiple Emmys, Critics’ Choice, and People’s Choice Awards along the way.
'Ash vs Evil Dead'
The Evil Dead franchise did this as well with the 2015 debut of Ash vs Evil Dead. Bringing back franchise star Bruce Campbell for the first time in almost three decades, Ash vs Evil Dead worked by being both nostalgic and new. We got to see Ash doing his thing again, but with a new cast that he developed great chemistry with. Most importantly, the series had fun, finding great humor in its gore and gross-out moments, while also building a thrilling story. Despite being hindered by airing on the little-watched Starz, Ash vs Evil Dead lasted three seasons and was adored by hardcore fans of the franchise.
'The Exorcist'
Another legendary horror property that tried its possessed hand at a TV series was The Exorcist. After a failed theatrical reboot a decade earlier, it returned to the small screen as the Fox show simply called The Exorcist. Despite the name recognition, the exposure of a top network, and glowing reviews, the series was canceled by the network after just two seasons. That, however, was not the fault of The Exorcist’s creative approach, which gave viewers a provocative idea that saw this story being a sequel to the original film while ignoring the other film sequels (sound familiar, Halloween fans?). The series followed several interconnected stories that kept viewers on their toes rather than giving them a simple demonic possession story.
'Chucky'
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The latest horror villain to dip his plastic toe into the TV landscape is Chucky the killer doll. Set after the events of the film Cult of Chucky, creator Don Mancini developed a whacky premise that brought back fan favorites while also growing the franchise’s world. Brad Douriff is back as the voice of Chucky and Jennifer Tilly returns with her predictably off the wall performance. Airing on SyFy and USA, Chucky works not by being content to give us more killer doll one-liners and frightening kills, but by being something even more. This series is deeper than a slasher about a toy come to life. It’s also a strong coming-of-age tale with a gay protagonist (Zackary Arthur) and a group of friends and foes who are trying to figure out life, while also dealing with a Good Guy doll who wants to kill them all.
In the last few weeks we got the shocking revelation that Friday the 13th is coming back as a TV series as well, due to the combination of the writer of the original film, Victor Miller, Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller, and Peacock. The series will serve as a prequel, but with the lawsuit between Miller and the original film’s director, Sean S. Cunningham, now settled, it looks as if we could even see the return of Jason Voorhees in some form.
With so many big name horror franchises going the TV series route, it would be a good idea for Halloween to try this, too. They shouldn’t do it because there are no ideas for films or because everyone else is doing it, but because it can genuinely work. Halloween Ends divided fans by not being much about Michael Myers, but about evil itself and how it is personified. We see the evil Michael has created around him due to his crimes, and we are told at the end that evil doesn’t die but changes shape. A TV series could allow this idea to be explored further.
Where Could a 'Halloween' TV Series Go?
Set in Haddonfield, Illinois, there are endless approaches to take. We could move back to 1963 and see what evil inspired a six-year-old Michael Myers. We could go to 1978 and see how Haddonfield responded after his original massacre. We could move forward to 2018, after the events of David Gordon Green’s Halloween and Halloween Kills, and explore the evil that had overtaken the town after Michael’s latest bloodbath. Or we could even revisit Haddonfield in 2022, with Michael Myers dead, but evil changing shape to other forms. Whether that means Michael Myers is a character in any way would be another issue to be decided, but this would be a clever jumping off point.
More than likely, the next time we hear about Halloween will be in the form of a theatrical reboot of some sorts, the third time that this would have happened. More interesting though would be to take a risk, one that’s been taken before by others, and one that’s worked. Freddy did it. Chucky did it. So did Norman and Ash. So then why couldn’t the current king of horror do it as well?