Horror is undoubtedly my favorite genre, so when I buy a ticket to a franchise horror film there’s a greater likelihood that I will either love it or be greatly disappointed by it. The following three movies fall very much in that latter category. They’re horror franchise movies that had at least some level of potential to knock the ball out of the park but instead the bat connected with nothing but air. Maybe they weren’t going to be perfect, but they had something going for them that could have really connected with audiences had the whole project stuck the landing.

Sometimes they were coming off of a few major wins, others had a particularly exciting cast member on the list, another had a gimmick, and one or more had a combination of the two. Either way, they disappointed me, and they probably disappointed you too.

3) A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

image courtesy of warner bros. pictures

Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street was without a doubt one of the most inventive and memorable films of the 1980s, and it set such a high bar that only one of its sequels (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors) ever came close to touching. The remainder fell far, far short.

But none fell as far short as A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), which has the look of a 2000s metal music video, bland, uncomfortable-looking performances, and lackluster effects. The lackluster effects taint both the kills and the look of Freddy Krueger, who looks like a wrinkly CGI fish more than an actually intimidating figure. I was looking forward to the 2010 remake for two reasons: Jackie Earle Haley is a fantastic performer and fellow Platinum Dunes remake Friday the 13th was better than I expected. But to the former point Haley is saddled with some awful dialogue, and, to the latter, this is one remake that is way too comfortable repeating the original film’s most iconic scenes. That never works, and it definitely didn’t work here.

Stream A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) on HBO Max.

2) Jaws 3

image courtesy of universal pictures

It’s not much of a secret that, when it comes to the Jaws franchise, it probably shouldn’t have been a franchise. Jaws 2 is well-liked, as it should be, but the two films that followed it are hard to stomach even for the most devoted Jaws fans.

Either one of them could takes this spot but, let’s face it, the concept of Jaws 3-D was the recipe for a silly fun winner. Having the shark swim through SeaWorld? That’s fantastic. Having the shark come out at the audience in lovably terrible ’80s 3-D? A novel idea. Unfortunately, it was a swing and a miss on both counts. The shark (well, sharks) barely eats anyone in SeaWorld and the effects were so laughable that they had next to no impact when popping out at the viewer. As for Jaws: The Revenge, no movie about a seemingly telepathic shark should be so excruciatingly boring.

Stream Jaws 3 on Netflix.

1) Scream 3

image courtesy of dimension films

I’ve been somewhat disappointed by three Scream films. Scream 4 was the first one I saw in theaters (my freshman year of college) and that was exciting, but I didn’t love its bright and glossy look. Then there was Scream VI which was fine but I went into it with a ton of hype. Some people don’t care for it but I love Scream (2022). It was intriguing to have that winner of a new cast—not to mention Ghostface—get transported over to the big city. And as a huge Samara Weaving fan it was great to know she would soon become part of a major slasher IP’s legacy (though I had a strong, correct feeling she’d be the first to go). And, in the end, it’s a movie that just sort of comes and goes.

But Scream 3 is still the most disappointing installment of the franchise, and it’s not hard to see how it became as such. For one, it should have been delayed until Kevin Williamson could return to write it. Two, and perhaps more importantly, a tonal alteration was demanded of it after the tragic massacre at Columbine High School. It’s perfectly understandable that there would be a strong, fear-based reaction to such a ghastly (and now unfortunately quite common) event, but it still resulted in a trilogy-capper that perpetually felt as though it was pulling its punches, because it was. Furthermore, it’s stone-cold obvious who the killer is about midway through the movie, and then it’s confirmed when that character, Roman Bridger, is “killed” off-screen. Parker Posey is wonderful in it, but that is the film’s one true win.

Stream Scream 3 on Hulu.

What horror movie disappointed you the most? Let us know in the comments.