Joey Magidson
The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, we’re looking at which horror franchise had the best 2023…
2023 has been an interesting year for horror franchises. There was a diverse slate hitting screens, though it was original work like M3GAN, which is now becoming a franchise, that sometimes came out on top. Just last month, Thanksgiving finally hit and we’re getting a sequel to that in two years. In terms of the already existing franchises? There’s one that, at least for me, was the cream of the cinematic crop. However, we want to know your take, so consider this an Awards Radar Community Question post, as well as a Sunday Scaries installment!
For my money, the best one this year has been the Saw franchise. Saw X not just did something new with the series, as well as placed Tobin Bell front and center, but it turned out to be one of the overall strongest efforts that the franchise has had. In fact, you can see here where it ranks among the other Saw efforts. In my review here, I included the following:
The Saw franchise has shown incredible life over the years. What was just a small independent horror film has now become one of the biggest properties in the genre. After going nonstop for over half a decade, there were pauses, but it always comes back to Saw. While both Jigsaw and Spiral: From the Book of Saw weren’t quite able to relaunch it back to its horror heights (though the latter is one of the best films they’ve done), Saw X has a great chance to do it. By going back to its roots, namely with the return of Tobin Bell, this is what many have been asking for. The results are deeply satisfying, provided that this is your sort of thing.
Saw X is both old and new, which very much works in its favor. Taking place in the early days of the series, when the central character was still alive (remember, there have now been seven follow ups to the third installment, where he died), this one is able to fill in blanks, while also telling a different kind of a story. Here, you’re with Bell’s character throughout, which is a notable difference. Not only is his presence a real boon to the work, it almost makes for a bit of nostalgia. Overall, this is an upper echelon Saw film.
Other options include arguably the biggest franchise effort this year in Scream VI, as well as a long in development new effort in The Exorcist: Believer, but those are just the tips of the iceberg. There’s also Evil Dead Rise, A Haunting In Venice, Insidious: The Red Door, The Nun 2, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, and The Wrath of Becky. These obviously run the gamut in terms of quality, but it does show that franchises are alive and well for horror, with next year sure to bring more…
Now, we want to hear from you. Which horror franchise had the best 2023? Whichever of the aforementioned options had a year to remember for you, we’re eager to find out. Don’t be shy, we’re all ears!
Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next weekend!
Not only do I agree with you that the Saw series scored the biggest “win” of any horror franchise this year, I would go even further and disagree with your rankings after reluctantly seeing Saw X for myself.
I would, without hesitation, declare that one my absolute favorite of any of these movies I’ve actually seen.
Love the Saw love!