What Is The Best Horror Franchise? This Gory Series Has No Bad Movies

Horror is a perfect place to find some of the most amazing and impressive franchises out there, from slashers like the Halloween franchise to the Universal Classic Monsters. But nothing can compare to what was started with The Evil Dead (1981), almost 50 years ago.

Evil Dead Burn (2026) marks the sixth entry in the film series and continues to deliver disgusting deaths and more than enough blood for any fan. But the thing that makes these films stand out is how they’ve always been so consistently good. Yet the question remains: Why is the Evil Dead franchise still so great?

The Rules In The 'Evil Dead' Films Are Constantly Changing

The Evil Dead introduced the Necronomicon, an ancient Book of the Dead that, when spoken or written, could awaken ancient evils capable of possessing and terrorizing you to death. Beyond that, these are the only rules ever properly shown.

Army of Darkness (1992) also introduced the idea of three versions of the book that we would eventually see in Evil Dead (2013) and Evil Dead Rise (2023). While not proven, each of these films has also shown different effects on those who have read it. For example, 2013’s Evil Dead shows its Deadites as violent and possessed beings that want to terrorize victims before killing them. Evil Dead Rise, however, has much more cosmic horror with melded Deadites and people coughing up worms.

Ultimately, the one constant is that the Evil Dead films only have a base level of rules, but they don’t completely stick to them. As a result, we never know what to expect. With no real precedent set otherwise, anything goes, and as long as it makes sense, it can always evolve.

Each 'Evil Dead' Movie Pushes Things Further

When The Evil Dead hit theaters, people didn’t think it could get more violent or obscene, with the film even being banned in other countries. While there’s still a lot of content that would make you wince today, the real shock is that each movie since then has taken things even further.

Evil Dead II (1987) had Ash cut off his own hand, while Evil Dead saw multiple gross moments, from needles in eyes to someone ripping off their hand when it was trapped under a truck. Then Evil Dead Rise showed us what happens when a skin and a cheese grater meet, and Evil Dead Burn showed the dangers of keeping your knives up in a dishwasher.

The Evil Dead franchise lives for pushing the limit, and it doesn’t always mean making things more grand. Instead, it preys on those intrusive thoughts that make you wince and brings them to the forefront. Evil Dead is really just a story about how absolute evil can hurt you mentally and physically, and it’s stayed with viewers ever since. Now, when a new movie gets announced, it’s hard not to think about what terrors they’ll think of next.

'Evil Dead's Directors Bring Something Unique To The Franchise

Sam Raimi introduced a wild war of horror and overly creative deaths, and it set a standard for the franchise that is still maintained today. But one thing that makes the franchise feel so fresh with every entry has been how each director puts their signature on the series.

Evil Dead’s Fede Álvarez brought a cruelty to the violence we had never seen while reinjecting the scene with much-needed horror that had been missing for over a decade. Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise brought a balance of humor and horror with a film that focused on family without compromising the violence that made the series great.

Now Sébastien Vanicek will bring his own signature to Evil Dead Burn. In the same way, he made audiences squirm and face the unthinkable in Infested (2023); fans can now feel that in Evil Dead Burn. As each entry gets more unique, with Evil Dead Wrath (2028) coming in a couple of years, it’s a perfect way for creators to exercise their horror muscles in new ways.

The Evil Dead franchise works because the only things that must be included are Deadites, blood, and the Necronomicon. But beyond that, the series has grown into one where directors can explore dark ideas and inject a new feeling into the series so that each one stands out and thrives. As a result, Evil Dead continues to be the best horror franchise ever.