Slashers, demons and supernatural entities beware! We’re living in a world of fan fictions and hypothetical what-ifs. For years, it’s been our rightful duty as horror aficionados to pit the worst of the worst against each other to ask the age old question, "Who would win in a fight?" But there’s more to it than just the routine jump scare or occasional mutilation.
In preparation for Halloween, we’ve come up with some truly one of a kind crossover-style horror flicks we’d like to see hit the big screen. The odds of any of these projects actually happening may be a million to one, but that can’t stop us from dreaming.
Before delving into our frightfest, let us first set some ground rules:
- Every movie listed may only be used one time in a hypothetical crossover scenario
- Every horror movie icon must be of equal or somewhat equal strength to fight one another
- Each idea must be explainable in terms of story
With all that out of the way, these are the 15 Horror Movie Mashups We Want To See. Let the bloodbath commence!
15. The Ring/The Grudge
With Rings set to revive the Japanese horror phenomenon in America, there’s a window of opportunity to bring two franchises together in a truly terrifying meeting. Drawing from folk religions involving ghosts and poltergeists, the Ringu and Ju-on series had a short-lived run in the U.S. before falling off with audiences. The tales of vengeful spirits ready to exact revenge had viewers looking over their shoulders and gave rise to two creepy child antagonists in Samara and Toshio. Flash forward years later, with a rumored The Grudge reboot reportedly in the works, and we find ourselves wondering if these two franchises could ever come together.
Japan really knows how to please its audiences. First teased as an April Fools’ joke in 2015, this J-horror idea became a reality this year when Sadako vs. Kayako dropped on June 18th. The story revolves around a young university student cursed by a spirit on a videotape, only to learn of another spectre inside a house that could put an end to the girl. Although we’re fine with re-watching the Japanese film, we wouldn’t be opposed to seeing an English language version hit the big screen.
14. The Poltergeist/Paranormal Activity
Found footage has become the hottest trend in horror films since the genre’s rise to popularity following The Blair Witch Project. While fans haven’t always been keen on the camcorder style due to its illogical storytelling techniques, it has provided ample jump scares since its introduction into the game. That trend will continue when Paranormal Activity clashes with the 1982 classic Poltergeist.
Long after the events of the 1980s flick, the house once occupied by the Freeling family has since been rebuilt -- on the exact spot where it once stood. As a way to capitalize on the notoriety of the home, the house has been marketed as the haunted residence that caused a stir in the town. All the publicity draws the attention of a new family with an open mind for the paranormal, while their new neighbor Katie happens to hold a secret of her own. As the newest occupants of the building record their experiences while learning exactly how vengeful the spirits of their new house really are, the possessed Katie is lured in by the paranormal hotspot, which proves to be the perfect place for her inner demon to grow in strength.
13. Child’s Play/Puppet Master
A doll on doll free-for-all -- sounds like a match made in horror heaven, right? In the long line of terrifying horror villains, Chucky comes somewhere near the tail end of threatening. How are audiences supposed to be convinced that a knee-high doll will kill you? But, in terms of funny one-liners and sinister looks, few do it better than the red-haired Good Guy toy. That’s why we’ve opted to include him in our list against some foes that actually make sense. It’s time for Chucky to pick a fight with somebody his own size.
During his search to return his soul to a human body, everyone's favorite killer doll learns about the legend of a buried alchemist who could give life to inanimate objects. Believing the burial ground may hold the answer to how he can return to his human form, Chucky goes looking for the famed dark magician. What awaits him is more of his kind, controlled by an evil puppeteer hoping to recruit Chucky as one of his own. With animated puppets like Blade, Pinhead and Jester now after him, it becomes a fight to the death where only the strongest will survive.
12. The Shining/The Sixth Sense
In 2013, more than 36 years removed from the publication of The Shining, Stephen King released Doctor Sleep, a sequel to his haunted hotel story. Although plans for a big screen adaptation are already in the works, a large gap still remains in the story. As a master of horror, King is just the kind of guy who could rally behind a crossover story, provided it’s done respectfully and sheds light on the author’s vision.
The Shining isn’t the only King adaptation to make an appearance on our list, but it’s probably the most acclaimed. Set a few short years after the events at the Overlook, young Danny Torrance is still dealing with the same ghosts. Learning to cope with his psycho-intuitive powers, he’s institutionalized when his mother begins seeing signs of his father’s rage inside him. Inside the hospital, he meets Cole Sear, a young boy left without a parent after the passing of his mother. Learning of Cole’s abilities to see the dead, the two find themselves haunted by ghosts from the past as well as the dead that inhabit the building. Together, they bring peace to the deceased while keeping the angrier spirits at bay. Or everyone dies. We're on board either way.
11. The Purge/Any Zombie Movie
It’s March 21st, and the deadliest night of the year has commenced. The streets are filled with murderous psychopaths breaking into homes, and every household with the means to protect itself is on full lockdown. It’s a bad enough situation as is, but as any horror movie franchise will teach you, things can always get worse.
On this night, the annual Purge will be remembered for something different. A contagion has spread across the streets of every populous city in the U.S. as part of a country-wide attack to hit the Purge supporters where it hurts. At first the signs are small (a victim is bitten in an alleyway, a dog barks at your sick neighbo)r, but as time goes on, everything becomes seemingly worse. The plan was to wipe out all the purgers through the most extreme of measures, only things got out of control. The apocalypse has broken out, and the innocent civilians must risk not only being savagely beaten to death by masked villains, but also becoming a member of the undead. It’s every man and woman for themselves as they make their way to a safe haven on a night when all hell breaks loose.
10. Children of the Corn/Village of the Damned
Children can be stressful. They lack the know-how and social niceties that come from years of development, but beneath all the strain, they’re supposed to provide the occasional moment of appreciation that makes it all worth it. Rid them of any kind of remorse and emotion, however, and they can become the stuff of nightmares.
The Children of the Corn franchise has a special place in the cult movie world. As worshippers of He Who Walks Behind the Rows, the young inhabitants of Gatlin, Nebraska sacrifice everyone over the age of 19 to the fertility god to assure a healthy harvest. Although the threat of outsiders is rarely an issue, it can become burdensome when an adult intrudes on the customs of the town. Fortunately, the youngsters won’t be dealing with older visitors anytime soon.
After a blackout washes over multiple areas around the world, women across the globe begin experiencing miracle pregnancies. Nine months later, the neighboring town of Midwich sees the birth of multiple alien children with psychic abilities. Devoid of emotion, the children make their way to Gatlin with the intent to dissect the Corn God for their own scientific research. The ensuing fight isn’t pretty.
9. The Babadook/Stephen King’s It
In the small suburban town of Derry, Maine, things are not always as they seem. A series of child abductions have left families in turmoil. Although many of the people have abandoned the area, it’s been years since any reports of missing children have given the newspapers something to talk about. Now, in a town that was once believed to be cursed, people are finally beginning to establish some peace of mind. What a mistake that will turn out to be.
With a calm finally resting over Derry, the demonic entity known as Pennywise returns from the sewers to coerce the children with balloon animals. Meanwhile, a small circle of juvenile friends find a creepy children’s book at a garage sale -- the perfect read for their weekly horror story night at the Losers Club hideout. When a supernatural monster known as the Babadook enters the lives of the group after reading pages from the book, Pennywise finds himself in competition with the monster for the lives of the children. No boy or girl is safe when these two horror movie villains are let loose on everyone in the tight-knit community.
8. The Silence of the Lambs/Psycho
In a horror world where monsters are a reality, it’s people who remain the most frightening. They’re unpredictable. Audiences know the true nature of Freddy Kreuger or Jason Voorhees, but people like Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates? Those are the types of menacing personalities that pass as human before taking a bite out of your face or brutally murdering you in the shower.
Lecter is on the run, traveling wherever the wind takes him. In his cross-country escapades, he finds himself in need of lodging. Where better to stay than the Bates Motel? It’s not long before renting a room in the disquieting establishment that Lecter realizes what’s going on. Having an understanding of how the mind of a psychopath works, he initiates a series of mind games with the momma’s boy Norman, aka Alfred Hitchcock's greatest creation. The conversations that will happen between the two are worth the price of admission alone, but seeing how Lecter will inject himself into Norman’s plans is what’s truly worth sticking around for. We’re willing to bet if Bates has a mentor like Lecter, he wouldn’t have been under so much suspicion after stabbing Janet Leigh to death in a bathroom.
7. Cloverfield/10 Cloverfield Lane
You may be asking exactly how the found footage monster flick Cloverfield could be connected to the psychological thriller turned alien invasion feature that borrowed its name. Besides hinting at a few brands present in the first film (e.g. Kelvin gas stations, Slusho drinks), 10 Cloverfield Lane makes brief mention of Howard Stambler’s (played by John Goodman) former profession as a Telemetry Analyst for Bold Futura, a company which worked on satellites and was owned by Tagruato, the same conglomerate supposedly responsible for the New York attack.
Following the escape of Michelle in 10 Cloverfield Lane, we’re introduced to a world left in ruins where the only survivors of an alien invasion are searching for a safe haven. Whether the two films take place within the same world or on two separate planes of existence, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to connect the two stories as the protagonists continue looking for a better life elsewhere. The minds behind both films have shown they’re not afraid to push the boundaries when it comes to sci-fi, so connecting the two through a single timeline or an open portal to different realities isn't exactly asking for too much.
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre/The Hills Have Eyes
It’s a family vacation for the ages. The Sawyer family are on the lam following their latest string of killings which force them to retreat from their Texas home. Poor Leatherface must leave behind all his victims, including those still dangling from meat hooks. Looking for a sanctuary where they can return to their gruesome ways, they find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, only they’ll soon find the village in the hills has a devious family of its own to be worried about.
While the Hewitt family rests in their R.V., the mutants from the nearby nuclear testing ground set their sights on the cannibalistic relatives. It’s not long after things start go missing that Leatherface turns to his always handy chainsaw to start a hack attack of his own. It’s family versus family as both sides rage all out war on each other, while the cops continue their search into the disappearance of the Sawyers. Expect some inhuman feats of strength to be tested as the inbred family meets the disfigured hill people. Trust us, this will be one nightmarish trip you won’t want to stumble upon.
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street/Hellraiser
Two horror icons at their finest. We’ve already seen what it would look like for the notorious Freddy Kreuger to go up against another gruesome villain in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason and while the results were less than stellar, it was a dream matchup nonetheless. But we’ve already been there and saw what happened. How about a change of scenery?
As the leader of the extra-dimensional Cenobites, Pinhead has gotten his kicks out of harvesting the souls of his victims through sadistic torment. A demonic figure who acts as a judge to those who open the Lament Configuration, he resides in a maze-like Hell where only the deserving get their just deserts.
In our crossover scenario, Freddy finally gets what’s coming to him for all his years of malicious child killing and targeting of hapless sex-driven teenagers. Pitted against the demon and his cohorts, he finds himself trapped in the hellish maze, where only the strength of fear can help him escape. Can he endure long enough to make it out and lure Pinhead into his own dream world? It’s a challenge only the likes of Freddy can answer.
4. The Conjuring/The Amityville Horror
Inspired by a true account, the story of the Warrens’ investigation into the 1974 DeFeo family massacre is somewhat glossed over in The Conjuring 2. Although the famed Lutz family would become overnight celebrities for the Amityville haunting, Lorraine Warren admitted to experiencing strange incidents in the Long Island household. In the film, the haunting manifests itself by appearing as visions from the demon Valak. In reality, however, the case had nothing to do with the demon, which means a stretch of the imagination was used in order to make the story a worthy follow-up.
While the 1979 and 2005 film adaptations of The Amityville Horror have similar explanations for the occurrences that happened during the Lutz’s stay at 112 Ocean Avenue, both stories centered on the family rather than the investigation. According to the novel, the source of the haunting was a deceased man by the name of John Ketcham who practiced witchcraft nearby. The Warrens have stated that no other case has affected them more. Bringing the stories together would be a fresh take on the haunting and could provide an ample reason to bring the Warrens back for another outing.
3. Halloween/Friday the 13th
As horror movie villains go, none have bigger family issues than Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. There’s obviously something insane about a man who stalks his biological sister on Halloween night because he never finished the job, but Jason isn’t exactly a role model either, with his shrine dedicated to his mother’s severed head. With both of these big bad foes sharing a similar dress code (see our list of the best horror movie masks) as well as super strength, this is a matchup of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object that must be seen to be believed.
As far as a story goes, it’s really not hard to figure out how these two would eventually find each other. Jason’s journeys from Camp Crystal Lake have found him in the oddest of places, including the heart of Manhattan and the far reaches of space. Although Jason is decidedly a member of the undead that’s come back to wreak havoc, Michael has been described as evil incarnate. Which side will win out on their way to hunting down their victims? Our prediction: the audience.
2. Alien/The Thing
John Carpenter’s The Thing is quite possibly the greatest remake ever made. Couple it with the genius of Ridley Scott’s Alien and you’re talking about the battle of the century. The Alien vs. Predator franchise was understandably a disappointment, lacking any scares or maturation compared to the film’s predecessors. Likewise, the 2011 remake of Carpenter’s classic horror lacked the creative vision and feel of isolation captured in the '80s version. That’s why we’ve decided the two should come together, not only to re-invigorate both stories, but to capture the chilling threat of being trapped all over again.
Stuck on a starship in the far reaches of space, a crew is awakened from a cryogenic sleep during an export mission which is overseeing the safe arrival of an ice core specimen to an undisclosed location. When a malfunction shuts the power off on the ship, not only do the members find themselves awake with a Xenomorph aboard, they also find the specimen has melted, causing a alien outbreak which assumes the identity of everyone it infects. Who can be trusted to put down their lives to save the crew? It's a game of "Guess Who?" played with the worst extraterrestrials this side of the galaxy.
1. The Evil Dead/Evil Dead
This once rumored mashup has since been put on hold thanks to the juggernaut that is Ash vs Evil Dead. Various Evil Dead projects have floated around the internet over the past several years following the long-delayed sequel to 1992’s Army of Darkness. First were rumors of a fourth film. Then came the idea of Freddy vs Jason vs Ash, which soon died away, but in the end, fans were treated to the reboot in 2013. While Fede Alvarez’s film introduced a new protagonist in Mia, a post-credits scene suggested Ash Williams would make a return to fight off the Deadites soon enough.
Bruce Campbell recently went on record saying he’s not a fan of crossovers, with money being a primary factor for the Freddy and Jason film never coming to fruition. But given the support of Sam Raimi, we’re hoping this flick could still happen. Of course, the premise would have to fit into the overall scope of the current television series. That would mean Ash would return to the cabin sometime in the future to find the tormented Mia in a fight of her own. The ultimate team-up would occur, and Ash would undoubtedly try to pass his responsibilities onto his younger protege. With the current shape of the show, however, we don't see the King handing over his boomstick anytime soon.
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Which of these films would you be most on board with? What other horror movie mashups do you want to see? Sound off in the comments.