Laz's Movie Franchise Rankings

[Lazerus]

Every few weeks I will begin posting my review of a film franchise. And to start this topic off I decided to review one of my all time favorites!
Recently my gf and I rewatched all of the Ghostbusters films. So, here's my official rankings for them!

1. Ghostbusters: You can't beat the original. This one had everything that makes up a great GB film. That and it's the intro to the main (OG) characters. Gozer is an awesome villain and this one had the right mix of humor along with some decent spooky moments. It has one of my favorite final battle scenes, the Stay puffed Marshmallow Man, and the intro to slimer! The film has aged well on all fronts IMO.

2. Ghostbusters: Afterlife: A solid sequel that almost is tied with the original. In fact this is my personal favorite of all the films. I loved the change in location, the focus on Egon's estranged family. The new characters were fun and the return of Gozer just made sense here! I also enjoyed this film taking on a more serious tone than the previous ones. The film is the GB sequel that I had been waiting for since...forever lol.

3. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: This one... not terrible by any sense but I feel the magic that was created by Afterlife was lost here. This movie has some serious potential but it falls flat with the goofy (and pointless) over reliance on humor. The characters are no longer taken seriously and it seems like it was written with the purpose of fan service. While I love seeing the OG characters, they felt just "thrown into" the film for no reason other than being there. There's too many throwback moments (i.e. going back to the library from the first film). The main antagonist just wasn't interesting to me.

4. Ghostbuster II: The last movie focused on the OG characters. This one is a mixed bag for me because it has some pros. Firstly, of all the GB films it has some of the best creepy moments such as the abandoned subway and bathtub scenes. I like Vigo as the main antagonist! And despite some other fans complaints about the river of slime, I thought it was cool as well. The problems however cannot be ignored! The annoying museum manger, the Ghostbusters logo being changed (without explanation), Echo 1-A replaces the original but is never seen again after this film, but the worst is the Stature of Liberty angle that is just soo fucking stupid it (sadly) forces me to rank this film below Frozen Empire.

5. Ghostbusters: Answer the Call: This film is just fucking garbage and should not exist! Enough said!

Overall I love this franchise but I hope they don't begin milking it too much. One more film should be used to close out the franchise on a good note. The next film should tone down the humor and go back to the vibe of Afterlife while still staying true to the GB legacy.

[Reign in Blood]

Answer the Call is the tits and it's not even close.

[Lazerus]

Answer the Call is the tits and it's not even close.

lol

[Jigsaw]

I've never actually seen any Ghostbuster movie. Maybe one day...

[Reign in Blood]

I've never actually seen any Ghostbuster movie. Maybe one day...

I figured you'd see it for Rick Moranis if nothing else.

[Headhunter]

I liked the original, the sequel was okay and I will never watch the others.

[Lazerus]

I liked the original, the sequel was okay and I will never watch the others.

Which sequel?

[Headhunter]

I liked the original, the sequel was okay and I will never watch the others.

Which sequel?

II.

[Lazerus]

I liked the original, the sequel was okay and I will never watch the others.

Which sequel?

II.

You should give Afterlife a chance.

[Lazerus]

It's time for the next round!

My pick: The Scream Franchise

My opinion of this franchise is already known here so I won’t bother going into that. I decided to revisit it recently and while it was taxing in some ways, it was enjoyable in others. So, here’s my official ranking for the Scream movies.

Scream: The original is the uncontested winner. While there’s plenty of things that annoy me about every Scream movie (this one included), I enjoyed the characters, the pacing of the film, and mostly the finale. Overall, I feel this movie works best if it were a one off and never had any sequels. Billy and Stu will always be my favorite Scream villains and none of the other copy-cat Ghostface killers can ever compare!

Scream VI: Surprisingly I found this movie the most enjoyable since the original. Maybe it’s the NYC setting and the fact the movie had an overall different feel from it’s predecessors. It also had some genuinely scary moments imo. The ending was still predictable and once again we got more copy-cat killers but that was already to be expected. This one wasn’t all that bad, it managed to keep my attention.

Scream 2: The last sequel that was decent before we start getting into the dumb shit. This one has the best opening of the entire franchise, you can’t beat the movie theater scene. The plot wasn’t anything special. Billy’s estranged mom coming back for revenge is old hat and the horror movie freak (Mickey) wanting to go on trial and blaming the movies for his homicidal ways was annoying. But I enjoyed the university setting. The best things about this movie was Cotton and they killed off Randy.

Scream 3: Now here is where shit starts getting dumb. This movie opens with Cotton being killed and it pissed me off. The story of the long-lost half sibling turning out to be a maniac was more old hat than Billy’s mom coming for revenge in part 2. The whole movie within a movie crap (Stab) was getting old by this point. The only thing I enjoyed about this movie was the backstory on Sidney’s mom. Honestly this film is just forgettable in many ways.

Scream 4: Another pointless entry that picks up years after the third. This movie feels like it was pieced together for fan service. The killers are so predictable and once again it’s a member of Sindey’s fucked up family. (Jill) Just rinse and repeat!

Scream: (aka Scream 5): This one just WTF.I struggled to keep myself awake here lol. Another one that feels like it was copy and pasted for fan service. And seriously, how many copy cat Ghostface killers does it take before one finally kills off Sidney? Whatever! They gave this film the same name as the original and later make 6. SMH

Overall, I don’t find this franchise as interesting as other horror fans do, and I feel it’s because of the premise. There was only so much that could be done before it became old hat and that’s the problem. A supernatural killer won’t work here and they’re already pushing that line with Billy’s ghost showing up. I don’t know what to expect with the new film they’re making but imo it needs to be the finale for this series. Anyway, the first three on this list are certainly rewatchable, the others not so much.