10 Horror Movie Crossovers That Need to Happen

Spencer Perry

08/15/2023 10:04 pm EDT

Today marks twenty years since the biggest battle of horror titans was released, Freddy vs Jason. Though the Horror genre has previously dabbled in crossovers and fights (Frankenstein vs The Wolf Man and King Kong vs Godzilla as the notable examples), but the 2003 horror event managed to make a big mark on both the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street franchises. Not only did Freddy vs Jason become the highest grossing movie in either franchise, including the attempted reboots, but it basically brought them both to an end too. Plus, the audience had been demanding it for quite a while.

Horror movie crossovers are largely uncommon for one big reason, the rights are complicated. Freddy vs Jason was only able to get off the ground since New Line Cinemas held both franchises for a time. Now however the Warner Bros. Studios subsidiary no longer has either franchise. That's the bad news, the good news is that even if something is as lackluster as Alien vs Predator, horror fans will always show up for a throw down between their favorite franchises. The interest in horror movie franchises crossing over isn't based on any kind of narrative appeal, it's pure WWE spectacle. Who wins? Who dies? People will always want to see an unstoppable force meet the immovable object, and sometimes those take the from of serial killers that wear creepy masks.

To mark the 20th anniversary of Freddy vs Jason we've picked out ten more horror movie crossovers that we really want to see happen. We also make a point to note whether they could feasibly happen, but the truth of the matter is that when money is concerned in Hollywood, anything is possible.

Which horror movie crossovers are you still waiting to see on the big screen? Sound off below!

MA & M3GAN

There aren't many horror movies from the past 10 years that one can call camp, but the two Blumhouse Productions of M3GAN and MA are notably ironic horror movies that are perfect to square off. It helps that the two titular characters are icons in their own right and as characters they have no trouble throwing down to get their way, plus it helps that they're both meme machines. Would M3GAN and MA team-up to kill? Would their insatiable desire to always be the center of attention cause strife between them? Would it be hilarious to watch Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer beat up a doll? Yes to all these.

Likelihood of happening: Slim, but not impossible! Blumhouse produced both movies, meaning the rights could be easier to navigate.

The Predator & The Purge

Where else would a hunter seeking only the most prized possessions be able to make the claim that they're the best there is...other than a night when everyone else is hunting their friends and neighbors for sport? Fans of both Predator and The Purge franchises are always eager for carnage and bloodshed, and combining the two seems like a chocolate and peanut butter situation. The trouble with crossovers is almost always conceiving of a way for it to naturally occur in the story, and this is probably the best one you're going to find.

Likelihood of happening: Nonexistent. The Purge is a Universal/Blumhouse property, while Predator is a 20th Century/Disney venture finding major success with its prequel movie.

Halloween & Trick 'r Treat

In the decades-long run with Halloween there have been whispers about potential crossovers but they've never come to fruition. Part of this is that Michael Myers alone is enough for a movie, but also the lore in the series got too convoluted at a certain point. There is one franchise that COULD work with Halloween though, and it's Michael Dougherty's Trick 'r Treat. The cult classic anthology movie is set on the same night, features its own iconic character in Sam, and has already proven that its tone works with all kinds of horrifying stories. Does Sam just watch while The Shape comes home to Haddonfield? Who knows, but we'd like to see these franchises collide.

Likelihood of happening: The rights for both are at two different places, but Trancas International Films and Legendary have been known to collaborate with other studios in the past. This may be an unlikely pair, but it's not completely out of the question.

The Grudge & Insidious

The most recent entry in the Insidious series seemed to close the book on the franchise in a way, but the best thing about it as a whole is that it's pretty easily tied to another ghost story. Because of its own lore, The Further being a place for ghosts, demons, and other spirits, you could quickly pull in any number of supernatural franchises. There's another secret weapon that Insidious has in its favor, its ghost hunting duo. That's right, we're talking Tucker and Specs vs Kayako. This might lend itself to something more like Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein than The Grudge's previous crossover with The Ring, but it's one we're willing to fight for.

Likelihood of happening: Considering The Grudge has been dormant for some time and Insidious seems primed to go away for a bit (despite major box office for The Red Door), don't get your hopes up for it.

Annabelle & Paranormal Activity

The Conjuring's most famous demon has had her fill with audiences in several movies now, and arguably the similarities in her own movies is one that fits into the Paranormal Activity series like a glove. What would this pairing even look like? It's all about form. Since the Paranormal Activity movies are found footage, and Annabelle has never been seen in such a way, perhaps there's a way to bring the format of PA to the world of The Conjuring that fits well and acknowledges the extensive demonic lore at the heart of both franchises.

Likelihood of happening: While it helps that Paranormal Activity is basically a dead franchise, new Conjuring projects continue to get made, making this seem impossible. Not to mention they're at different studios.

Ghostbusters & Evil Dead

While the appeal of serious slashers and franchises colliding is where many horror fans have their hopes at, horror-comedies should also bee meeting up. The Ghostbusters not only fight actual ghosts but have, more than once, faced demons and entities from other realms. Sounds like they have the right tools to face the Necronomicon and the Deadites to me.

Likelihood of Happening: Seems very unlikely since Sony likes to think of Ghostbusters as a family-friendly horror franchise, while Evil Dead's most recent movie (released by Warner Bros.) made sure to kill more than one child character in its run time.

IT & Terrifier

What's better than one killer clown? Two killer clowns, I guess! Ever since Terrifier 2 became a box office sensation, the appeal of Art the Clown has only grown in horror fan circles, so naturally a bout between he and Pennywise seems like exactly the kind of thing that would be the stuff of legend. How does this work? Who gets caught in the crossfire? Does a plot really matter when it comes to the antics of Art the Clown? This one might best be left in your imagination, but it's a match-up that seems ripe for a trashy exploitation movie.

Likelihood of Happening: Never say never seems like the safest option here, but the two IT movies were box office juggernauts in a way that makes them seem like WB would want to corner them off.

Chucky & Orphan

Chucky creator Don Mancini has not been shied away from teasing about the possibility of a crossover within the franchise, and even though there are plenty of great fits, perhaps the best would be Esther herself from the Orphan series. But wait, didn't the Orphan die at the end of Orphan? Sure, but doesn't Chucky die in every movie he has appeared in? Voodoo magic! Make it work! The smarmy talk from both characters, who do their best to keep their secrets from an unsuspecting family, means that both Chucky and Esther have similar structures in most of their stories, so combining the two seems very easy.

Likelihood of happening: Chucky is still starring in his own TV series for the time being, produced by Universal, and Esther just appeared in a prequel movie from Dark Castle Entertainment. Could it happen? Sure! Probably not though!

Get Out & Scream

The box office success and the Oscar accolades for Get Out all but guarantee no sequel will ever get made, but IF one were to get made....wouldn't it be great to team up with another horror series that is also self-aware? Blending these two properties allows for the chance to not only further explore the racial dynamics that Get Out was already playing with, but to dig deeper into the representation of black people within the actual Scream franchise as well. The new films in the Scream series have of course referenced Jordan Peele already, which, well, just adds another layer. Maybe JP can appear as himself. Plus, the title is right there, Get Out And Scream!

Likelihood of happening: Zero. A Get Out sequel is never going to happen, let alone a crossover.

Cabin in the Woods & Everything Else

By virtue of its own exitance, The Cabin in the Woods cemented its place in the horror world by essentially making everything canon. References are made to countless franchises in terms of the monsters that are available to be summoned from Hellraiser, The Evil Dead, The Strangers, The Shining and more. We all know what the Easter eggs are, we love the gags being had here, but having a character from another franchise pop up in some capacity would at least be worth the sensible chuckle that it elicits.

Likelihood of happening: It seems unlikely that any kind of spin-off or sequel will get made for The Cabin in the Woods, but we can always pretend that everything else is related to it in some way, right?

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