Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; horror begets horror. As fans of the horror genre grow up watching classic films, they are filled with the desire to honor those movies they loved as children. When those young fans become creators themselves, making new horror movies for a new generation, they sometimes infuse their stories with references to past movies.
Sometimes, even, they’ll directly tie their stories together; some horror-creator friends will connect their universes for fun, too. There are plenty of horror movies with connections less dramatic than Freddy vs. Jason — because, sometimes, it’s all about the little things.
10 Freddy’s (Evil) Dead (II)
In Evil Dead II (sometimes known as Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn), director Sam Raimi decided to shout out to his buddy Wes Craven and his movie A Nightmare on Elm Street by directly tying their movies together.
Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed that Freddy Krueger’s infamous glove is hanging on the wall in Evil Dead II. For those audience members who may not have noticed it before, make sure to keep your eyes peeled on the rewatch, because the glove appears twice: once in the fruit cellar, and once in the workshed.
9 Scream H20
In a complicated move that entertained many horror fans at the time, director Steve Miner decided to tie Halloween H20: 20 Years Later into the Scream franchise. As far as franchises that are good for meta connections go, Scream is arguably the best — it thrives on being meta, that’s its whole thing.
That’s part of what makes it so funny that, in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, characters are seen watching Scream 2, despite the fact that characters in Scream watch Halloween.
8 The Evil Dead Go To Hell
The Necronomicon is an object that makes its appearance in many, many horror movies. It’s also known as the Book of the Dead, and though it is a book of legend, most horror fans know it from its appearance in The Evil Dead. However, that’s not the only place that the Necronomicon pops up in horror movies.
In fact, in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, the very same Necronomicon from The Evil Dead can be seen in the Voorhees house. This is much more subtle a connection than Freddy Krueger’s glove at the end of the movie, when it literally grabs Jason’s mask, tying together Freddy and Jason, as well.
7 Texas Chainsaw Sharknado
Sometimes, the connections between horror movies aren’t objects, or the films themselves: sometimes, they’re people. Fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 likely fondly remember Stretch, AKA Vanita "Stretch" Brock, the radio DJ and final girl who makes it through the end of the movie.
Stretch was played by Caroline Williams, who went on to reprise her role as Stretch in the SyFy comedy-horror movie Sharknado: The 4th Awakens. There’s even a chainsaw dealer in the movie named Chop Top, in homage to the villain of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
6 The Bride Of Chucky
Like the Scream franchise, the Child’s Play franchise — otherwise known as the “Chucky” movies, starring the murderous doll himself — are known for being referential. Chucky makes frequent references to other movies throughout his own franchise movies, and many of those references appear in Bride of Chucky.
Those who know their horror props likely recognized a whole bunch of them when the evidence locker opens. Inside, viewers can see Leatherface’s chainsaw, Jason’s mask, Freddy’s glove, and Michael Myers’ mask, as well, from Halloween.
5 Or, The Bride Of Clowns
The aforementioned references to other horror movies aren’t the only references within Bride of Chucky, however. The other references are a bit less obvious.
For those viewers watching Bride of Chucky with a critical, closer eye than most others, they may have noticed there’s a wanted poster hanging up in a city alley, in one of the blurred backgrounds. That wanted poster is for none other than Pennywise the Dancing Clown, from Stephen King’s It.
4 The Evil Hills
Remember how Sam Raimi shouted out to his buddy Wes Craven by including Freddy’s glove on the wall in Evil Dead II? Well, that’s not the only reference Raimi makes in his Evil Dead movies to his friend’s films, because The Evil Dead also references another Craven film: The Hills Have Eyes.
On the wall of the fruit cellar, fans may have noticed a poster for the movie The Hills Have Eyes, though it is a bit hard to see, being that the thing is torn to shreds. Raimi and Craven just love to make little jokes with each other, it seems.
3 The Hills Have Jaws
Not to go back even further, but now that audiences have woven their way backward in horror movie history through self-referential meta poster usage, what’s one more? In Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes, he featured a torn horror movie poster that would inspire Sam Raimi a few years down the line when he made The Evil Dead.
In The Hills Have Eyes, Wes Craven includes a torn Jaws poster on the wall. Though some viewers argue it’s not a poster for Jaws at all, many believe it is — and, most importantly, Sam Raimi believed it was, and the rest was history.
2 The Slithering Thing
Not all movie references are completely contemporary, either. Some references go back years to tie together franchises or movies that previously had nothing to do with each other. James Gunn decided to try this by tying his movie Slither back with a different John Carpenter classic: not Halloween, but The Thing.
The mayor in Gunn’s Slither is named Jack MacReady, in clear reference to Kurt Russell’s character R.J. MacReady, but that’s not all. Gunn also has an external funeral home set named “R.J. MacReady’s Auctioneers & Funeral Home,” in direct reference to Russell’s character.
1 Behind the Door
One of the horror genre’s newer meta films is 2006’s Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. The movie references several past horror movies and serial killers as having existed within the real universe of the characters in the film. Though there are multiple appearances from other famous horror actors, such as Robert Englund, the most exciting connection in the movie is the identity of Eugene, “Leslie Vernon’s” mentor.
Though it’s never stated explicitly in the film, the creators intended for — and fans know — Eugene to be Billy from Black Christmas. Eugene even laments the fact that he’s a terrifying killer who never got the same name recognition as his peers, like Jason and Michael, though he doesn’t blame them for it, hilariously enough.
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