An elderly Jesuit priest named Lankester Merrin is leading an archaeological dig in northern Iraq and studying ancient relics. Following the discovery of a small statue of the demon Pazuzu (an actual ancient Sumerian demigod) and a modern-day St. Christopher medal curiously juxtaposed together at the site, a series of omens alerts him to a pending confrontation with a powerful evil, which unknown to the audience at this point, he has battled before in an exorcism in Africa. Meanwhile in Georgetown, a young girl named Regan MacNeil living with her famous actress mother, Chris MacNeil, becomes inexplicably ill. After a gradual series of poltergeist-like disturbances, she undergoes disturbing psychological and physical changes, appearing to become "possessed" by a demonic spirit.

After several unsuccessful psychiatric and medical treatments, Regan's mother turns to a local Jesuit priest. Father Damien Karras, who is currently going through a personal crisis of faith after the loss of his mother, agrees to see Regan as a psychiatrist, but initially resists the notion that it is an actual demonic possession. After a few meetings with the child, now completely inhabited by a diabolical personality, he turns to the local bishop for permission to perform an exorcism on the child. After consultation with the Jesuit president of Georgetown, the bishop appoints the experienced Father Merrin, recently returned to the States, to perform the exorcism and allows the doubt-ridden Karras to assist him. The demon supposedly possessing Regan calls himself Pazuzu, the same demon whose statue was found earlier.

The lengthy exorcism tests the priests, both physically and spiritually. After the death of Father Merrin, the task ultimately restores Father Karras' faith, leading him to give his own life to save Regan's.

American horror franchise that consists of eleven slasher films, a television show, novels, and comic books. The franchise is mainly based on the fictional character of Jason Voorhees, who supposedly drowned at Camp Crystal Lake as a boy due to the negligence of the teenage counselors. Decades later, the lake is rumored to be "cursed", and is the setting for a series of mass murders. Jason is featured in all of the films, either as the killer or as the motivation for the killings. The original film was written by Victor Miller, and it was produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, with various other individuals taking over those jobs for each sequel.

Originally created to cash in on the success of John Carpenter's Halloween (197 ,[2] the success lead Paramount Pictures to purchase the full rights to the Friday the 13th franchise with Frank Mancuso, Jr. to produce it. Mancuso, Jr. would go on to develop the television show Friday the 13th: The Series after Paramount released what would be their last film. The television series is not connected to the rest of the franchise by any character or setting, but was created out of the idea of "bad luck and curses", which the film series symbolized.[3] While the franchise was owned by Paramount, four films were adapted into novels, with the film Friday the 13th Part III receiving two separate adaptations. When the franchise was sold to New Line Cinema, Cunningham returned to oversee two additional films, and a crossover film with Freddy Krueger from another horror film series A Nightmare on Elm Street. Under New Line, eight novellas and various comic book series were published featuring Jason Voorhees.

The film series was never favored by critics, but still became a financial success at the box office.[4] When comparing the United States box office grosses of other horror film series, Friday the 13th is the highest grossing franchise in adjusted US dollars

Helen Lyle is a graduate student conducting research on modern folklore. While interviewing freshmen about their superstitions, she hears about a local legend known as Candyman, a slave who was brutally tortured and murdered. If you look into a mirror and chant his name five times you will summon him, but at the cost of your own life. Thinking this is just the new spin she has been looking for, she enters the notorious gang-ridden territory known as the Cabrini-Green housing projects (the site of a brutal murder). Helen believes that Candyman cannot exist, but when she calls him into our world a string of murders begin and the police look to her as the primary suspect. Now, only one person can set her free..... the Candyman.

Candyman was widely regarded as a bold new take on modern horror. The combination of urban settings and modern folklore struck a cord with moviegoers and critics alike. Much like another of Clive Barker's creations, the Cenobites of the Hellraiser films, the Candyman must be called into existence, so often the deciding factor in a character's safety is his/her belief. If you believe, you are more likely not to summon him, but if you do not, you would do it just to prove the lunacy of it and, as such, end up dead.

Two sequels were produced, each of which expanded on the backstory of the Candyman himself. Both starred Tony Todd as the Candyman, but generally retained little direct continuity from one film to the next. Although both retained some of the original film's urban legend motif, the Candyman is a much more typical slasher film villain in each successive sequel. Both sequels' subtitles (Farewell to the Flesh and Day of the Dead) are references to real-world festivals (Carnival and the Day of the Dead, respectively).

1995's Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh starred Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, William O'Leary and Bill Nunn. The father of New Orleans schoolteacher Annie Tarrant (Rowan) was murdered in a Candyman-like fashion some years prior. When other similar killings begin to occur, her brother is accused and one of her students starts to see the Candyman. In order to disprove to herself that the Candyman exists, she says his name five times in front of a mirror, summoning him to New Orleans, where the killing begins in earnest. The film's climax reveals more details of the Candyman's genesis, and it is revealed here that his name in life was Daniel Robitaille.

Candyman 3: Day of the Dead followed in 1999, and starred Donna D'Errico as an artist who learned that her great-grandparents were the Candyman and the white woman who he had been murdered for loving. The Candyman hoped to kill her so that she could be with him forever as a spirit like himself.