I'm kinda in the same boat but not really for the same reason. I mean, there's seemingly less intentionality behind it. I didn't grow up with the big three, so I only ever watched the first ones for the first time last year. But it's not like I'm purposely avoiding the sequels, I'm technically open to watching them eventually. I've just only been watching horror that's in theaters, and when I'm not at the theater, I'm just doing other things like playing games or reading comics. I can't say the sequels are on my watchlist either because that would imply that I've ever written anything down. I've got a perpetually growing stack of DVDs I haven't touched but other than that I don't really plan ahead. I think the only reason I even picked up Scream in the first place is because I wanted to see the sixth one in theaters (same with Final Destination actually, strangely enough)
All respect to you both for your reasons and you do you, etc etc but there is almost nothing that brings me more joy than a franchise run through. There are so many bad sequels of course but that’s part of the fun and charm. I say this all as I’m currently doing F13 of course and this will probably make more sense in the context of the horror thread but whatever
Definitely wild to not watch the sequels. The Friday sequels are the absolute blueprint for what a stereotypical “slasher” movie is. Essential viewing for horror fans.
I'd be down to watch a few big three sequels here and there, maybe skip the bad ones. I don't really plan ahead tho so I'm not sure how likely it'll happen organically. Maybe I'll be more in the mood for it in October
People should watch Halloween II (1981), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, and A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors if they want one sequel from each franchise to get acclimated with. The whole ride is worth doing and as @estebanwaseaten said, part of the charm of a runthrough is the highs and lows of sitting through something like The Curse of Michael Myers, but I think those three would give the best representation of each franchise outside of the originals. Plus, there's no real continuity from the previous films (with the exception of Halloween II), so you can really just drop-in wherever and enjoy.