TheIndiana Jonesfranchiseis one of the most successful franchises Hollywood has ever produced. Born in 1981 withRaiders of the Lost Ark(yes, the only one without the name “Indiana Jones” in the title), these action-adventure films are like none other. StarringHarrison Fordas the titular character, it took us through different situations where the cool professor had to save the world from ruthless villains and otherworldly creatures.
The latest installment made its way through the box office in 2023, and it seems that Indy is now taking a permanent break. Sure, the franchisecould continue with other characters and formats, but purists are not entirely sure about where it could go. However, a franchise rewatch is always a great choice, and one that lets viewers experience the evolution of the characters, the aesthetics of adventure cinema throughout decades, and stunt work that still entertains just about everyone.
One of the aspects of the franchise that always comes to mind is how it smoothly sailed between acceptable and family-friendly content, and more questionable subgenres. Indy is the brave and sometimes clumsy guy who always manages to save the day — but sometimes that happens while he stares horror straight in the face. They were times when the white-knuckle experience was more of a “cover your eyes” experience.
The adventures of Indiana Jones in all their iterations are action and fantasy films first. But often, producers went ahead and added some spice to the formula and depicted horrific situations that put Indy in deadly peril. On the most recent rewatch before 2023’sIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,we were surprised at how the franchise could easily be seen as a cousin to horror.
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The following article contains spoilers for the Indiana Jones franchise
What is the Indiana Jones Franchise About?
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Initially a trilogy, TheIndiana Jonesfranchise tells the story of professor Henry Jones Jr., aka Indiana Jones, as he occasionally takes some breaks from his gig teaching students about archaeology to travel across the world and keep humankind safe. Sure, he also has a bit of a soft side for history and mainly wants to keep ancient artifacts out of the hands of greedy moguls, but Indiana’s missions were always about him being good and using his skills and talents to fight the bad guys.
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It’s no coincidence that, more than a handful of times, he faced the Nazis while they wreaked havoc in world wars. Whatever happened at first, Indiana Jones always facedsome kind of supernatural event, object, or creature in the end. He witnessed the power of deities, ancient gods, stones that brought life to civilization, and even aliens.
There’s nothing Jones didn’t save us from, and like action heroes are supposed to, he was always supported by great sidekicks, romantic partners, and the best use of a hat and whip you can think of. Well, yes, he also had a gun, butit was only used in special circumstances.
How the Indiana Jones Franchise Could Easily Be Horror
Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom
The franchise is full of thrills and perilous situations that Indiana and his partners are subjected to. On every cliffhanger, you will cover your mouth and probably jump, even when we know Jones will make it out okay. It’s a formula that, for the sake of an adventure experience, audiences always buy — and they always forget not to be shocked. That’s how it works.
However, in the Indy-versesometimes it gets rough. The ending ofRaiders of the Lost Arkwas heavily explicit, and somehow Steven Spielberg got away with some of the best kills ever, including literal melting faces done with incredible special effects that hold up to this day.
ButIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doomtook the horror element to the next level, andfelt like too much. To this day, people still regard it as a horror movie inside the universe ofIndiana Jones. Others call it unnecessary, but films were entirely different 40 years ago. It’s not that “some things were allowed,” it’s that action hero films were simply much more violent than now.
Then cameIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which heavily evolved from the prequel where Jones faced the wrath of cults. This time, Indy went back to fighting Nazis while being accompanied by his father. Part 3 of the franchise is much more of an action film, although its third act raises the bets and features very disturbing imagery. We won’t exactly spoil the film, but the bad people in the film get what they deserve.
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
After the first three films, Indy took a much-deserved rest. Butwhen it was time to return, Spielberg saw it fit to include some horror elements while also observing the evolution of audiences.Last Crusadehad given us a much more mature version of Jones, and the film clearly showed the value of closure, both for the franchise and the character.
Things Became More Tame After the Trilogy
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skullwas a downgrade for most, but it was apparent that repeating the same formula as before was going to be the only option. That and the use of a premise that would deliver on the scare factor.
Crystal Skullwasn’t the bad filmeveryone said it was. It was just different. It showed Indy as an old man forced to follow in his own footsteps to prevent Soviets from getting their hands on a valuable object that could change humankind forever. The premise of aliens was promising, and in some ways, it worked. But overall, it was just a modern Indy film that had to use CGI, introduce new characters, and show Indy being too old to repeat some of his old tricks.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
It wasn’t horror, to say the least, and audiences also felt the film played it too safe when depicting Indy and his “family” in dangerous situations. Nevertheless, the ending gave Irina Spalko a horrific death that totally changed the mood of an ending that was otherwise surprisingly optimistic and sunny. The thrills were now over, Indy would retire. And no longer would he subject himself to the supernatural wonders of the world that often made the franchise a horror vehicle that was perfect for a thrilling watch.
Then in 2023, we gotIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, probably the safestIndiana Jonesfilm there is, and it has a reason to be. It’s the first Indy film to be made and released under the Disney name, and we all knew what that would mean for the franchise, which always had a hefty dash of horror in its storylines and premises. Our hunch turned out to be true.
Dial of Destinyfeels like a good additionto the franchise, and a satisfying ending. But it gets rid of everything that madeIndiana Jonesa horror-adventure franchise. There’s no sense of real danger, because the director aimed at making another kind of film, one that would show the character using his legacy to solve a riddle and nothing more. Indy’s age is also a factor that, unfortunately, wasn’t written out of the franchise. Chances are,hewilltake a break from now on.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
What are the Scariest Moments in the Indiana Jones Franchise?
Fromthe very first moment, Indiana Jones faced the improbable, the unbelievable, and the downright terrifying. Without counting his fear of snakes, Indy was always the fearless archaeologist who wasn’t scared to go from the front to the back of a truck by sliding under it while it moved. He also wasn’t afraid to jump off a plane without a parachute and use a floating raft to land perfectly in the snow. TheIndiana Jonesfranchise is a collection of white-knuckle moments that will always satisfy action-movie hounds.
Related:Indiana Jones: The Entire Timeline, Explained
But it also had its fair share of horrific and scary moments.Throughout the five films, you will find Indy in the middle of situations that are anything but family-friendly, and plenty of those would be enough to categorize the Indy collection as horror. These are some of the scariest moments in theIndiana Jonesfranchise:
Especially if we only isolate the first trilogy,Indiana Jonesis practically a horror franchise — with a large dose of adventure. With a change of music and some other slight differences, itwouldhave been horror.Temple of Doomwill always remain the one that radically presentedthe unbelievable action heroas a potential “last man standing” facing a horrific cult that sacrificed living victims in brutal, supernatural ways, utilized child slavery, and was able to hypnotize the greatest hero of all to hurt his partner.
If that’s not “horror” enough for you, then you’ve got a strong heart of steel which would probably not burn in the hands of Mola Ram, the priest that pulled the hearts out of a person’s chest and burned them inTemple of Doom.
To stay in the mood for the adventures of Hollywood’s greatest archaeologist, here are some fun facts aboutRaiders of the Lost Ark:.
