Sometimes when a horror film finds success it generally spawns a variety of sequels which develop into a franchise that expands on the world and ideas expressed in the first film. However, when we usually look at horror franchises there's a pattern. They tend to begin with something fresh and exciting that both encapsulates and terrifies viewers, however a couple of follow ups down the line and you've got Jason Voorhees in space or Leatherface buddying up with Matthew McConaughey. This can often lead to something people once found terrifying becoming a bad joke. Yes unfortunately not many horror sequels manage to match that first installment, and the same goes for any genre of film. However, there are a select few that stand out above the rest and manage to match that iconic first installment. So without further adieu I present to you my pick for the top 10 horror sequels of all time. I'm limiting it to one film per franchise and also they aren't necessarily the second installment of that franchise just to clarify.
10. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982, Tommy Lee Wallace)
This is a film I tend to bring up a lot, I think it's just severely misunderstood. The main problem people seem to have with this is the lack of Michael Myers (who clearly died in Halloween II so?..) and judge it before they even give it a chance. I myself am guilty of such a crime which is why I now constantly defend this misunderstood classic. Attempting to make Halloween an anthology series, the film abandons the Myers plot and instead follows a bizzare story of an evil warlock looking to bring back the true spirit of Halloween using evil masks. There's stuff about robots and Stonehenge too but I don't want to ramble too much. This stands out for me as it breaks the monotony of seeing Michael stalk teenagers over and over again and if it had been better received, maybe we would have got a different franchise altogether. It's fun, dark and has a very cool soundtrack by John Carpenter so to me it stands out as the best sequel of the franchise.
9. Bride of Chucky (1998, Ronny Yu)
I'm a massive fan of the Child's Play franchise, each film offers something different and they're always both tense and humorous so to me it's one of the more diverse franchises. However Bride of Chucky acts as a turning point from the usual plot of Chucky going after young Andy Barclay to what can only be described as Natural Born Killers if Micky and Mallory were dolls. The film follows Chucky (Brad Dourif) being resurrected yet again, this time by his former girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) who eventually also becomes a doll. This film added a lot more humour than previous installments while still maintaining the brutal violence inflicted by the eponymous maniacal doll. Although it takes itself less seriously than the first three movies, Chucky was never really a serious villain anyways so I think adding more comedy to the franchise was a good idea. It's also got some Rob Zombie on the soundtrack so that's another reason why I enjoy this film.
8. The Devil's Rejects (2005, Rob Zombie)
Speaking of Rob Zombie, the next film on the list is the gritty follow up to his cult classic House of 1000 Corpses. Abandoning the colourful tone of its predecessor, The Devil's Rejects is full of gritty and raw violence that will make you cringe from start to finish and makes House of 1000 Corpses almost look like a kid's film. It sees the return of the Firefly family, the maniacal killers from the first film, and their attempt at escaping the law led by the crazed brother of one of their victims. Although Otis, Baby and Spaulding (Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie and Sid Haig respectively) are nasty serial killers, the film almost make you feel bad for them in a weird sort of way, especially during the final minutes set to Lynard Skynard's 'Free Bird'. It also includes appearances from other horror legends such as Ken Foree, Michael Berryman and, Machete himself, Danny Trejo.
7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986, Tobe Hooper)
The first Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a terrifying experience that lives on today as one of the best horror films of all time. It's sequel however, was much less terrifying but just as entertaining. Taking a completely different approach from the first film, director Tobe Hooper brings back the cannibalistic Sawyer family along with their previously unseen brother Chop Top (Bill Moseley). The family terrorize a radio DJ while being hunted down themselves by none other than Dennis Hopper who plays Lieutenant Enright. From Hoppers lightsaber-esque chainsaw battle to Bill Moseley's eccentric performance as Chop Top, the film does not just mimic everything good about the first film but instead takes an entirely new approach which works. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 may not have the same effect as part 1 but it is certainly worth the watch.
6. Hostel: Part II (2007, Eli Roth)
One of the few films on this list which I feel are better than the first, Hostel: Part II expands on the sinister Elite Hunting Club introduced in the first film, bringing in more violence and boobs for audiences everywhere. While managing to tie up the events of the first film it also begins a new story, this time with three girls checking into the titular hostel. What I liked about this one was it's suspense, the first film is rather boring for the majority but this one manages to build up many suspenseful scenes before even getting to the torture porn. We know the motivation behind the hostel so there is no need to drag it out to leave us wondering what the hell is going on, this one gets straight in there. While also managing to maintain Roth's dark sense of humour throughout, the film is definitely a step up from the first end has one of the most hilariously gruesome endings ever.
5. Bride of Frankenstein (1935, James Whale)
In a continuation of Whale's first Frankenstein film we see the return of Boris Karloff and Colin Clive as the monster and Dr. Frankenstein respectively. This time, the good doctor finds himself reluctantly continuing his work with the dead under the guidance of his former mentor Dr. Pretorious (Ernest Thesiger) in order to create a mate for the monster. The film is darkly comical and maintains the beautiful gothic atmosphere from the first film. Along with heavily emphasizing the themes of the monsters isolation and rejection from society, the film continues to portray Karloff's monster as sympathetic. It is a lot more emotionally driven than the first film and along with excellent performances including Elsa Lanchester's brief appearance as the titular bride it definitely is a worthy sequel to Frankenstein.
4. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984, Joseph Zito)
Right so apart from having the most misleading title of the franchise (it was followed by 6 more chapters, a crossover and a remake) the fourth installment is arguably the best following the original 1980 film. First of all, it is a lot more brutal than previous installments with special effects maestro Tom Savini raising the gore levels to full capacity. Secondly, the characters presented to us are a lot more likeable and carry more depth than in previous installments. Following Jason Voorhees (Ted White) as he yet again stalks and kills teenage party animals at camp Crystal Lake, it also follows a revenge subplot and sees the introduction of Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) to the franchise. It is a lot darker and more gruesome than previous installments and has some pretty grizzly death scenes. However the real highlight is Crispin Glover's iconic dance scene which you can see here:
3. Dawn of the Dead (1978, George Romero)
Before The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later, George Romero graced us with his original dead trilogy, and nothing defines the zombie genre more than his second installment, Dawn of the Dead. His original Night of the Living Dead is what gave us the modern zombie, however it's sequel brought it to a larger scale and really emphasized the whole apocalyptic aspect. Following a group of survivors held up in a shopping mall, the film not only contains some great death scenes and zombie makeup but also satirizes issues such as materialism and consumerism. To me, this definitely surpasses not only it's predecessor but also most modern zombie films of the modern era. Of course this is not to be confused with the 1985 film Return of the Living Dead or Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2, both are still entertaining but they've got no connection to Romero's films.
2. Evil Dead II (1987, Sam Raimi)
So the original The Evil Dead was one of the best low budget horrors ever and a cult classic, but it is it's 18987 sequel that popularised the series and put Bruce Campbell as one of the king's of one-liners (next to Arnie of course). The film acts as both a reimagining and follow up to The Evil Dead and continues the story of Ash Williams'battle with the deadites and the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. It has a much more comedic tone but does not hold back on the graphic, bloody violence that made the first film so memorable. So get your chainsaw arms and boomsticks at the ready because Evil Dead II is a ride you won't soon forget.
1. Aliens (1986, James Cameron)
Ridley Scott's Alien is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror films of all time so it is hard to imagine a sequel being even better. James Cameron however, managed to bring us something entirely new while continuing the story of the first film. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returns to LV-426 to take on an army of Xenomorphs terrorising the now colonised planet along with a less evil android Bishop (Lance Henriksen) and even Bill Paxton. Instead of mimicking everything Alien got right, Aliens adopts many aspects of an action movie while keeping many other aspects which made the first film so frightening, it is also on a much larger scale with hundreds more Xenomorph this time. Aliens is by far the greatest horror movie sequel of all time.
Some honourable mentions include Scream 2, Inferno, Hellbound: Hellraiser II and Doctor Phibes Rises Again. If you feel I've left anything out or that something else should be in the top spot then let me know in the comments. Next time I'll be discussing the Star Wars prequels (yes I don't just watch horrors) so stay tuned for that, until next time! And happy Friday the 13th too.
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