A Guide to Horror Sequels
Submitted by Maniac Mansion on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 03:56
Tags:
- So, everyone knows that sequels suck, right? Wrong. SOME sequels suck. Hard. This is true. Even more true in the horror genre, witch spawns more sequels than all other genres combined. However, this does not mean that all horror sequels should be avoided. To the contrary, there are many very good films to be found within the garbage heap of endless "Revenge of's" and "This Time Its Personal's." These are my personal favorites:
- Dawn of the Dead (1978) Dir: George A. Romero
- This sequel to Romero's 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead, is one of the greatest horror films ever made. Whether this surpasses the original is hotly debated by horror geeks around the world. I, for one, am strongly on the side of Dawn. Either way, no one is doubting the greatness of this film. Pretty much the essential Zombie film, Dawn throws just about everything at you: gobs of gore, a shopping mall full of zombies, helicopters, machine guns, explosions, bikers, crazy stunts, laughs, tears, and commentary on American consumerism. There really isn't any reason NOT to watch this film. If you haven't seen it, stop reading and go watch it now.
- Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) Dir: Sam Raimi
- Sam Raimi's follow-up to his cult classic indie horror film, The Evil Dead. While the first film is an earnest (if not always successful) attempt at pure horror, here we have Raimi, and star Bruce Campbell, cranking up the slapstick for the best horror comedy ever. The film has an amazing balance of horror to humor, never relying so heavily on one that the other is pushed to the background. The scene in which Campbell battles against his possessed hand is one of best scenes in any horror film. Groovy.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors (1987) Dir: Chuck Russell
- This film is often overlooked because of the terrible reputation the Nightmare sequels have overall. It also has been accused of being the film that made Freddy "funny." Dream Warriors may be the film that Freddy began his punning ("Welcome to prime time, Bitch!") but its also a damn fun horror flick. The kids of Elm Street are getting a little loopy from all this dream invasion business and wind up in the local Asylum. When Freddy starts picking them off one by one, they band together and fight back! In my opinion this has the best dream sequences, and most creative Freddy kills in the series. It certainly has the best cast, with leading lady Patricia Arquette, support from Larry Fishburne, Craig Wasson, and Heather Langenkamp returning as Nancy Thompson from the first film. Plus its co-written by Wes Craven and Frank Darabont! As long as you don't take the flick too seriously there is a very good time waiting to be had here.
- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) Dir: Joseph Zito
- Generally considered to be the best of the Friday series (though my favorite will always be Part 2), The Final Chapter is one of the best slashers around. Jason finally has his mask in full effect, and is meaner, and more pissed off than ever. The thing that makes Final Chapter rise above other films in the genre is that it works almost as well as an 80s teen camp movie than as a horror film. The amazing cast includes Corey Feldman, Crispen Glover, and Lawrence Monoson, and Tom Savini returns to provide some pretty brutal make-up effects. People detracted by the slew of mediocre, and downright terrible sequels (I'm looking at you Jason Takes Manhattan!) can rest assured this is the most serious and well directed Friday of the bunch. This might not have been the "Final Chapter" the title promised, but it is the closest anyone ever came to taking out Mr. Voorhees.
- Aliens (1986) Dir: James Cameron
- While the original Alien may be a classier, scarier film, what Aliens lacks in sophistication it more than makes up for in insane non-stop action. The awesome cast includes Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton ("Game Over Man"), Paul Reiser, and of course Sigourney Weaver returning as everyone's favorite alien ass-kicker Ellen Ripley. The aliens are one of (if not the) scariest creatures in film history, and we get a heaping helping of them in this picture, along with plenty of great blood and guts (from humans, aliens, and even cyborgs!). The final showdown between Ripley and the Alien is as good as film gets. Thrills. Chills. Flame throwers. Aliens is one hell of a ride, and even if it isn't strictly a horror film, any horror fan will have plenty to cheer for.
- Final Destination 2 (2003) Dir: David R. Ellis
- I see some confused faces in the audience. Final Destination 2? Really? Hells yeah. FD2 may be far from a great film (technically speaking that is), but when it comes down to body count and creative kills, few horror films even come close to this epic masterpiece of death. We start with a cast of nearly 20 characters and find out each of them is going to die (and most likely in some crazy graphic way). The opening highway pileup is one of the most absurdly violent things I've seen in a mainstream horror film, and it only gets better from there. To give away any of the death scenes is to ruin the magic, suffice to say they're all freakin' brilliant (and often hilarious). Set your brain on cruise control, and let FD2 take you for a ride.
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) Dir: Joe Dante
- Gremlins 2 isn't exactly a horror movie. It isn't exactly anything. Its mishmash of just about every genre imaginable and probably invents a few new ones. But it does revolve around monsters and various other spooky things, which gives it enough horror cred. One of the most bizarre and uninhibitedly zany films I have ever witnessed, The New Batch is only a sequel in that it has the main characters (Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, and Gizmo) on a completely different adventure. The tone of the film is much sillier, so silly that it is nearly a parody of the first film at times. The plot of the film revolves around Gremlins getting loose in an ultra-modern office building and the wackiness that ensues. John Glover nearly steals the film as the unflinchable owner of the building. More random jokes, one-liners, sight-gags, puns, in-jokes, winks, nudges and celebrity cameos than one film should ever be able to hold. There's even a musical sequence! Gremlins 2 is a film experience like no other, and one that should not be missed.
- Jaws 2 (1978) Dir: Jeannot Szwarc
- The original Jaws is one of my favorite films and generally considered to be a pretty awesome flick, so Jaws 2 has a lot to live up to. Fortunately, it does a fine job. While not as well made or intensely thrilling as Spielberg's classic, this sequel manages to be a fun and scary ride. Roy Schieder reprises his role as Amity's finest, now completely shark-crazy, he has become a paranoid mess. Add a typical (but nonetheless fun) teen slasher side story, some awesome shark attacks, and some cheese for flavor, and you have yourself a perfectly decent little horror film.
- Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981) Dir: Steve Miner
- Witness the humble beginnings of Jason Voorhees. No hockey mask, just a sack with one eye hole. Not the indestructible zombie he would soon become. Just a really angry dude with a machete. The kill scenes in this (though not very graphic) are among my all time favorites. Even if the double-spearing is lifted right from Bava's Twitch of the Death Nerve, and the wheelchair death was covered in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Who cares? Friday does them better anyway. The opening sequence with Adrienne King (from the first film) is a personal favorite of mine (watch for the cat being thrown through the window!). When it comes down to it the flick is just a blast from start to finish. Funny. Suspenseful. Bloody. Stupid. Its all good stuff. Steve Miner never gets any credit, despite practically inventing Jason, he also did the totally decent Part 3, and is the best director to lend his talents to the series, despite this being his first film.
- Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) Dir: Wes Craven
- Conceptually speaking, New Nightmare is, by far, the best horror sequel. Its one of the most clever concepts (along with the original Nightmare) to ever grace the horror screen. Real life Nightmare actress Heather Langenkamp (as herself) begins being stalked by fictional madman Freddy Kruger. Robert Englund, John Saxon, and even Wes Craven all appear as themselves making the charade all the more fun. Miko Hughes (the creepy kid from Pet Semetary) plays Nancy's son, and does a bang-up job. Lots of gruesome Freddy kills (this might be the most violent of the series) with none of the "humor" that plagued the other sequels. This is the original Freddy. The scary Freddy. And this flick is scary. For some reason this one tends to be forgotten, either because it doesn't have the "Nightmare on Elm Street" tag or because it was overshadowed by Scream two years later (to be fair, it is the better film). While not as scary as the first, or as entertaining as the third, New Nightmare is, nonetheless, a shining example of how good a sequel can be.
- Halloween: H20 (1998) Dir: Steve Miner
- No love for H20? I'll never understand it. None of the other Halloween sequels even come close. Lets start with the obvious: Jamie Lee Curtis returns! Laurie Strode is nearly as important to the series as Michael Myers, and has been sorely missed since Part II. Along with JLC we've got a killer cast including: Josh Hartnett, Michelle Williams, Joseph Gordon-Levett, LL Cool J, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, and Janet Leigh. 20 Years after the original events, Michael is back to finish the job. But Laurie hasn't spent all this time making a normal life for herself only to have Michael come and spoil it. That's right. We've got ourselves a good old fashioned showdown! The rest of the film is a very decent post-scream slasher with some good scares and bloody kills, but the real gold is in the final act when the two finally meet, face to face (literally). This is a marvelous way to end the Halloween saga (lets all just pretend Halloween: Resurrection never happened).
- Child's Play 2 (1990) Dir: John Lafla
- This is the best entry in the Child's Play franchise, and the closest it ever comes to being scary. While the latter entries (Bride and Seed) are good humored parodies, the first 3 are strictly horror (or as strictly horror as a wisecracking killer doll move can be), and CP2 does a pretty good job of keeping up the suspense. Plotwise, not too much going on here. Chucky continues to try to capture Andy (the little boy from the first film) so he can possess his body, and kills everyone who gets in his way. Brad Dourif voicing Chucky continues to be a highlight of the series, and he has never been so evil, scary or darkly funny as he is here. The final showdown takes place at a Toy Factory and is what really separates this from the rest of the series. If you only see one Child's Play movie... part 2 is your best bet.
- Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1998) Dir: Tony Randel
- I'm going to be honest... I don't much care for Hellraiser. Its never been my cup of tea. Hellbound on the other hand is amazing. We actually get to go to Hell in this one, and its pretty cool. The story is a mess (as it always seems to be in this franchise) suffice to say it revolves around the heroine from the first film in a mental ward, skinless people, and the Cenobites (those weird S&M demons). Be forewarned, this is one of the most gruesomely violent films I've ever seen. More blood and gore than even the first film. We also get a look into the past of Pinhead, who has more screen time here than all the other films combined. Hellbound is a shocking, and surreal trip of a horror film... and its pretty awesome.
- Phantasm II (1988) Dir: Don Coscarelli
- Phantasm is a very weird flick. Maybe the weirdest horror film out there. Phantasm II doesn't quite live up to that awesome and unique weirdness (despite being written and directed by Don Coscarelli), but it is a fun and wacky film, somewhat in the vein of Evil Dead II. The plot involves Mike and Reggie from the first film, along with newcomer Alchemy, trying to find the Tall Man to, you know, destroy him. There is a lot of strange mind reading and psychic dreaming going on for some reason, and a fair share of suspension of disbelief will be required to enjoy the flick. The three reasons to watch Phantasm II are the Tall Man's new and improved (...er) "balls," Reggie's double-shotgun contraption, and the best chainsaw bisection ever committed to film. No Region 1 DVD release of this yet, but its worth seeking out.
- Scream 2 (1997) Dir: Wes Craven
- If you like Scream, there really isn't any reason you shouldn't enjoy Scream 2. Its written by Kevin Williamson directed by Wes Craven, all the original survivors are back, and the new additions are all welcome (Liev Schreiber, Sarah Michele Gellar, Jada Pinkett, Timothy Olyphant, and Jerry O'Connell). The characters are now in college, and the events of the first film have now been turned into a movie within the movie, "Stab." Naturally, a copycat killer begins stalking the survivors. The same wit and humor that made the first film a classic, succeeds here once again. There is even a great scene in which the "Rules of Sequels" are discussed. Give Scream 2 some bonus points for managing to be scarier than the first, with more than a few thrills and chills. Keep on the lookout for a number of great cameos as well.
- Hungry for more Sequels? A Guide to Horror Sequels; Part II
Author Comments:
I am a huge horror buff and have seen hundreds of horror films. I can't say I've seen EVERY sequel ever made in the genre, but I have seen a good deal, if not MOST, of them. Some of these flicks require an appreciation of horror films that may reach beyond the casual fan. In other words don't expect any of these (save for a select few) to be "great" movies. Expect to be a little forgiving. They can be a lot of fun if you let them.
Done with this list? Check out A Guide to Horror Sequels: Part II!
I love this list! Excellent work! And thanks for giving Dream Warriors the props it has deserved for so long. Any chance you can toss the Sleepaway Camp sequels on the To Be Reviewed pile? Along with House2: The Second Story?
Thanks, I'm glad you like the list. Dream Warriors is one of my all time favorite films, always good to find a fellow fan! I actually got to see a screening of it recently with Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell there for a Q&A. It was pretty amazing.
As for the Sleepaway Camp series, I may put up Teenage Wasteland (which is a pretty terrible movie, but certainly entertaining), but Unhappy Campers is a little too mediocre for me to consider it a good sequel (even if it does have a freakin' sweet cover!). I may have to re-watch House 2, but I remember it being pretty bad. Kind of like an Indiana Jones rip-off for no particular reason. I remember liking House IV better.
Okay, I added Sleepaway Camp III. I'll have to rewatch it before I review it, but I remember thinking it was a fun flick. Thanks for the suggestion.
The top 3 are so true! Well done!