Even when a sequel is good enough to satisfy our bloodlust, however, it’s rare that any of the subsequent experiences equal the first. Some of this is simply because great horror comes from the unexpected. Once we know the cast of characters the element of surprise disappears. Kinda like heroin, you get that one great first high, then everything else is just a futile attempt to recapture it.
But every once in a while we get the rare gem that is a great sequel. And when that happens my friends, it is an occassion worth noting. Now let’s get it on!
As always, don’t forget to Spit Bullets below.
1. Aliens
What is there to say about this follow up to Ridley Scott’s claustrophobic masterpiece other than “F*ck yeah!” This was truly the Godfather II of horror sequels. Totally different vibe, but the intensity and terror of the original were kept intact. You really can’t even argue about which is better, because both explore the universe of Alien perfectly given their respective storylines. Gotta love it!
2. Psycho II
Norman is back and who knew that it wouldn’t suck? Hitchcock’s original was so mind-blowingly effective in its day that legions of people still get creeped out when they take a shower. Since then we’ve seen the same ground tread hundreds of times, so what the hell can a sequel bring? A couple of things actually. We get more Norman and really start to dig the guy, while still not wanting him as a pal of course. It’s also time to get bloodier and nudier than was ever possible for Hitchcock. Most importantly we get a flick that does not try to recover the same territory of its predecessor. This flick has an agenda all its own and that agenda is one startlingly effective ride.
3. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
The return of Wes Craven to the franchise he created was welcome, but what could he do to revitalize this beast that had frankly gotten fairly domesticated. Easy, he brings in one cool mind f*ck of an idea. Freddy is no longer the silly joker of the later entries, but an ancient evil that has started to seep into reality again now that the film series is done and no longer keeping him contained. Genius idea, and the solid presence of the main series players, including Craven himself, make this a tough one to shuffle off as “just a movie“. The last block is a little weak, but given the fantastic concept, stellar performances and genuine surprises, that flaw can be forgiven.
4. Hellbound: Hellraiser II
This is exactly what a sequel is supposed to do. Give us bigger scope, badder situations, harsher denouements and provide a deeper level of insight into the mechanics of whatever weird shite came down in the first movie. And a LOT of weird shite happened in Hellraiser. So this time we get to see from start to finish a madman who wants to open the box, we spend some quality time down in Hell, Uncle Frank comes back to pay a visit, and there‘s plenty more Pinhead to go around. The only tragic weakness of this second slice is seeing the Pinster get his ass handed to him in what should have been one of the greatest battles in all of cinema. It almost ruins the movie on a first viewing, but after factoring out that criminal disappointment, you’ve got one amazing follow-up.
5. Land Of The Dead
We all love Romero, but the reaction to his post-Night of the Living Dead work is mixed even within the genre community. Hard to argue, though, that with LOTD he gave us some of the strongest performances of any of the films. That helps to ground the interesting and well-laid out story AND gets the audience emotionally involved when suckers start getting’ theirs. On top of that we’ve got zombies that are actually scary again given their developing intellect and abilities, plus a great socio-political commentary that doesn’t overwhelm the movie. Delicious, flesh-eating fun.
6. 28 Weeks Later
Humans are resilient, and some people are always going to get lucky when the shite hits the fan. So what does happen when everything seemingly goes to hell if all the people in the world aren’t annihilated. That’s explored with brutal efficiency in this intense second child of Danny Boyle’s original nouveau zombie concept. Undercutting everything in this flick is the realization that as much as we try to control the world around us, there will always be that unanticipated thing that f*cks everything up. It doesn’t matter what’s coming to get us – zombies, terrorists or super viruses – someday all our fail safes will falter. And that’s the scariest shite to contemplate of all.
7. Seed Of Chucky
It’s difficult to revitalize a franchise that has given into parodying itself. At a certain point the fun is gone because none of the original intensity remains and the rules of the universe have been manipulated so much that nothing is ever really at stake. Seed of Chucky managed the hat trick of making us care again, scaring us a bit again, and delivering a fun movie. Nothing can ever match Chucky’s first open attack in Child’s Play, but the delicious scene of an F/X guy getting beheaded, and Jennifer Tilly not realizing it because he’s doing F/X for a horror movie, is the rare kind of intense, creative fun we want to see more of in our sequels.
8. Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
Wanna learn how to do an STD right? Watch this movie. Sure it just came out. But everything from the reality show concept (who doesn’t want to watch those idiots get picked off), to the casting (Go Rollins!), to the sheer brutality of it all (I won’t spoil anything if you haven’t seen it yet, but thank you unrated DVD) are top notch. This is like finding a hooker who thinks you’re cute and actually gets into the trick. Doesn’t happen that often, but when it does it’s a special treat!
9. Evil Dead II
There are some slow points and annoying characters in this baby, but when you get to watch The Chin battle his own hand, and see Ash attach that f*cking chainsaw to his arm, I simply don’t understand how instantaneous genre-gasm doesn’t occur. Plus this keeps the horror amped up well, which Army Of Darkness (going for a more straight comedic tone) fails to do.
10. Friday The 13th Part III
OK, take a breath and bear with me here. There’s little question this is not the best sequel in the series, but you can’t ignore the fact that Jason Voorhees as we now know him wouldn’t exist without Part 3, 3-D or not. And quite frankly, this movie makes pretty good use of 3-D. Spear guns, eyeballs, all sorts of fun stuff. Plus some of the kills are classically brutal. That’s all beside the point, however, because Jason would just be a sack-headed moron psycho without this movie. For that it gets respect.
