Editorials
[Remember This?] What Horror Sequels Exceeded Your Expectations?
Last year I asked what horror sequels you remember as being the biggest disappointments. But this year I’m trying to increase my positivity levels (though I’m sure I’ll break down and get petty every once in a while) and I thought it would feel better to ask which horror sequels exceeded your expectations? Which ones were better than they had a right to be? That were better than the original (or better than a dud sequel that diminished your expectations for the franchise)?
One of mine is A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. I was too young to see this in the theaters, but when I caught up with it on VHS I remember it blowing me away. While I currently hold it neck and neck with the original Elm Street (Dream Warriors may have expanded the world; but the original film is wildly inventive for even thinking of the central concept in the first place – and it’s scarier), back then it took very little time for it to catapult to being my franchise favorite.
I think part of it was that I felt like it “legitimized” my fandom. I watched the movie with my Dad and when he remarked that he thought the opening was “inventive”, it felt something like a tacit acknowledgement that he was open to enjoying the film. In hindsight, I’m sure that he didn’t like it all that much – but it felt like the door was open for me to experience the film without shame. When Freddy made a marionette out of Phillip and walked him down the halls with his own tendons, I thought that was the most mindblowingly original thing I had ever seen. When Will became the Wizard Master, it actually felt kind of empowering (especially since my best friend at the time was wheelchair bound). When Taryn involuntarily succumbed to her addiction, it actually felt tragic.
Aside from the obvious answer of Aliens (which I shouldn’t have to explain), I also remember Final Destination 2 as an experience that took the idea of the original but more fully fleshed out its Rube Goldberg machinations. And of course, stepping somewhat outside the genre established by the original, there’s the masterpiece that is Gremlins 2: The New Batch. I saw that one theatrically and oddly enough the break in tone didn’t even really register with me – I just knew what I was anything but let down.
What sequels blew you away?
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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