Editorials
10 Horror Movies With Great Sequel Teases!
Horror movies are notorious for releasing countless sequels in order to milk the franchises for all they’re worth. More often than not, they produce diminishing returns with each passing film. Still, it’s easy to get excited (or annoyed, depending on how you feel about sequels) when a movie ends with a cliffhanger, thereby teasing the inevitable sequel. Here are a list of 10 movies that have great sequel teases! Some of them did lead to sequels, but others we are still waiting for sequels to be made.
Teases That Led to a Sequel
Halloween
Okay, okay, this wasn’t really a sequel tease. Carpenter didn’t intend to make a sequel to his classic slasher film, but it did set one up nicely. I missed the theatrical premiere of Halloween by about 11 years, but I can only imagine what it was like watching the film only to be left with the image of the lawn with a Michael Myers-shaped indentation left in the grass (not really, but you catch my drift).
Evil Dead II
It’s hard to believe Army of Darkness wasn’t released until five years after Evil Dead II came out. Imagine seeing Evil Dead II in theaters (and many of you probably did), only to suddenly find Ash in medieval times before the credits rolled. Having to wait five years to see what happened sounds torturous! Then of course you have the long wait between Army of Darkness and Ash Vs. Evil Dead (24 years!), which was practically unbearable, but I digress. Bringing Ash to medieval times was a great way to reinvigorate the franchise and put it in a setting that wasn’t just another cabin in the woods.
Bride of Chucky
I’m showing my age here, but this is one of the first big sequel teases that I remember seeing as a kid. Both Chucky and Tiffany have died and she gives birth post-death to a vicious little doll baby with razor-sharp teeth. It paved the way for what could have been a really cool sequel, but instead we got Seed of Chucky. At least Curse of Chucky saved the franchise!
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
Everyone knows this one. It’s just a shame it came at the end of the worst Friday the 13th film. That being said, it is an absolutely epic sequel tease and was the least the filmmakers could have done to reward audiences for sitting through this garbage.
Piranha 3D
I wouldn’t necessarily call the ending to Alexandre Aja’s near-perfect Piranha 3D “great,” but it does foreshadow a sequel that could be tons of fun (too bad it turned out to be total shit). I’ve always thought that Aja’s Piranha felt like 2/3 of a movie. It ended right when the third act should have begun. Piranha 3DD had the opportunity to be a fantastic third act. Too bad it failed.
Sequels We Are Still Waiting On
Slither
Guardians of the Galaxy Schmardians of the Schmalaxy. Slither is James Gunn’s true masterpiece, and I’m still itching for the sequel that never happened because no one went to go see it in theaters back in 2006. If you did happen to see the film and stuck around after the credits, you would have seen a cat feeding on Grant Grant’s brains before becoming infected. Just imagine the possibilities! The sequel could have been called Meow.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
It’s had to believe that Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon had its world premiere ten years ago and we still haven’t gotten a sequel out of it. The film is notable for its meta commentary on the slasher sub-genre, including utilizing the trope where the villain just won’t die. After getting his head crushed, Leslie’s corpse is sent to the morgue, only to rise up behind a poor morgue attendant during the closing credits. A sequel has been in the talks for some time but never came to fruition. I call shenanigans! Give us a sequel worthy of Leslie Vernon’s legacy!
28 Weeks Later
While not a perfect film, 28 Weeks Later is still a solid follow-up to Danny Boyle’s masterful 28 Days Later (it also stars a pre-fame Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner). In the final moments of the sequel, we flash forward to 28 days after the events of the film (see what they did there?) and witness the outbreak making it to Paris. Where is 28 Months Later? In limbo, that’s where. By the time they get around to making a sequel they may need to title it 28 Years Later.
The Crazies
Often overlooked when discussions of horror remakes take place, Brett Eisner’s The Crazies is actually a pretty good film. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any way, but it spins that wheel remarkably well. The final moments of the film shows Judy (Radha Mitchell) and David (Timothy Olyphan) escaping Ogden March, Iowa and heading toward the uninfected city of Cedar Rapids. As they are doing this, a satellite image tracks them and initiates a new containment protocol, which means everything is about to happen all over again. During the credits, and infected citizen is shown on a Cedar Rapids newscast. Does The Crazies need a sequel? Not really, but I’d pay money to see one.
Freddy Vs. Jason
You may have read my interview with Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the writers of Freddy Vs. Jason, a few weeks ago (and if you didn’t, you can do so here). In it, they confessed that they are completely open to a sequel (and have many ideas for it), but there just isn’t a need for it at the moment. That may be true, but I have a need for it at the moment! That cliffhanger ending of Freddy Vs. Jason (in which Freddy’s severed head winks as Jason carries it out of the lake) still irks me to this day!
What are your favorite sequel teases in horror films? Let us know in the comments below!
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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