10 Horror Sequels That Are Better Than the Original
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More often than not sequels get a bad rap. It’s understandable; it’s not so often than one comes close to touching what made the original so special. With this year’s release of Cult of Chucky came a reminder, though, that sometimes sequels often allow a franchise to take bold new directions. After sixth films in the series, Cult of Chucky finally took the opportunity to explore a long-time goal of Chucky’s, and it opened up an insane world of possibilities. The year also brought a sequel to Annabelle, well, more accurately a prequel. Even still, the margin by which is surpassed its predecessor was pretty large. It’s not the first time, either, that a sequel managed to be superior to the original. Take Amityville II: The Possession, an also sort of prequel/sequel celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. In celebration of worthy horror sequels, let’s visit 10 horror sequels that managed to be better than the original:
Ouija: Origin of Evil
Ok, this one is pretty much a given, considering the 2014 film was pretty abysmal. So it wouldn’t take much for a sequel to succeed in improving upon its predecessor in this scenario. But with such a poorly received film, how do you turn that around? You hire Mike Flanagan for one, and then you further distance the film from the original by setting it in a time period decades removed from the previous setting. Flanagan snuck in sly nods to the time period, like adding cue marks to the frame, as well as Easter eggs from Oculus. The cast was also much more likeable this go ‘round, especially scene-stealing Lulu Wilson as creepy kid Doris. The script wisely only bothers to visually tie the prequel into the original with one small scene at the end featuring the always welcome Lin Shaye.
The Purge: Anarchy
James DeMonaco created a home invasion film in 2013 set around an interesting concept; for twelve hours each year, all crime is legal and all emergency services are unavailable. For the Sandin family, in their affluent Los Angeles house, it means a night of unwitting terror when intruders invade. Meaning, the very interesting concept presented remains relegated to plot justification than anything else. There’s a world of chaos happening outside of the Sandin family household and audiences saw none of it. Thankfully, DeMonaco gave us precisely what we wanted with follow up The Purge: Anarchy. He took it a step further by giving us something we didn’t know we wanted- Frank Grillo as anti-hero action badass The Sergeant. Thank you, DeMonaco, for a sequel far more entertaining that the first film.
Paranormal Activity 3
There’s a common theme in horror, or movies in general, where, once the current plot thread reaches a sort of dead end or conclusion, you jump to a time before the events of the first film so you still have wiggle room to continue what made the original so successful. See Ouija, Annabelle, and even Insidious 3 for examples. So it’s easy to see why, once Katie and Kristi’s stories closed out the previous two films, writer Christopher B. Landon opted to explore the mysterious nature behind the sisters’ childhood and their relationship with the demon that plagues them. Henry Joost and Ariel Shulman, of Catfish fame, take the ‘80s setting to clever directions. The oscillating fan rigged camera sets up some of the more ingenious scares, and the story expands in a way that’s feels fresh for the series, including a more thrilling conlusion.
Hostel: Part II
There’s a lot to like about Eli Roth’s Hostel. The visuals, the brutality, and the social critique embedded in the narrative makes for a worthwhile horror film on paper, but if you’re like me, you probably couldn’t stand any of the main characters. And Roth made you spend quite a while with them before dispatching them in gruesome ways. Which is why Hostel: Part II is so much better. Bigger budget, a tightened-up script with better execution, and buckets more blood. Most importantly, these characters were empathetic. Lauren German’s Paxton was far more interesting than Jay Hernandez’ Paxton as a lead protagonist, too.
The Woman
This sequel to 2009’s Offspring is so ridiculously strong, that most forget it’s a sequel in the first place. Pollyanna McIntosh reprises her role as The Woman, a feral woman from a clan of inbred cannibals inhabiting the Northeastern coast. A country lawyer stumbles upon her in the woods, and decides to capture her and keep her captive in his cellar in attempt to civilize her. Of course, the line gets uncomfortably blurred as to who the real monster of the film is, with The Woman subjected to a number of horrific acts in her “rehabilitation.” As both are based on Jack Ketchum’s novels, both films are extremely mean and brutal. Yet it’s Lucky McKee’s screenplay and direction that makes this so aggressively powerful. It’s the type of horror film with such an epic finale that it leaves you questioning your own morals. Also, can we please give McIntosh more work?
Return of the Living Dead 3
Growing up, I enjoyed the punk rock humor of Return of the Living Dead; I still do. But I love Return of the Living Dead 3 way more. It’s a sequel that drops most of the humor this series is known for and takes a more serious, gorier approach. Which isn’t surprising considering it’s helmed by Brian Yuzna (Society, Bride of Re-Animator). For anyone wondering why a director is so important, take this sequel as an example. There’s some campy dialogue and cheese here, but Yuzna elevates the material. As for plot, it centers on a romance, only one half of the star crossed lovers is slowly devolving into the brain eating undead. She just happens to self-mutilate to stave off hunger. Melinda Clarke owns this role, and the special effects team delivers some amazing work. The effects really are the best in the series.
Maniac Cop 2
Here’s the crazy thing; most horror sequels that easily surpass the original can easily manage when the first film isn’t so great. That’s not the case here. Maniac Cop is good (don’t tell me otherwise). Director William Lustig and writer/producer Larry Cohen team up again and actually manage to improve upon an already great film. That’s not an easy feat. Cohen and Lustig offer a rarity in sequels; continuity. The loose ends and characters from the previous entry receive follow ups, and some shocking deaths. Combine this with bigger, better action sequences and a Maniac Cop team up with stripper strangler Steven Turkell (Leo Rossi), and you’ve got everything that made Maniac Cop so entertaining plus more.
The Devil’s Rejects
Arguably Rob Zombie’s best film to date, this sequel feels less like a follow up and more like a complementary companion piece to House of 1000 Corpses. The first one was inspired by a haunted house attraction Zombie had designed, and was much more vivid in color and tone, painting the Firefly family in a sort of cartoonish light. The Devil’s Rejects, though, takes the grit of ‘70s grindhouse films against western road films like Bonnie and Clyde and manages to turn the Firefly clan into anti-heroes the audience actually empathizes with. There are a number of horror vets that make welcome additions to the supporting cast, like Michael Berryman and Ken Foree, but it’s the bond between Otis, Baby, and Captain Spaulding that makes this so memorable. The film also makes the best use of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird ever.
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
I’ll just say it; Prom Night was boring. And that’s probably why Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II didn’t do as well as it should have, though it did eventually find success on home video. Originally titled The Haunting of Hamilton High, this wasn’t meant to be a sequel, but a stand-alone. It was later retitled to capitalize on the success of Prom Night, so it technically counts. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II had so much more life and personality than its predecessor, making it infinitely more enjoyable. The references to other notable horror directors and mainstays is overwhelming; all of the characters are named after horror masters like Carpenter, Romero, Craven, King, Henenlotter, and more. Mary Lou Maloney is one of the best horror villains of ever, and I’m not sure anything parallels the rocking horse scene. Seriously. It’s wacky.
Friday the 13th Part II
Likely to be the most controversial on this list, but Friday the 13th Part 2 surpasses the original. While the first film is a definitive classic, there’s just a lot more that works for the sequel that makes it a more entertaining watch. The pacing, for one. More importantly, though, is that it sets up the rest of the franchise with its introduction to Jason Voorhees. Let’s face it, Jason is a far more intimidating foe than Mrs. Voorhees, even if this sequel lacks the shocking twist reveal. Nothing against Alice Hardy, either, but she pales in comparison to Part II’s final girl Ginny Field. The first to pick up on Jason’s mommy issues, and the first to use his own machete against him, Ginny has more spunk and wit than most final girls.
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
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