Editorials
10 Great Horror Films That Should Have Gotten Sequels
When a movie performs really well at the box office, talk of a sequel almost always follows suit. And as long as fans keep showing up, those sequels become franchises. In horror, nothing really ever stays dead either. Franchises that ended decades ago can be reinvigorated once more (hello, Halloween 2018).
But not all great horror movies find instant success at the box office on opening weekend. Some get minimal marketing, some slip through the cracks in an overcrowded release weekend, and some head straight to home release, never even making it to theaters at all. Then there’s the wholly separate issue of corralling the cast and crew back together for a second round. All of which to say that the road to sequel-ville is often long and complicated.
There are so many great movies that left fans clamoring for more, and these 10 fantastic horror films in particular are ripe for continuation.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
We have no one to blame for the lack of sequel but ourselves. A hysterical deconstruction of the slasher formula set around an aspiring slasher icon, Leslie Vernon, Behind the Mask quickly found its way into the hearts of horror fans on DVD after an extremely limited theatrical run. Leslie’s dynamic relationship with his chosen final girl, Taylor Gentry, and that final shot post-credits left us clamoring for more. When Anchor Bay didn’t want to finance a sequel, director/producer Scott Glosserman turned to Kickstarter in 2012, and it didn’t meet its goal. In 2017, they tried again via Indiegogo with a prequel/sequel/remake comic book series in time for the film’s 10th anniversary. For many of us, we still want that prequel/sequel/remake in cinematic form, but it’s not for a lack of trying on the crew’s part.
The Burning
Released in the middle of the slasher craze, The Burning also faced steep slasher competition in its theatrical run from Happy Birthday to Me, Friday the 13th Part 2, Graduation Day, Final Exam and even a re-release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Cropsy might have finally found his audience decades later, but in the summer of 1981, he didn’t stand a chance. Which is a shame, of course, because between the grisly deaths, gory makeup effects by Tom Savini, and the memorable villain in the disfigured Cropsy, The Burning had a lot of potential for sequels.
Bubba Ho-Tep
Don Coscarelli’s horror comedy saw Bruce Campbell as an aged Elvis Presley living in a retirement home and teaming up with “JFK” to battle an ancient mummy. At the end of the credits, Coscarelli snuck in a tease for a sequel meant to be a joke: “Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires.” But the joke was on him; fans really wanted Bubba Nosferatu. Getting it going, though, hasn’t been easy. Campbell long ago stated his days of playing Elvis are over, and getting funding for the project has proven tricky in the lengthy period of time that’s passed since the film was released. Even still, Coscarelli has long proven his fortitude and ingenuity in getting films made so long as fans want them, so we can’t rule out a sequel entirely.
Dead Silence
Dolls are freaking creepy. Especially in the hands of director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell. Dead Silence wasn’t exactly a box office hit, though. It was more like the beginning of the duo’s transition from Saw to supernatural chills; they moved on to the Insidious franchise after. Both Wan and Whannell have become extremely busy with their own respective horror films, franchises, and projects in the decade since. Meaning that the likelihood of returning to a smaller project that didn’t make much of a splash is probably zilch. Again, though, dolls are freaking creepy. So was the mythology behind Dead Silence. Mary Shaw is a formidable boogeyman on her own, but we only saw a fraction of her 101 beloved ventriloquist dummies. Talk about unexplored potential.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Of all the towns these killer space aliens could’ve invaded, they chose the small town of Crescent Cove. Meaning, there are lots of other small towns waiting to be visited by this circus act from hell. That everything was handled practically by the Chiodo brothers means this film has held up remarkably well, and it’s just plain fun. Considering it’s been featured in Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights two years in a row, in scare zones and now a haunted maze, well, it seems like now is the ideal time to revisit those sequel talks.
Splinter
This unique 2008 creature feature ended with a hook that screamed “give me a sequel!” When a young couple gets car-jacked by an escaped convict and his girlfriend, they’re forced to team up when a strange parasite traps them in a gas station. A parasite that spreads and turns its hosts into deadly beings. Brutal, suspenseful, and with an extremely cool creature concept, Splinter cut to infected corpses lying dormant before the credits rolled. A limited theatrical release meant that this didn’t set the box office on fire, and it remains an under-seen gem. So, it’s no surprise it hasn’t received a sequel, but boy does it deserve one.
Deep Rising
Now a heralded cult classic, Deep Rising was a flop upon initial release. Which means all hopes of finding out what was crashing through the forest toward the film’s survivors was abruptly cut short. Bummer. The massive sea creature that hijacked a cruise liner and ate its human passengers in the grisliest fashion made for an entertaining romp. It’s the precise type of aquatic horror we don’t get a whole lot of, either. While we’ll likely never find out what was on the remote primordial island at the end of the movie, I’ll still hold out a glimmer of hope that a resurgence of new aquatic horror will bring about something close enough to fill that void.
Trick ‘r Treat
This direct to DVD release is the epitome of Halloween spirit, and one innovative horror anthology to boot. Which is to say, it was an instant hit with horror fans and now requisite holiday viewing material. Little Sam, of course, became the new Halloween mascot (have you been to Spirit Halloween stores yet?). Understandably, we want more. So much so that I’m sure writer/director Mike Dougherty is tired of getting asked about it, though he has teased that he’s hoping to make the sequel his next project post-Godzilla. Translation: keep demanding a sequel, and we just might get it. More Sam and more Halloween fun are always welcome.
Grindhouse
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez attempted to recapture that drive-in double feature nostalgia with their own double feature, 2007’s Grindhouse, complete with made up trailers that played in between. Internationally, the double feature was split up as two separate releases. Either way, audiences didn’t show up for this experimental event. Any chance of seeing more were squashed. There were a couple of fake trailers that received their own feature films (Machete, Hobo with a Shotgun), but fans still hold out hope for Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving. Can you imagine actual sequels, though? Picture this: A Thanksgiving and Werewolf Women of the SS double feature, with more fake trailers to pluck from for future Grindhouse double features. It’ll never happen, but it’s still a cool concept to think about.
Evil Dead
In 2013, Fede Alvarez knocked us off our feet with one brutal reimagining of a horror classic. So. Much. Blood. As well as visceral horror, a new spin on the story, and glorious gore. All while paying homage to the original. Then there’s Jane Levy’s Mia, villain turned final girl. All of which has us clamoring for a follow up. The Necronomicon is still out there, after all. It’s only been six years, and nearly all involved, including producers Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, have expressed interest in continuing the story. So, come on Fede Alvarez, bring it!
The problem with filming sequels back-to-back is that, unless you can afford expensive reshoots, there’s no easy way to adjust course in between movies if fans react badly to where the story is headed. That’s why it’s important to have a complete narrative thought out well in advance lest you accidentally kill a budding franchise.
However, this isn’t always the case. Every once in a while, it seems like the cinema gods smile upon certain chaotic productions and gift moviegoers with complete franchises that feel like more than the sum of their hastily produced parts. Ted Nicolaou’s Bloodlust: Subspecies III is precisely one of these miraculous pictures, with the raw talents of the artists involved (as well as the continued support from Romania) turning the feature into an effective conclusion for a series that kind of made things up as the filmmakers went along.
That’s why I’d like to invite my fellow readers to join me on this third part of our journey through the Subspecies franchise as we look into Bloodlust and talk about how it remains a surprisingly satisfying finale to the original trilogy.
A Trilogy Planned on the Fly
Released only a year after Bloodstone found plenty of success in rental stores and mail-in VHS catalogues worldwide, 1994’s Bloodlust was produced at the same time as its predecessor in (mostly) the same locations and with the same team. This means that the movie benefited from all the same upgrades as Bloodstone, with the crew now being more experienced with the ins and outs of surviving a low-budget Romanian production and the cast really settling into their characters.
At this point, everything from location scouting to the makeup process had been streamlined, with Wayne Toth and Norman Cabrera, the main duo behind special effects, even switching out time-consuming prosthetics for latex gloves in order to speed up Anders Hove’s monstrous transformation. The titular “subspecies” demons were also once again relegated to a mere cameo appearance due to the laborious puppetry required to bring them to life.
The only real hiccup came from the fact that actress Denice Duff had replaced the first film’s Michelle (Laura Mae Tate) and was immediately expected to portray the character as both an innocent victim in part II and as a secondary villain in part III. According to behind-the-scenes interviews, the hectic production schedule that blended two different movies meant that Duff would often find herself having to alternate between two incredibly different versions of Michelle during the same shooting day – though it’s obvious that she’s having more fun with Bloodlust’s more traditionally vampiric version of her character.
In the finished film, we pick things up immediately where the previous entry left off as Rebecca (Melanie Shatner) is forced to leave her vampire sister Michelle (Duff) behind in the dungeons of Castle Vladislav due to the rising sun. This allows Mummy (Pamela Gordon) to use Michelle’s blood to revive the vicious Radu (Hove) so that he may continue his quest for the coveted Bloodstone – a magical artifact that perpetually drips the Blood of Saints.
Meanwhile, the dreamy US embassy agent Mel (Kevin Blair) agrees to help Rebecca plan a rescue mission, though they’re unaware that Radu has become infatuated with Michelle during his attempts to guide her growing bloodlust. This all culminates in a climactic confrontation meant to tie up all of the series’ loose ends in one of Full Moon Pictures’ most ambitious productions.
The Evolution of Radu
Like its predecessor, Bloodlust: Subspecies III was also warmly received by fans who argued that the series was an even bigger success than Full Moon’s other major horror franchise, Puppet Master. This praise wasn’t unanimous, however, as 1994 had seen the rise of a more modern breed of sexy vampire popularized by Anne Rice, with old-school Nosferatu like Radu being viewed as obsolete when compared to the likes of Lestat and Gary Oldman’s take on Dracula.
In a way, one might argue that Nicolaou’s film is something of a swan song for the classic vampire story, as Bloodlust combines all of the traditional elements we tend to associate with these tales into a single tragic yarn that ties a neat little bow on Radu’s story as well as the old-fashioned monster movies that he represents. The finale remains shocking despite the fact that this is the third time we see Radu get brutally killed onscreen, with the brief tease that he may one day return feeling more like a nod towards the nature of evil rather than sequel bait.
The film dabbles a bit in gothic romance and even explores the inherent power fantasy behind transforming into an immortal creature of the night, but the filmmakers never lose sight of Radu as a demonic force even when he’s willing to betray his beloved Mummy for Michelle’s sake. In fact, his twisted “love” for his fledgling makes him even creepier as we get the feeling that his passion comes from a dark and disturbing place.
Anders Hove is at his absolute best in this film, with the effects department boosting his moments of what the younger generation would call “aura farming” whenever Radu emerges from shadows like a 90s version of Count Orlok. There are even a couple of surprisingly effective jump-scares here, which is why I’d argue that Bloodlust cements Radu as one of the most memorable cinematic vampires of all time despite his humble origins.
Subspecies Saves Its Best For Last
Nicolaou and Vlad Panescu also saved the best for “last” (more on that in a bit) regarding the film’s visuals, with the cinematography and overall atmosphere of Bloodlust absolutely surpassing what we saw in the previous films. Everything feels appropriately climactic this time around (including the wonderful soundtrack that was co-composed alongside an authentic Romanian orchestra), and I appreciate how this is the fastest-paced entry in the trilogy since the film doesn’t need to waste time setting anything up.
Bloodlust still suffers from some of the same low-budget blemishes as its predecessors, but there’s so much creative passion here that no amount of wonky effects work or stilted dialogue can get in the way of appreciating the flick’s gothic grandeur. That’s why it’s not surprising that the movie’s definitive(-ish) ending would later be retconned as fans begged for more Radu.
Of course, the next entry in this series would be a different kind of vampiric endeavor altogether, with the filmmakers attempting to engage with the same trends that ultimately killed Radu and his antiquated kin. That, however, is a story for another time. For now, I’ll merely insist that Bloodlust: Subspecies III remains a highlight of Full Moon’s expansive catalogue and is definitely worth seeking out today.
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