Riley Wade
Happy twos-day everyone!
Yes, it’s that special occasion that only comes around every century or two, and while I’m sure that Horror Obsessive will have an article like this on 22/2/2222, we couldn’t pass up the chance to celebrate today with 22 of our favorite horror sequels. Direct sequels only! Let’s get 2 it!
In no particular order:
1. Scream 2 (1997)
The sequel that ate, digested, and excreted all other horror sequels. Scream 2 is a masterclass in self-satire. From its whip-smart humor lampooning the horror audience’s desire for more blood, more scares, more danger; to scenes that are as self-referentially excessive as they are truly tense and frightening. Scream 2 is Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson in absolute top form, a tightly made “two” that showcases some of the best the genre has to offer.
2. Aliens (1986)
Let’s be honest, enough has been said about Aliens to fill several undergrad film studies textbooks. We can just agree that it’s a great film right? Either way, Aliens’ lightly satirical gun-toting Hollywood revenge fantasy is such a far reach from the original’s aggressive satire and singular terror, that it’s a miracle it works so well. That H. R. Giger and Dan O’Bannon’s terrific design work remains is a massive part of it, though this time used to amaze rather than unsettle. What remains is Ellen Ripley, a child, marines, and a sh*tload of aliens—a Xenomorphic metamorphosis from brilliant horror to explosive action, and y’know what? It rules.
3. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
The original Gremlins is a silly, fun family horror film, a wacky romp that manages to organize itself neatly around Joe Dante’s charming plotting. Gremlins 2, on the other hand, is sheer chaotic madness, a blessing of unfiltered stupidity on behalf of its creators.
Moving from small town to Manhattan highrise run by an obvious Trump pastiche Daniel Clamp, The New Batch is a blisteringly fast, shockingly absurd, and constantly hilarious whirlwind. Off-the-wall ideas spatter across the film like the green blood of a gremlin shoved through a paper shredder. Not all of them hit, but the fun is in watching them try, and the absurd lengths they go to even get there. Do you want Spider Gremlins? You’ve got it! Do you want satirical takes on yuppie corporate culture? You’ve got it! Want Looney Tunes? Bat Gremlins? A gremlin singing a rendition of “New York, New York?” You betcha! Gremlins 2: The New Batch is absurdity that makes me giddy to even think about.
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
A box-office flop, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 channels the subtler viscera-sweating gristle of its classic predecessor into a non-stop full-course meal of grime, mess, and meat. Again changing tack from straight horror to bloody comedy, TCM2 digs its niche in the hot Texan soil. This time, we’re introduced to the whole Sawyer clan—a tight-knit family of caricature hicks seeking out delicious human meat. Leatherface, Grandpa, and Drayton return, alongside Bill Moseley in his horror debut as Chop-Top Sawyer, a filthy sadist with Vietnam flashbacks, a metal plate in his head, and a delightful way with words. He joins Dennis Hopper’s vengeance-mad Lt. Enright and Caroline Williams’ final-girl Stretch in a film full of ridiculous comedy, nasty violence, and chainsaw duels. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 discusses the excesses of American culture through its own excess in a way that has to be seen to be believed.
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
The Gay One! A cult classic that has weathered the test of time and come out glimmering better than anyone ever thought it could. Not many people love Freddy’s Revenge, but I’m happy to be one of those few. A not-so-subtle allegory for sexuality and the forces of repression, Freddy’s Revenge features Krueger at his scariest—a controlling force that seeks to claim protagonist Jesse’s body to commit more evil deeds, and I adore it. Where critics might pooh-pooh the film’s overt campiness, there’s true queer experimentalism there, which is, in my opinion, utterly charming. Freddy’s Revenge
6. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
A slasher sequel that introduced us to the looming lunk that is Jason Voorhees, clad in a sack mask and wielding all manner of wicked homegrown weapons upon the counselors of Camp Crystal Lake. Friday the 13th Part 2 cemented the slasher formula that would be used and satirized in equal measure in the decades to come. While nowhere near as remarkable as a great many of its brethren, it lands a place on our list for its sheer bloody impact.
7. Evil Dead II (1987)
Like seeing the original through a funhouse mirror, Evil Dead II is nothing less than a stone-cold classic, a piece of great terror and joy that effectively shatters the barrier between horror and comedy. Evil Dead 2 is more than just a sequel—it takes The Evil Dead‘s (already terrific) punkish nastiness and spins it on its head into one of the most exhilarating and creative films ever made. Effectively founding and perfecting the niche “splatstick” subgenre in the same instant. (Yes, this is half-cheating because it’s also sort of a remake BUT it has the number 2 in it, so it’s staying.)
8. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
From deadites to the living dead, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is one of the best movies ever made, full stop. His sequel, Dawn of the Dead is right up there with it. Modernizing the zombie in a near-instant, Dawn of the Dead is such a singular film, a sparkling piece of cinema that seemed to build up the entire genre around itself from thin air. Romero’s film made zombies a force of entropy: its malls and lurching hordes feel as much a remark upon consumer culture as they do a discussion of the fragility of society, a slow tide toward doom that we can only briefly veer from. If nothing else, Dawn of the Dead defined the zombie apocalypse in a way that is still felt today
9. Zombi 2 (Zombie Flesh Eaters) (1979)
A sequel to a sequel that isn’t the third movie! Released in Italy as a sequel to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (there, Zombi), Zombi 2 is a bona fide video nasty classic, a late-night horror film sure to put you off your popcorn. Featuring flat characters and spectacular gore, alongside Lucio Fulci’s staple love of creepy crawlies (zombies lurch around caked in filth, with worms writhing around in their eye sockets), Zombi 2 is a film that feels dirty to watch. Whether it’s in watching a man in a zombie costume fighting a real shark or witnessing the world’s worst splinter, there’s an edginess that comes from watching a film like Zombi that makes up for its modesty in tension.
10. [REC]2 (2009)
![In a shot from [REC]2, a zombie pounces on a SWAT team member as he screams at the camera he is holding, and as two other poeple watch on.](http://www.rec2themovie.com/images/film-still-1.jpg)
Following immediately on from [REC]—itself a found-footage classic—[REC]2 is a terrifying companion piece completing the story of the world’s most unlucky apartment building. A parallel narrative as both a group of delinquent kids and a SWAT team investigate [REC]’s apartment house of horrors, what follows is an interrogation of police violence, faith, and morality all packaged within a non-stop cataclysm of brilliantly first-person horror. [REC]2 is one of those few sequels best watched immediately after its predecessor. That is if your heart can take it.
11. Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
As I’ve already stated in a previous article, Hellraiser is one of the best and most important queer horror films out there. There is no way on earth or hell that a sequel could live up to that. And to its credit, Hellraiser 2 doesn’t even try. Instead, it chucks in buckets of lore and gore in a tirade that is (despite what it would do to the franchise) incredibly charming. The Lament Configuration finds its way into the hands of a mad psychiatric doctor and the young, mute, child he tortures. New foes, old friends, and the reappearance of Kirsty lead to a journey into Hell itself that is as visually stunning—playing around with the impossible architectures and bizarre obelisks only hinted at in the original—as it is wonderfully silly.
12. Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead (2014)
Dead Snow 2 knows what it is, and that’s wonderful. Tommy Wirkola’s sequel to his Nazi zombie slasher original only serves to accelerate into the splatterific. While its inclusion of American cast only serves to irritate, and some gags serve more like a cruel mockery (the film is, at times, extremely ableist), Dead Snow 2 excels by doing what it does best: spectacular violence and stupid slapstick—and what better target than Nazis, eh? Above everything Red vs Dead wants you to know that it knows it’s dumb and that it’s pushing itself to the heights of outright stupidity and poor taste—if you can get on board, then it can be a hell of a fun ride.
13. Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Paranormal Activity 2 is one of those sequels that just does what the original does…but again, and just as well. The surprise success that was the original Paranormal Activity‘s new approach to found-footage is solidified here. The pleasantly mundane setting lays the groundwork for a story that feels so much closer to home, so more ordinary, than anything prior. While the film eventually subsumes into the traditional demonic fare, it’s that lens of normality that makes this film, and the entire franchise, so utterly chilling.
14. The Conjuring 2 (2016)
James Wan is a man who likes to say “boo” and scare the bejeezus out of you, at this he is rather good, and nowhere is this skill put to better use than in The Conjuring 2. The scares are choreographed like an expert prankster, Wan eager to push you to the brink of tension and then scare you when it hurts. It’s a rollercoaster, more than anything, and Wan loves to hear you scream. While the real-world Warrens are questionable figures at best, The Conjuring 2 uses their well-spun mythos to great effect, creating a horror film that echoes forward and back, and has great empathy for the victims of its ghostly goings-on, even if the real people are perhaps more victim than we might like.
15. House 2: The Second Story (1987)
I’m gonna be real with you guys, House 2 is godawful. If Gremlins 2 is what happens when wild creativity sticks the landing, House 2: The Second Story is what happens when it misses the mark so hard it leaves a rust-red stain on the neighbor’s porch roof. A film that manages the incredible feat of being both utterly ridiculous and unwatchably dull—slimy dogs, undead cowboys, and ancient Aztec crystal skulls litter this not-quite-for-kids-not-quite-for-adults film. But that title, THAT TITLE, despite everything going against it, House 2 has one of the best punning titles to ever grace the silver screen, and for that—and that alone—it lands a place on our list.
16. Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)
A surprisingly feminist film with musical numbers and gore galore. The Slumber Party Massacre II is an obscenely silly sequel, a Nightmare on Elm Street pastiche whose appeal can be summed up in three words: Drill. Bit. Guitar.
17. Troll 2 (1990)
Maybe the best truly bad movie ever made, Troll 2 is a film that I wish I could see for the first time again. A children’s fairytale? A young-adult horror film? A popcorn-themed erotic thriller? The answer to all three of these questions is a resounding “Yes!” The only film on this list that truly made me scream, and with laughter, Troll 2 is magnificently bad filmmaking, a disasterpiece that is so beloved for its “Why? Why not!” creative decisions, and genuinely fantastic hammy acting, that it truly has to be seen to be believed. The “Oh My Gooooooood!” memes only tell half the story.
18. The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
No bones about it, Rob Zombie’s movies are capital-U Ugly, and this one may well be the ugliest. Following on from his debut, House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects follows a cult of thrill-killers on the run from a near-equally cruel Sherrif Wydell—slaughtering, torturing, and mutilating all the while. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 alumnus Bill Moseley is here as the despicable Otis, on top-form beside Sid Haig’s explosively sweary killer clown “Captain” Spaulding and Sheri Moon Zombie’s twee Baby. The threesome’s pursuit through the ugly dead west is full of brilliant character interactions and sincerely funny humor between moments of truly repulsive gore. The result is a relentless, filthy film that hearkens back to the gnarliest of grindhouse cinema, one not without its sincere artistry.
19. Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004)
The little-known sequel to the cult classic werewolf coming-of-age film, Ginger Snaps 2 is a worthy if flawed successor. The film follows Brigitte through her coming to terms with her lycanthropy, in a way that is both more conventionally horrific in execution and yet perhaps even more nihilistic and bleak. What raises Unleashed above the crowd of horror sequels, though, is the strength of its performances, Emily Perkins’ Brigitte cemented in my mind as one of the best horror protagonists this century.
20. Inferno (1980)
Dario Argento’s thematic sequel to Suspiria, Inferno ditches sensical plot in exchange for a tonally and emotionally consistent piece of cinematic hypnosis. It’s easy to be drawn into Argento’s dazzling visuals at the best of times, but Inferno dares you to not fall into it, and the punishment/reward is a convoluted and at times incoherent dream-plot that spends much of its time lavishing in the glorious psychedelic spectacle. Inferno is niche, more so even than Suspiria, but for those that love it it is a nightmare that’s all the harder to pull oneself from
21. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
If classic horror has a face, it is Bride of Frankenstein, maybe the film that cemented James Whale as one of the best directors in 1930s Hollywood. Bride of Frankenstein so brilliantly expands Shelley’s original novel, fully harnessing the gothic that she helped established over 100 years prior, with characters that explore the full reaches of the novel’s melodrama—tearful, haunting, nostalgic, and beautiful.
Bride of Frankenstein is a film so good that it rivals not its predecessor, but the book that inspired it. An openly gay man in the 1930s, Whale himself was a fascinating figure, whose masterpiece remains, as yet, untouched.
22. Doctor Sleep (2019)
Nobody needed a sequel to The Shining, but that’s what we got, and if anyone was going to make it a film, Mike Flanagan was the man for the job. Doctor Sleep is many things, but it’s a film about addiction and nostalgia at its foremost, asking the question of why and how we can yearn for a traumatic past, and how we can recover from that trauma to face challenges and march into a brighter future. Imperfect though it is, as both a sequel to Kubrick and King’s Shinings, Doctor Sleep is successful not just because of the terror of Rose the Hat the True Knot (and they are terrifying), but because of what it says about the nature of sequels themselves.
So there are twenty-two sequels to get your teeth around this twos-day. We’ve seen spin-offs, knock-offs, straight-faced terror, and bald-faced bombast. Did I miss any? Let me know your favorites below!
