[ad_1]
The Big Picture
- Some horror sequels are preferred by fans due to their creativity, increased artistic merit, or more interesting plots.
- The Purge: Anarchy, Ouija: Origin of Evil, and Annabelle: Creation were mentioned as examples of horror sequels that outshine their predecessors.
- Many horror fans believe that A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Saw II, The Devil’s Rejects, Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, V/H/S/2, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Evil Dead II are superior to their original films.
The horror genre is notorious for turning many of its stand-alone films into long-running franchises, including Halloween and Scream, even lasting for decades. Although horror sequels are often criticized as cash grabs, they can often provide welcome additions to series lore, expanding upon the backstories of popular villains or exploring compelling universes.
Fans even prefer some horror sequels to their original films due to their creativity, increased artistic merit, or more interesting plots. In two recent Reddit threads, one by user Norde3l and one by user snuskbusken, members of the r/horror subreddit got together to discuss sequels they feel outshine their predecessors.
10 ‘The Purge: Anarchy’ (2014)
The Purge: Anarchy depicts a society in which all crime is legal one night a year and follows a group of people trapped outside in a city the night of The Purge, being hunted by citizens and the government alike. While The Purge was a competent home invasion horror with a unique premise, The Purge: Anarchy explores its universe in far more detail, thus fulfilling more of its potential.
Redditors frequently mentioned The Purge: Anarchy as being better than its predecessor. In particular, user Closet_Couch_Potato explained their preference for Anarchy by stating that the appeal of the franchise for them is« the absolute chaos and seeing what desires people would unleash without laws, » while the first film « just had a controlled setting in the suburbs that only showed a small part of that. »
9 ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’ (2016)
Directed by Mike Flanagan of The Haunting of Hill House fame, Ouija: Origin of Evil follows a family haunted by violent spirits after the mother, Alice (Elizabeth Reaser), uses an Ouija board in her job as a psychic medium. The film is a prequel to the negatively-received Ouija, which was criticized for its contrived plot and confusing ending.
Many fans prefer Ouija: Origin of Evil to the original Ouija, with user papoosejr calling the film « a fantastic surprise » and the user Serdones praising it as « one of the best leaps in quality I’ve ever seen from the original film » to a sequel/prequel. The film expands upon the first film’s lore while telling a more compelling story and featuring a creepy atmosphere and strong scares.
8 ‘Annabelle: Creation’ (2017)
Annabelle: Creation is the sequel/prequel to 2014’s Annabelle and the fourth film in The Conjuring franchise — horror’s highest-grossing series of all time. The film explores the backstory of the Annabelle doll and the demonic entity that possesses her and those around her. Set in the mid-1950s, the film follows a group of orphaned girls as they are tormented by the demon on its quest for a human host.
Many Reddit users stated they preferred Annabelle: Creation to its predecessor, with user eradicated-noodle9 describing the film as « by far the most terrifying in the trilogy » and user frodominator comparing it favorably to the original by calling Creation « actually scary and interesting. »
7 ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors’ (1987)
The third installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, focuses more on its dark fantasy elements than the earlier films in its series. The film follows Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) as she works with teenage patients in a psychiatric hospital. They are attacked by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) and learn to harness the power of dreams to defeat him.
Praising Dream Warriors as the best in its series, the user wetfloors42 called the death scenes « insanely creative, » and the user Geekboxing called the film « the superior movie » compared to the original, explaining that it is « super-imaginative, dials up the stakes while respecting the ideas and rules of the original movie, and has the best ensemble cast of any long-running slasher series entry. »
6 ‘Saw II’ (2005)
Saw II, written by Leigh Whannell and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, follows another twisted « game » from series antagonist Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) designed to punish wrongdoers who, in Jigsaw’s view, don’t cherish their lives. The film expands the legacy of its iconic villain by giving him significantly more screen time than the first film and features some great and significantly more graphic trap sequences.
Redditor Serdones praised Saw II, stating that « Saw 2 really fleshes out the formula that’d make the Saw series such a mainstay in pop culture for years, as far as having a whole group going through a series of traps and ultimately uncovering more about Jigsaw ».
5 ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ (2005)
The Devil’s Rejects is the sequel to House of 1000 Corpses: both were written and directed by prolific horror filmmaker and metal musician Rob Zombie. While the original film is a comedic and wild romp, The Devil’s Rejects expands on the story of its antagonists, the ruthless Firefly family, in a much darker and more intense film.
The film has a dramatically different tone to its predecessor, with a much more serious and less goofy aesthetic and plot. Instead, it resembles a Western epic and frames the Firefly family as a band of somewhat sympathetic outlaws despite their heinous deeds. Numerous users mentioned The Devil’s Rejects as surpassing the quality of House of 1000 Corpses, with user bent-ref explaining that even they find the film to be great despite not being a fan of Rob Zombie’s work generally.
4 ‘Hellbound: Hellraiser 2’ (1988)
Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 continues the story of the original Hellraiser as its protagonists navigate the mundane world and the nightmarish dimension of the Cenobites. Considered the blueprint for good horror sequels, the film expands on what audiences loved about the original, providing new scares and environments and giving more depth to the concepts introduced in the first film.
These qualities make Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 better than the original in the eyes of many viewers. The film was suggested as superior to Hellraiser by numerous Reddit users, with the user Zenobite saying that the film « will forever be my favorite horror sequel » and others appreciating the way that the film explores the Cenobites’ lore more.
3 ‘V/H/S/2’ (2013)
V/H/S/2, the second film in the ongoing V/H/S franchise, is a found footage anthology film consisting of horror short films linked together by a framing device of a couple who discover a collection of morbid and potentially haunted VHS tapes. The anthology contains short films from popular horror filmmakers like You’re Next‘s Adam Wingard and The Blair Witch Project‘s Eduardo Sánchez and includes a variety of horror subgenres from alien invasions to cults.
Several Redditors, including ORNG_MIRRR and ScarletKing42, mentioned V/H/S/2 as a superior sequel. Containing numerous strong shorts and arguably the series’ best segment — « Safe Haven » by Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Evans, V/H/S/2 is a great horror anthology, and many believe it is the highlight of its franchise.
2 ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ (2016)
The second installment in the Cloverfield franchise, 10 Cloverfield Lane, follows Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as she shelters from an unseen disaster in a bunker owned by Howard (John Goodman), who oscillates between her ally and her captor. As she questions Howard’s trustworthiness and intentions, Michelle is left fighting human and non-human threats for her life and her freedom.
With powerful performances, a menacing atmosphere, and a great score, 10 Cloverfield Lane is popular among horror fans. Numerous Reddit users mentioned the film as being better than the original, including the user majesdane, who said 10 Cloverfield Lane « surprised and hooked me from the start, » calling it « a great film with great actors. »
1 ‘Evil Dead II’ (1987)
Sam Raimi‘s Evil Dead II is a loose reboot of 1981’s The Evil Dead and follows Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) as he battles demonic forces in a remote woodland cabin. The film features creative gore and body horror, and has a much more comedic tone than the original film.
Although horror fans belove both films, users mentioned Evil Dead II dozens of times as being better than its predecessor. One user argued, « the first is scarier, but the [second] is a better movie, » while user ChaotixEDM called the film « the most non-debatable answer » to the prompt of a superior sequel.
[ad_2]
