While sequels are often seen as an entirely cynical way to capitalize on an original idea, returning to the same source material can often prove to be a successful venture. Films like The Godfather: Part II revealed nuances about the characters that weren’t present in the original, and sequels like Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back changed the tone of their respective sagas.

The best sequels are often those that take their franchises in new directions that may initially seem to be surprising. These sequels subverted audiences’ expectations, delivering stories that felt truly refreshing and unique. And while not everyone was immediately on board, time has often been kind to these titles, cementing them among the most significative entries in their respective franchises.

10 ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ (1986)

Director: Tobe Hooper

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a spoof of the first film. While 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was so realistic that some viewers thought that it was actually based on a true story, the sequel was wildly over-the-top. Director Tobe Hooper showed that regardless of context, Leatherface could be really scary. He gave the iconic slasher a worthy « final girl » to go up against with Stretch Brok (Caroline Williams), a quick-witted DJ who discovers the sinister forces behind Leatherface’s return.

Hooper’s analysis of the underlying societal forces that inspired Leatherface is something that the other sequels would almost completely ignore. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 remains a unique horror sequel compared to the rest of the films in the franchise. While many of the recent installments, including the 2022 Netflix reboot, attempted to pay tribute to the original, Hooper understood with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 that the style had to change in order to keep the audience on their toes. It’s quite unserious and far from « quality » material, but by god, it’s entertaining.

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9 ‘Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning’ (2013)

Director: John Hyams

While the original Universal Soldier film is nothing but a generic science fiction action film from Roland Emmerich, the 2013 sequel, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, took a big swing and succeeded. Director John Hyams abandoned the silly tone, turning the series into a psychological thriller about the rise of violent cult extremism and toxic masculinity. Ironically, the first film’s hero, U.S. Commando Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), becomes the antagonist of Day of Reckoning. Deveraux is now a shell of his former self, destined to reap violence for the rest of his life.

If Universal Soldier felt indebted to 1990s action cinema, then Day of Reckoning draws inspiration from the experimental horror films of directors like David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Michael Haneke, and Paul Verhoeven. Even for those with no familiarity with the original Universal Soldier, Day of Reckoning is one of the scariest sci-fi conspiracy thrillers in recent memory. It might fall short of achieving all it sets out to, but the fact it tries to is already impressive enough.

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8 ‘Predator 2’ (1990)

Director: Stephen Hopkins

The appeal of Predator was getting to see Arnold Schwarzenegger run around in the jungle with a group of military commandos; what would a Predator sequel look like with no jungle, no jacked-up soldiers, and no Arnold? As it turns out, Predator 2 worked by changing the setting of the series to an urban metroplex and replacing Arnold with Danny Glover.

Even within the Predator franchise, Predator 2 feels like an outlier. While Predatorsand The Predatoressentially felt like remakes of the first film, Predator 2 crafted a story that was entirely its own. By changing the film’s setting and introducing a new protagonist, Predator 2 did its best to let director Stephen Hopkins put a unique spin on the material by drawing from a different influence. If Predator felt inspired by military-centric action thrillers in the post-Vietnam War era, Predator 2 had a lot in common with 1980s crime thrillers.

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7 ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ (2022)

Director: Lana Wachowski

In the aftermath of The Matrix’s release, the film inspired a cult fandom and a larger interconnected universe that became larger than the story itself. While the first two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, attempted to be a more straightforward continuation of the first film, The Matrix Resurrections broke the fourth wall to commentate on how the original had impacted pop culture. Although many of the best moments in The Matrix Resurrections are tongue-in-cheek, the film is also the most sincere of the franchise. The focus on Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity’s (Carrie-Anne Moss) romance is well handled.

The Matrix Resurrections recontextualizes The Matrix as a piece of intellectual property. It’s a sequel about the challenges that sequels face and cleverly breaks the fourth wall to explore how Warner Bros.’s desire for a continuation of the franchise led the series to change an already satisfying conclusion. Impressively, Lana Wachowski packed so much powerful commentary into a mainstream action movie. When so many awful sequels feel lacking in creativity, The Matrix Resurrections stands to age very well within the next few years.

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6 ‘Army of Darkness’ (1992)

Director: Sam Raimi

Army of Darkness revolutionized the Evil Dead franchise by taking it in a new and exciting direction. The film picks up after the end of Evil Dead II, which saw Ash (Bruce Campbell) being sent back in time to the medieval era. Sam Raimi proved that his fun gore effects didn’t have to be confined to a single, isolated cabin; Evil Dead II parodied the medieval epic genre by having Ash become the savior of a small village. Army of Darkness features just as much graphic horror as its two predecessors but introduces a more significant element of comedy.

Although medieval movies have been parodied since Monty Python and the Holy Grail, adding Raimi’s creative body horror to the genre made it feel fresh again. Army of Darkness was the unique collaboration of Raimi and Campbell that made the Evil Dead franchise stand the test of time. The location needed to change to keep the franchise creative, and Army of Darkness proved to be a perfect, albeit unusual, conclusion to the story that they had begun with The Evil Deadin 1981.

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5 ‘T2: Trainspotting’ (2017)

Director: Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle’s 1996 coming-of-age drama Trainspotting is such a perfect movie that the thought of doing a sequel seemed entirely preposterous; how could a second Trainspotting movie stand on its own? As it turned out, T2 Trainspotting was a great « legacy sequel » because it was about legacy. Ewan McGregor returned to play an older, reflective version of Renton, who considers how he will never truly be able to relive his youth. The callbacks to the original film are thoughtful, and Boyle reframes the narrative by letting Ewen Bremmer’s Spud become the true hero of the story.

While many legacy sequels make the mistake of relying upon nostalgia, T2: Trainspotting effectively shows how Renton has come to realize the mistakes that he made when he was younger. If Trainspotting was a great coming-of-age story about the exhilaration of youth, T2: Trainspotting is a crushing acknowledgment of the realities of adulthood.

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4 ’22 Jump Street’ (2014)

Directors: Chris Miller, Phil Lord

Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller caught lightning in a bottle with the first 21 Jump Street film in 2012. The idea of remaking a classic television show felt very cynical, but the film broke the fourth wall by satirizing how unoriginal Hollywood was. 22 Jump Street continued this element of satire by having Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) go on what feels like the exact mission all over again.

22 Jump Street featured more action, as well as a beefed-up role for Ice Cube’s unhinged, scene-stealing Captain Dickson. Great comedy sequels are few and far between, as it is hard to make a compelling contention that paves a new direction forward in the story. 22 Jump Street acknowledges these issues in the most meta way possible; its lack of originality is precisely the point. The result is a truly hilarious and occasionally inspired sequel that takes everything that worked about its predecessor and keeps it. Will there ever be a 23 Jump Street? Who knows! If there is, it’ll probably be just as hysterical. Exactly as hysterical, actually.

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3 ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ (2017)

Director: Rian Johnson

Star Wars: The Last Jedi examined the true nature of the Jedi Order. If the Jedi failed to stop Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from taking over the galaxy, did they ever have any real value? Rian Johnson thoughtfully explores this idea through an older, embittered version of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Although Luke initially grows cynical about the future of the Jedi, he ultimately finds the inner strength to become a hero once more. Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren became the most nuanced villain in the series, developing a complex and slightly unsettling bond with Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

Like its predecessor, The Last Jedi could have easily been nothing more than a reiteration of the original trilogy. However, Johnson chose to question the nature of heroism by dissecting the Jedi Order, boldly stripping it of its mythology. It was necessary for a franchise as longstanding as Star Warsto question its core tenets, even if some fans absolutely hated it. Daring, truly original, fascinating, thought-provoking, and even shocking, The Last Jedi is the most ambitious and thematically arresting film in the entire saga.

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2 ‘Wes Craven’s New Nightmare’ (1994)

Director: Wes Craven

Although Wes Craven’s 1984 masterpiece A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the scariest movies ever made, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) became a caricature by the film’s sequels. To make Freddy scary once more, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare showed the slasher going beyond the silver screen and haunting the cast and crew of the franchise. Heather Langenkamp reprises her role as Nancy and plays a fictionalized version of herself. Craven also plays himself and helps close the series out in a thoughtful way.

The issue with the sequels to A Nightmare on Elm Street is that they became more focused on elaborate kill sequences and Englund’s over-the-top performance than the victims. New Nightmare brings the focus back to Langenkamp and serves as a brilliant return to form for a series that had lost its way. More importantly, it rescues Krueger from ridicule and firmly cements him as one of horror’s most iconic villains.

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1 ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’ (1990)

Director: Joe Dante

The first Gremlins struck an odd tone; it was a bit too weird to be a horror movie, too scary to be a family film, and too anarchic to be anything in between. Director Joe Dante has always done his own thing, and Gremlins 2: The New Batch is glorious in how truly bonkers it is. The sequel contains more jokes, more gremlins, and cameos by everyone from Leonard Maltin to Hulk Hogan.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a wonderful satire of excess and corporate greed that could probably never be made today. It’s as funny as it is scary and derails from the traditional route with its highly unusual narrative structure; it takes big, bold swings with unrestrained gusto and impressively pulls them off through sheer chutzpah. As a satire of consumerism, a celebration of practical filmmaking, and a pure exercise in originality, Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a masterful achievement in franchise storytelling.

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