The sequel has been a staple of media long before the creation of film, as there’s always something so enticing and exciting about the continued story of beloved characters or a beloved world. Film as a medium has been no different, with many amazing and iconic sequels having been released over the years, some even surpassing the original in quality, such as The Dark Knight, The Empire Strikes Back, or the recently released Dune: Part Two. However, for every highly beloved sequel that’s been released, there are also a handful that are completely devoid of quality.

There are a multitude of different ways that a sequel can attain such an infamous legacy, whether it completely ruined the image of an original film, or was simply a piece of a notoriously terrible franchise. There have been countless terrible and unenjoyable sequels over the years, with what is considered the worst of the worst always fluctuating and changing. As one of the premiere modern film communities, Letterboxd can act as a great reflection of what modern film fans consider to be the worst sequels of all time.

10 ‘The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)’ (2015)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.42/5

Acting as the final film in a trilogy of some of the most disturbing movies of all time, The Human Centipede 3 fully embraces the previous film’s infamy, and triples down on the nightmare and evil on display. The film follows prison warden William Boss, who, in attempting to find a solution to his highly overpopulated prison, takes inspiration from the previous two Human Centipede films to solve his problem. He begins to put his vile new plan into action, looking to create a 500-person human centipede using the inmates at his prison.

The original two Human Centipede films were far from masterpieces, but they were much more intelligent and self-aware than their infamous nature would leave one to believe. Human Centipede 3, however, attempts to do everything in its power to shock and insult its audience, acting like a horror movie equivalent to a shock-value gross-out comedy. It reaches a genuine breaking point where it isn’t even enjoyable to watch for the technical craft, and while it may have its die-hard fans, the film overall only further annoyed people who already hated the franchise.

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9 ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul’ (2017)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.41/5

The final live-action Diary of a Wimpy Kid film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul continues the misadventures of Greg and the rest of the Heffley family, as they embark on a road trip for Meemaw’s 90th birthday party. However, Greg is incredibly bored and annoyed with this trip that will seemingly cost him a summer’s worth of fun and playing video games. As a last resort to have some level of fun during the summer, he hatches a scheme to get his family off course and have him attend a nearby video game convention.

Despite being a direct sequel to the previous live-action films, The Long Haul‘s biggest crime in the eyes of fans was its complete recasting of everyone in the main cast. While certainly a necessity to deal with the aging of younger actors, the original cast had such an inherent charm and grace that made the live-action films work, and removing them only made the movie’s glaring flaws more apparent. Combined with a highly predictable plot and incredibly dated pop culture references to memes and modern video games, the film was seen by many fans as the absolute worst the franchise had to offer.

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8 ‘After We Fell’ (2021)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.41/5

The third film in the young adult romance franchise, After We Fell continues the contemptuous and rollercoaster relationship between Tessa and Hardin. Their love proves to be going through a massive hurdle between all the betrayals and allusions of possible third parties and cheating from both parties, as they begin to reevaluate their relationship with one another. Tessa is specifically dealing with the monumental decision of deciding on where she will go after graduating, with Hardin in London, or furthering her dream job in Seattle.

Sappy and by-the-numbers teen romance movies have always been an easy target for the Letterboxd community, with the absurd and all-over-the-place After franchise being one notable target. After We Fell stands out as the lowest-rated film in the franchise, although each film in the franchise has similarly low average ratings. What makes After We Fell specifically stand out among the other films in the franchise is its complete disregard of the previous films, only carrying over the two main actors while replacing every other actor, as well as its continued over-the-top nature to a by-the-numbers romance plot.

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7 ‘Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor’ (2012)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.33/5

Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor is certainly one of the most unique and interesting inclusions in the Sleepaway Camp franchise, as the film was technically never officially released. The film, acting as both a continuation of the original Sleepaway Camp and a soft reboot of the franchise, followed the story of Allison Kramer, a young woman who was a survivor of the original film’s massacre and still has recurring nightmares as a result. Also suffering from selective amnesia, she ends up returning to the camp to find out the real truth about what happened, as well as the secrets behind the killer, Angela Baker.

The film was originally slated for a 1992 release, and despite nearly being finished, was scrapped when Double Helix Films went bankrupt, placing the film in limbo. However, 20 years later, fans would come together using archive footage and what they were able to recover to recreate and release what could have been. This cut of the film, while miraculous that it exists in the first place, is still riddled with pacing issues, and goes to show just how dire the film’s production truly was.

Editor’s Note: Not available for streaming or purchase.

6 ‘Hellraiser: Revelations’ (2011)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.33/5

The ninth film in the Hellraiser franchise, Hellraiser: Revelations follows a duo of best friends in Mexico who happen to stumble across the infamous Lament Configuration, unleashing Pinhead in the process. As the duo are fighting for their lives in the dangerous game, one of the friends attempts to survive by swapping with someone else, putting into motion a wild goose chase for this now-missing person. As their family attempts to search for them, all that they find on their quest is Pinhead.

Hellraiser: Revelations was already going to face backlash from fans, being the first film in the franchise where Doug Bradley didn’t return as the legendary villain, Pinhead. This would only prove to be a sign of even bigger problems at the film’s core, as its massively rushed production resulted in a highly lackluster cash grab that felt insulting when compared to other early 2010s horror films. It’s easily the lowest point in the franchise and sustained mass infamy for just how awkward and terrible it is compared to other entries.

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5 ‘Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate’ (2024)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.32/5

A straight-to-streaming sequel to the Dreamworks classic, Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate had many fans excited when it was first announced that the iconic supervillain turned hero would be returning. However, it became blatantly apparent through the film’s minuscule streaming budget that it only existed to capitalize on the nostalgia and increased popularity that the film had been receiving in recent years. While DreamWorks as a whole has been no stranger to making low-budget iterations of their most popular characters, this was the first time it was presented as a genuine sequel to the original.

The film rewrote and retcons many aspects of the original film, while at the same time not bringing back any previous voice actors and introducing awkward and uninteresting new characters. It truly feels like the modern-day equivalent of the straight-to-DVD cash-grab animated sequels that flooded home markets in the 2000s, such as Bambi II and Mulan II. The film acts as a harsh reminder that even in the modern era of franchises and streaming, companies can still release sequels that completely miss the mark and enrage audiences more than enchant them.

Megamind vs. The Doom Syndicate

Release Date

March 1, 2024

Director

Eric Fogel

Cast

Scott Adsit , Josh Brener , Keith Ferguson , Tony Hale , Adam Lambert , Jeanine Mason , Laura Post , Chris Sullivan

Runtime

83 Minutes

Writers

Alan Schoolcraft , Brent Simons

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4 ‘Mean Girls 2’ (2011)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.30/5

Not to be confused with the 2024 musical rendition of Mean Girls, Mean Girls 2 was the original follow-up to the teen movie smash phenomenon. However, instead of following up on the characters introduced in the original film, Mean Girls 2 focuses on a new collection of students with their cliques and groups facing off with one another. It follows another new student who begins to form a rival group to take down the powerful clique that is running the school.

Mean Girls 2 commits the same crime as many other hastily made sequels, looking to do nothing more than retelling the original story with a fresh coat of paint and hoping that the same audience will love it all the same. This method only resulted in many fans completely dismissing and forgetting that this film even existed, as it exists to be nothing more than a complete downgrade of the original in every conceivable way. The original film was one of the most defining and best teen movies of all time, while this sequel is as forgettable as it gets.

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3 ‘Home Alone 4’ (2002)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.28/5

Attempting to continue in the classic Christmas franchise, Home Alone 4 continues the misadventures of Kevin McCallister, now spending Christmas with his dad now that his parents have split up. Christmas this year is being held at his father’s girlfriend’s mansion, making for the perfect relaxing abode for Kevin to spend the holidays. However, even with the new locale, Kevin is facing off against the same villains, as Marv has returned with a new partner, Vera, looking to make the mansion the next target of their robbery.

While the vast majority of the Home Alone sequels and reboots have had wildly diminishing returns when compared to the original two films, Home Alone 4 takes the cake as the worst of the franchise. The film acts as just a blatant retread of things that have already been seen in the franchise, complete with an underwhelming cast and a diminished TV budget. More than just the worst Home Alone film, the film is easily one of the worst Christmas movies of all time.

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2 ‘The Kissing Booth 3’ (2021)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.23/5

The third and final film in Netfilx’s infamous teen romance trilogy, The Kissing Booth 3 sees Elle facing the difficulties and excitement of the summer before she heads off to college. However, she still hasn’t decided where she is going to go, whether she will go to Harvard, where her boyfriend Noah is attending, or Berkeley, where her best friend Lee is planning on going. All the while, Elle and Lee are going through their childhood bucket lists, doing as many exciting things as possible before heading off into the real world.

While the entire trilogy has been massively criticized and targeted by the Letterboxd community for its formulaic plots, awkward characters, and overall amateur filmmaking, the finale of the trilogy was the worst of the worst. The overall experience is hard not to laugh at, not for anything the film is doing effectively, but for all of the many missteps and confusing decisions being made. While the series may be finished, its legacy will forever hold a place in the hearts of the Letterboxd community.

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1 ‘365 Days: This Day’ (2022)

Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.06/5

The sequel to the infamous erotic drama, 365 Days: This Day continues to follow the blossoming relationship of Laura and Massimo, two people from completely different worlds who were brought together through love. However, as their differences in lifestyles continue to have an impact on their day-to-day lives together, a new third party threatens to destroy everything they’ve built together. This mysterious new bachelor is doing everything in his power to win over Laura and take her away from Massimo.

The entire 365 Days trilogy is widely considered by Letterboxd to be some of the worst movies of all time, with its sleazy and cheap erotic sequences combined with its highly problematic plot and premise. 365 Days: This Day is no different, with very little actual focus placed upon the story, instead only using it as a jumping-off point for more gratuitous and over-the-top sex scenes. It only barely meets the requirement for what could be considered a film, making it all the more shocking that this sequel even exists, let alone a third film in the trilogy.

Watch on Netflix

NEXT: 10 Worst Movie Remakes of All Time, According to Reddit