14 Horror Movie Sequels So Awful Its Scary
by Jesse Schedeen
Good horror movies should chill us to the bone. But, sometimes, horror movies scare us for all the wrong reasons. Here are some horror franchises that wore out their welcome and went from being terrifying to just terrifyingly bad.
'Exorcist II: The Heretic' (1977)
How do you follow up one of the scariest and most critically acclaimed horror films of all-time? This sequel suggests the answer is "You don't." Many audiences at the time thought they were watching a comedy, with one critic calling it "demonstrably the worst film ever made."
'Jaws: The Revenge' (1987)
We think audiences were pretty good sports for sitting through two objectively inferior "Jaws" sequels. Was it really necessary to torture them further with this absolute travesty of a final chapter? We still don't under stand how the shark managed to look so much worse after more than a decade of technical advancements. Or how it manages to roar at the end.
'Silent Night, Deadly Night: Part 2' (1987)
Horror franchises don't necessarily always get worse with each new sequel. The "Silent Night, Deadly Night" franchise peaked at #2. You can chalk that up mainly to the studios's insistence that the original film be re-edited into a sequel rather than, you know, actually filming a real movie. Eric Freeman's legendarily awful performance certainly didn't help.
'Pyscho IV: The Beginning' (1990)
Not only did Hollywood seize on the bad idea to make Hitchcock-less sequels to 1960's "Psycho," they did so three times before finally calling it quits. The final entry in the series was relegated to TV movie status, though that didn't stop Anthony Perkins from reprising his role one last time.
'Troll 2' (1990)
"Troll 2" ranks up there with "The Room" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space" as one of the greatest terrible movies of all time. The best part? It's not really a sequel to the 1986 original. The producers thought borrowing the name would give their project more credibility.
'Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare' (1991)
The sixth entry in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series is aptly named. By 1991, it really did seem as if Freddy Krueger had lost all of his frightening appeal and devolved into a children's cartoon villain. Thankfully, Wes Craven returned to salvage the franchise in the next sequel.
'Alien: Resurrection' (1997)
Fox really should have taken a hint from the underwhelming "Alien 3" and let this franchise rest with dignity. Instead, they delivered a sequel so bad, it makes its predecessor seem like a golden age in comparison. It's a good thing the film didn't prematurely torpedo writer Joss Whedon's career.
'Leprechaun 4: In Space' (1997)
Everyone knows that when you've exhausted all other possibilities, it's time to take your tired old horror franchise into space. That was the thinking with the critically reviled fourth "Leprechaun" movie, which hadn't quite figured out the "so bad, it's good" appeal of the more recent sequels.
'Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2' (2000)
"The Blair Witch Project" remains one of the most insanely profitable films ever made, so of course a sequel was inevitable. Unfortunately, that sequel abandoned the found-footage format -- and pretty much everything else -- that made the original memorable in the first place.
'Jason X' (2001)
Jason Voorhees simply refuses to die, so it was inevitable that the silent killer would follow the example of his slasher colleagues and venture into space. This sequel left us wondering if it's time for Mr. Voorhees to take up a new hobby.
'Freddy vs. Jason' (2003)
1993's "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" set the stage for a battle royale between Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. Unfortunately, after waiting ten years for that crossover to materialize, they were left with this bland slasher movie that failed to do justice to either villain.
'Lost Boys: The Tribe' (2008)
This belated follow-up to 1987's "Lost Boys" started life as an unrelated script about surfing werewolves. And it features Keifer Sutherland's half-brother, Angus, taking over as the lead vampire villain. Those two things tell you all you really need to know about this ill-conceived sequel.
'Hellraiser: Revelations' (2011)
The "Hellraiser" franchise is long past its prime, but fans could always count on Doug Bradley returning to reprise his iconic role as Pinhead. That finally changed with the ninth entry in the series, which was slapped together in a matter of weeks in order to allow Dimension to retain the rights to the franchise.
