10 Film Sequels And Spin-Offs That Should Never Have Happened

Bigger, longer, faster - and not as good.

Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures

The law of diminishing returns dictates that when Hollywood seizes on a sleeper hit and begins cranking out sequels, prequels and spin-offs, the desire to make money will suck all the life out of the material and produce a film of inferior quality.

Released in 2004, James Wan€™s Saw was a movie for the head, a well thought-out psycho-thriller that didn€™t skimp on character. By the time of Saw 3D, the series had become a parody of its former self, resorting to violence so cartoonish and overdone that it was impossible to take seriously.

Memo to aspiring filmmakers: when you open a movie with 2 alpha males being forced into combat by a tricycle-riding puppet, you€™ve abandoned the source material and lurched into high camp. Sure you can recycle shtick from earlier installments, but as another victim faces another round of torture porn, we€™re reminded that we€™ve seen it all before and simply raising the volume doesn€™t change that.

In a perfect world, every franchise would be The Fast And The Furious, becoming steadily bigger and better until audiences get the scene they€™ve always wanted €“ Dwayne Johnson leaving his hospital bed so he can destroy a city block with a gun bigger than Ol€™ Painless.

Until then, here are 10 movies that followed Saw 3D into Bad Movie Hell.

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Contributor

Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'