10 Movie Sequels That Were Way Better Than They Had Any Right To Be

10. Friday The 13th Part II

Though it may now be remembered as a classic, Sean S. Cunningham's original Friday the 13th is not exactly a great film. In fact, it's a pretty mixed bag, essentially just being an extended ripoff of the work pioneered on films like John Carpenter's Halloween and Bob Clark's Black Christmas.

To top it off, the original Friday ended on an incredibly limp note, with pre-pubescent zombie boy Jason leaping out from the water to grab Alice for the final stinger. Not only was the 'twist' toothless, it was also nonsensical, completely contradicting the entire plot of the film that came before it.

So, when Friday the 13th Part II was cranked out less than a year later, promising to deliver on that set-up, there was little reason to be hopeful. But low and behold, new director Steve Miner delivered a rousing slasher for the ages that eschewed the convoluted mythology of the first film in favor of a simpler red-blooded campfire story.

This is the Friday the 13th film that set the bar for the rest of the series. It established Jason as the primary antagonist, it had more likable and established characters, and developed the formula that would be recycled by the sequels for the next several decades.

It also has maybe the most overt references in the entire franchise to Jason as an old testament-style killer, with him punishing the teens for their sins. Which is infinitely more interesting than Pamela Voorhees' wonky motivations from the first film.