9 Classic Movies With Insane Unofficial Sequels

By Padraig Cotter / April 21, 2021

Sequels being pumped out for a successful movie is hardly anything new; in fact, it’s become the lifeblood of the industry. If there’s money to be made a sequel is going to happen, even if the story doesn’t require one; hence the existence of something like The Huntsman: Winter’s War.

That just makes sound economic sense, but what happens when some poor independent producer finds themselves saddled with a crappy movie nobody wants to watch? Well, that’s when they need to get creative with marketing, and if the concept is somehow vaguely similar to a famous movie, why not just label it a sequel and lure in some unsuspecting fans?

Thanks to lapsed copyright or other legally dubious routes, cheapo studios can just slap a famous title on it and give their unofficial “sequel” a little sales boost. In some rare cases, these movies are made as proper follow-ups - made via questionable means of course - albeit one that nobody in their right minds would consider legitimate entries to the franchises they’re leeching off.

That’s not to say there isn’t some fun to be had with these shameless knock-offs, which often make up for a lack of budget or star power by being completely, utterly bats**t crazy.

Here are some of the... umm... “best.”

9. Easy Rider: The Ride Back

If ever a movie didn’t require a sequel it would be Easy Rider - what with the main characters being dead and all - but when did common sense get in the way of a follow-up? So it follows a lawyer gained the rights to the series – after suing the original producers to acquire them – to make a prequel/sequel to the original; needless to say, it’s not great.

Lead actor/producer/writer Phil Pitzer has a passing, sort of resemblance to original lead Peter Fonda, so he plays Fonda’s brother as he struggles to reconcile with his family. Pitzer certainly doesn’t have Fonda’s charisma or acting ability however, so it’s a bit of a chore watching him "act." The same goes for the rest of the cast – with the notable exception of the great Jeff Fahey – who all struggle to convincingly deliver some pretty stilted dialogue.

Apparently when Pitzer asked Fonda for his blessing – which he didn’t receive – Fonda begged him not to do it, or if he had to at least do something original with it. In the end all Pitzer managed to make was a fascinating car crash of a movie.