10 Awesome Horror Movies With Disappointing Sequels

After he laid the wizarding wand to rest with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011, Daniel Radcliffe’s bankability as a star was called into question by various media outlets, wondering if he could escape the shadow of the adolescent character and move onto more ‘grown-up’ roles. He proved himself just a year later with his role in The Woman in Black, the second adaptation of Susan Hill’s classic ghost story.

Radcliffe’s solicitor character Arthur Kipps made for a thoroughly engaging protagonist, as he travelled to the remote manor of a recently deceased client, only to find himself terrorised by a vengeful spirit in this chillingly effective haunted house movie.

It's a shame, then, that the surprise success of the film wasn’t carried over to its sequel, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2014). Original director James Watkins was replaced by Tom Harper, and new screenwriter Jon Croker didn’t have a novel to draw from, though author Martyn Waites later wrote a tie-in novelisation.

Jumping forward from the Edwardian setting to Blitz-era England, the sequel was less inventive than its predecessor, relying on cheap jump scares and cliches, and it was sorely missing Radcliffe’s commanding yet vulnerable presence.