10 Awesome Horror Movies With Disappointing Sequels

Not every classic movie is adored on its release; often it takes time to find the right audience. This is particularly true of horror, which critics have historically been sceptical of.

The Omen and its sequels are an interesting example. The first film saw the debut of one of horror cinema’s most unlikely monsters: five-year Damien Thorn. Entering into the family when Robert (Gregory Peck) secretly adopts him after his wife’s stillbirth, Damien becomes connected to a series of mysterious, gruesome deaths. Turns out he is no ordinary boy, but in fact the antichrist.

The movie was no critical darling at the time, but has gone on to become an undeniable classic of gothic horror. Its sequels, on the other hand, have just as few fans now as they did then. Did it not occur to Fox that watching Damien grow from a little boy in league with the devil, to a teenager in Damien: Omen II (1978), to a full-grown adult in the generically titled The Final Conflict (1981), would turn him from uncanny to laughable?

The 2006 remake, while retaining the creepy kid angle, was also criticised for being too faithful to the original, and thus, pointless. Time will tell how this year's The First Omen will do.