10 Best Horror Movie Sequels That Never Happened

3. When A Stranger Returns

Halloween Quentin Tarantino
Screen Gems

2006's When A Stranger Calls was a thoroughly unique beast for what was initially labelled a remake.

While the movie technically does pull its story directly from the 1979 film of the same name, the '06 When A Stranger Calls is actually only based solely on the opening act of that '79 feature. Instead of simply remaking the entire previous film, Simon West's do-over takes the opening 15-20 minutes of that picture and expands it into a full feature - meaning that we get a 90-minute story of a mysterious figure stalking a young babysitter and the children she's been tasked with looking after.

Writer Jake Wade explained to Bloody Disgusting that there was at one point a plan to deliver a sequel film titled When A Stranger Returns. Again pulling inspiration from 1979's When A Stranger Calls, this follow-up would jump ahead to Camille Belle's Jill as the mother this time out - with her children and their babysitter the ones being tormented by a sinister stranger.

Feeling that Camille Belle would have to suitably age to be able to realistically reprise the Jill character as a mother, When A Stranger Returns was put on the backburner. So much so, the sequel seemingly became an afterthought for all involved and has still yet to move forward 14 years after the previous movie's release.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.