10 Hit Horror Movies That DIDN'T Get Sequels

Sometimes a horror franchise doesn’t need to be built on a monster or masked killer, but something more innocuous. Making almost nine times its $5 million budget at the box office, Oculus is a clever chiller where a brother and sister try to figure out once and for all if an eerie mirror is responsible for the violent deaths of their parents.

Kaylie (Karen Gillan) is certain that a 17th century mirror is imbued with a supernatural evil which causes all of its owners to die in horrific fashion. Its structure follows two interweaving timelines, past and present, which gradually melt into one grisly climax.

The film ends with Tim (Brenton Thwaites) being arrested for the apparent murder of his sister, mirroring (get it?) his arrest as a child for the murder of his father. As Tim shouts protests of “It wasn’t me, it was the mirror!” whilst the evil spectres of his family look on, you can practically smell a sequel in the air. Surely the mirror won’t stop its bloodlust until it has claimed Tim and any other unlucky owners?

An Oculus 2 would surely involve Tim trying to finally destroy the mirror, be it from prison or the outside world. Maybe it’s only after more mirror-owning families have torn each other apart that someone seeks the help of an initially-reluctant Tim to break both the mirror and the cycle of death.

And of course, you’ve got the option of prequels. The mirror has had plenty of other unfortunate owners throughout its history if the producers fancy throwing some period costumes into the mix.