10 Horror Movie Sequels That Are Practically Flawless
The frightening follow-ups somehow outdid their originals.
It's safe to say that, in the world of horror movies, sequels are rarely a good thing.
For some reason, the horror genre lends itself to long, convoluted film series with lots of retcons, needless plot twists, and the ruining of once-beloved characters. These tropes make most horror sequels a tough watch and, in the worst cases, can retroactively ruin the original.
With Insidious, The Exorcist and Evil Dead all getting new instalments soon, horror fans have good reason to be more scared than usual. However, as seen in the examples of the following ten movies, sometimes a horror sequel can be just as good as, if not better than, the film that came before.
Whether they carried on a good idea or took the franchise in a completely new direction, these ten horror sequels (which aren't always the second film, just to let you know) all stand up as excellent movies in their own right and somehow manage to avoid the dreaded sequels curse.
Will those aforementioned upcoming sequels manage to do the same? Only time will tell, but, for now, let's revel in some of the best blood-soaked successors to some of horror's most iconic movies.
10. Annabelle: Creation
Not only is 2017's Annabelle: Creation a sequel, but it's also a spin-off! What a deal!
The fourth film in The Conjuring franchise and the direct follow-on from 2014's Annabelle, this movie tells the story of the eponymous doll and how it came to be possessed by a demon. So it's a prequel too? This deal keeps getting better and better!
Creation depicts how the demon inside Annabelle was first unleashed unto the world, how it terrorised a group of orphans, and how it eventually took the form of a young girl who would murder her adoptive parents, leading directly into the events of Annabelle.
The first Annabelle movie was a big smash at the box office, taking over $257million. Not only did its sequel take almost $50million more, but it was also heralded by critics for being far more similar in tone to the original Conjuring films, something the first Annabelle film was blasted for.
Annabelle: Creation takes all the elements of a classic supernatural horror and plays them out perfectly. It's a gripping watch with some really gruesome kills and, above all else, a return to form for one of modern's horror's biggest franchises.