10 Horror Movie Sequels That Had No Right To Be This Good

2. Evil Dead II

Bruce Campbell Evil Dead II
New Line Cinema

The biggest reason why Evil Dead II should be a stinker of a movie on paper, is because many view the film to actually be a loose remake of the first Evil Dead picture.

For decades, the debate has ravaged on amongst horror hounds as to whether Evil Dead II is a sequel or a remake. Even franchise star Bruce Campbell isn't entirely sure on this matter, with him instead labelling the film a "requel" during a 2016 interview with Bay at the Moon Productions.

Given how much of Evil Dead II tells a story extremely close to the one seen in The Evil Dead, that alone should've meant the film wouldn't be all that well received by fans. Added to that, this 1987 offering opted to go in a far more slapstick direction that its chilling, terrifying predecessor.

So, here you have a sequel that rehashes several pivotal parts of the original movie, and that strips away some of the balls-to-the-wall scares in favour of a more comedic approach to its antics. Gloriously, this all comes together to work majestically and truly set the tone for what the greater Evil Dread franchise would become synonymous with.

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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.