10 Horror Movie Sequels That Started In Surprising Ways

Those horror sequels whose opening moments shocked audiences.

by Andrew Pollard
The Grudge 2 Karen Davis Kyako Sarah Michelle Gellar
Columbia Pictures

No genre of cinema is more synonymous with sequels than the murky realm of horror.

Given the relatively cheap cost of putting a horror movie together - which in turn makes it possible to turn an extremely healthy profit - we've seen time and time again how an initial idea is revisited. For so many films, they end up being spun into a multi-movie franchise, with some franchises even getting into double figures when it comes to how many entries they consist of.

While certain sequels often retread the same plot points as their predecessor(s), in turn bringing a predictability to them, there are those follow-ups that manage to do something different, something eye-grabbing, and something surprising. And it's on those particular sequels that the attention is on here.

With our recent 10 Movie Sequels That Started In Surprising Ways having covered Jaws: The Revenge, Scream 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Alien 3, those pictures are off the table here. Still, there are so many other sequels to choose from when it comes those which began by shocking us all.

Keeping that in mind, then, here are ten such horror follow-ups which immediately caught audiences off guard with their opening moments.

10. Slumber Party Massacre II

The Grudge 2 Karen Davis Kyako Sarah Michelle Gellar
New Concorde

Slumber Party Massacre is everything you'd expect from a slasher film released in 1982. Overflowing with the cliches of the subgenre, this Amy Holden Jones-helmed offering presents a group of disposable teens, a drill-wielding killer, and the sort of chaos and carnage one automatically associates with the slashers of that time.

While Russ Thorn, the villain of Slumber Party Massacre, is offed at the end of the movie, that didn't stop him from technically returning for the 1987 follow-up picture.

Rather than the middle-aged mass murderer seen in the first film, the big surprise of Slumber Party Massacre II is how Russ is presented upon being resurrected for another dose of bloodshed. As shown in the opening moments of SPM2, this rogue is now a hip 'n' cool 1950s greaser, decked out in leather and sporting a guitar that's fitted with a drill bit. Oh, and he sings. Like, a lot. So much so, Slumber Party Massacre II borders on being an all-out musical at times.

For better or worse, Slumber Party Massacre II's first 15 minutes sets out to make you fully aware that this is very much a different film to its predecessor.

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, 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. 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.