10 Horror Movie Sequels That Were Just Too Cruel
4. The Fly II
The Fly II can't even begin to hold a candle to David Cronenberg's mesmerising predecessor and perhaps embodies the "unnecessary" horror sequel. While Cronenberg's film had a surprising tenderness to it beneath all the goopy body horror, the sequel? Not so much.
For one, the movie opens with the original film's surviving hero, Veronica Quaife - now played by Saffron Henderson after Geena Davis refused to return - dying while giving birth to a son she was impregnated with by her late, mutated lover Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum).
Yet director Chris Walas arguably goes even harsher later in the movie, when a security guard, Mackenzie (Pat Bermel), has his face melted by Veronica and Seth's son, Martin (Eric Stoltz).
Rather than simply die, Mackenzie claws away at his face as the acid eats through it, blinding him and melting away his tongue, but still not killing him.
As it turns out, despite the seemingly traumatically fatal nature of this injury, Mackenzie can be seen breathing heavily on the ground as the rest of the security detail enters the room. And because that's not enough, Martin even walks over him as he exits the area.
For as impressive as The Fly II's gore effects are, its mean streak is a small part of what ultimately makes it inferior to Cronenberg's original.