10 Horror Movies You Never Knew Spawned A Trilogy
There was only supposed to be one movie, but they somehow made three of the story!
Horror movies are good for everyone. On one hand, they scare audiences around the world, providing fun and frights in a darkened room. On the other, they make bucket loads of money for the people who make them.
Some are so successful they birth ridiculously profitable franchises that transcend the decades from which they came. The likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and Friday the 13th are baked into our culture thanks to a steady stream of toys, games, figures, and of course movie sequels.
The profitability of these rampant franchises is enough to make any producer drool like a Saint Bernard when one of their own movies achieves even a modicum of success. So, even when a movie ties itself up neatly with a nice little bow and declares 'The End', it's a lie. Time has taught us there is always a will and a way to make a movie sequel, and with a lot of persistence, a trilogy.
However, a trilogy is a peculiar thing in the horror world. A successful horror series rarely ends at a third entry, even if the quality of the movies within the series is barrel-scraping. If there's cash to be squeezed, or rights to be retained, they generally run to 8, 9, or even more entries.
So, for now, these are the horror movies you've likely seen for being well known, but you probably didn't know became a trilogy. Some were good, some were bad, some should never be talked about again.
10. The Stepfather
Back in 1987, long before he was cast as the mysterious fan favourite John Locke in smash television show Lost, he was The Stepfather. Terry O'Quinn made his feature film breakthrough in this psychological thriller where he played Jerry Blake, a man with a penchant for killing his spouses. The movie was a very modest success, earning over $2 million at the box office, in no small part because of O'Quinn's stellar performance. However, despite the movie ending with his murderous character's demise, a sequel quickly followed.
A mere two years later in 1989, the sequel, dreadfully titled Stepfather II: Make Room For Daddy, arrived with O'Quinn in fine fettle, and ready to get his kill on. The movie though was not met with the same critical success as its predecessor, and after grossing just a little over $1 million, it would seem that would be the end of the Stepfather.
That was simply not the case, as an unlikely third entry arrived in 1991, this time made for television, and without Terry O'Quinn. Clearly, fans weren't happy about it considering its 4.7 rating on IMDb. That being said, the trilogy has developed a cult following and is really hard to find on DVD in the UK. The less said about the 2009 remake, the better.