10 Horror Sequels That Totally Ruined The Previous Movie's Ending
These horror films had a good thing going. So, why did they throw it all away?
Horror likely has the best return on investment in the film industry, largely due to the low production costs and broad audience appeal. And when a slasher or a creature feature makes its budget back ten or a hundredfold, it's understandable when a sequel is greenlit. So long as a franchise is making bank, studios will tend to see no reason to stop pumping out more.
However, horror sequels often face the challenge of continuing a story, even if its predecessor was designed to end conclusively. If the story wraps with evil being defeated, it provides a sense of closure, but these endings can be retroactively undone if the masses want to see more.
Of course, that's not the only way a horror follow-up can screw things up, as a film can conclude with a major cliffhanger or tease, only for the following entry not to acknowledge it. Other times, the next instalment flat out contradicts events in a previous one, destroying any cohesion in the overarching narrative.
Whether or not these drastic changes of direction or retcons worked out for the better, they absolutely ruined the previous movie's ending.
10. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Based on the novel of the same name, 1997's I Know What You Did Last Summer follows four friends who accidentally strike a man with their car. Not wanting to get the authorities involved, they dump the body and vow never to speak of it again. When the hook-wielding Fisherman begins stalking the group the following year and taunts them for the hit-and-run, they realise they can't run away from their past sins.
The teen slasher made over $100 million on a modest budget, so it wasn't a surprise when a sequel was greenlit and arrived one year later. But there was a problem.
I Know What You Did Last Summer concludes with our heroine, Julie James, returning to college after she seemingly killed the Fisherman. As she enters her dorm bathroom, Julie notices a message written on the mirror that reads "I STILL KNOW", and before she has a chance to react, the Fisherman bursts through the glass and attacks Julie, as the screen cuts to black.
Even though this was a great cliffhanger, a throwaway line in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer reveals that this incident was all just dream.
Though nobody should be expecting a Shakespearean level of writing from a slasher movie, using the "it was a dream" trope to explain away this moment was the first sign this sequel was going to be terrible.