10 Unexpected And Surprising Horror Movie Sequels

Hellraiser (1987) was horror novelist Clive Barker’s directorial debut, and its blend of gore, violence and the fantastical made it a surprising hit, followed by its sequel Hellbound (1988). Hellraiser tells the story of a mysterious puzzle box which opens a gateway to Hell for anyone who is able to complete it, unleashing demons known as Cenobites into our world, who come to claim the soul of that person.

The sequel was a continuation of the story, expanding on the lore and entwining characters from the first movie. Then came Hell On Earth (1993), the third in the series and a departure from the initial film with a new standalone story and fresh characters. But the quality was noticeably starting to dip, and when the fourth film Bloodline (1996) arrived, it was a movie that was literally all over the place, with three stories set across different timezones, brought together with a runtime of barely 80 minutes.

Bloodline feels like three different films hastily chopped up and stuck together, with one saving grace being the first part set in 1800s Paris, and showing the creation of the Puzzle Box. This is an intriguing tale providing a backstory to the already established events, but the film then prematurely jumps through to the then-present day of the '90s, before bizarrely leaping again into the future, where we get to see a ludicrous battle with the Hell Demon Pinhead (Doug Bradley) in space... and this just fails on many levels.