10 Unexpected And Surprising Horror Movie Sequels

Predator (1987) was one of the finest movies of the '80s. Part sci-fi, part action and part slasher horror, the film is not only one of the strongest in the repertoire of a certain Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it also launched an iconic deadly alien character. However, the franchise over the proceeding years has been far less hit than miss. Predator 2 (1990) was a solid enough follow-up in bringing the story from the jungle to the suburbs, but it just didn't quite live up to what had come before.

The series then saw the mediocre Alien vs. Predator movies, and finally a further two more recent sequels, with the patchy Predators (2010) set on a distant planet but returning to the jungle setting of the original movie, and the incoherent follow-up that was The Predator (2018). Then out of nowhere came Prey (2022), a film which takes the idea back to the fundamental basics of the original classic, set in an intriguing Native American period as a more primitive Predator faces off with a Comanche warrior girl.

Prey is a beautifully shot period piece, reminiscent of Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto (2006) in places, stripping the threat back and setting up a thrilling single combat finale. This is a subtle and carefully crafted film compared to the other sequels, and in a nutshell is a complete breath of fresh air for what increasingly seemed like a tired franchise, that had been fresh out of good ideas up to this point.