13 Frustratingly Underrated Horror Movie Sequels
8. Halloween II (1981)
Original Film:
John Carpenter's horror masterpiece Halloween, which is still the best Slasher movie ever and will probably never be topped.
Plot:
Set on the same night as the original, the nightmare continues as Michael Myers pursues Laurie Strode in a hospital.
This first sequel to the original film is actually pretty good. Why the hell does it have 31% on Rotten Tomatoes?
It is a silly and plot hole-ridden movie that does hint at the mistakes the franchise would keep making - too much gore, too much focus on deaths over tension and Michael Myers dying and resurrecting like Kenny from South Park - but for the most part this is actually a solid, tense and well-paced Slasher thriller.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance are still great, the chase sequences are suspenseful and the gore is entertaining without going too over-the-top like in the later sequels. It's genuinely one of the best films in the now 40-year-old franchise and while it doesn't come close to the original, it's still a thoroughly enjoyable ride. It's certainly a hell of a lot better than Rob Zombie's Halloween II.
The franchise carried on a thoroughly tiresome way until 2002's widely panned Halloween: Resurrection. It was revived with a decent remake in 2007, but that was followed by another terrible sequel shortly after. A direct sequel to the original is coming later this year.