15 Laziest Movie Sequels Of All Time

8. Paranormal Activity 2, 3 And 4 (2010-2012)

Paramount

The horror genre is one that constantly sticks to a trusted formula, especially when it comes to the big-name franchises. After Paranormal Activity grossed almost $200m from a budget of just $15,000 it was inevitable that the movie's success would spawn sequels. Unfortunately, the franchise adheres to its established formula so rigidly that the annual follow-ups come across as nothing more than lazy and uninspired.

Following the template established in the first movie, each of the three sequels follow pretty much exactly the same formula: An incident occurs that requires recording equipment to be placed all over the protagonist's home, lots of static shots of nothing then happen, followed by far more static shots of not very much else shuffling around, before all of the action is crammed into the last ten minutes. Despite the repetitiveness and lack of scares for a horror movie, it is a formula that saw the first four instalments earn over $700m against combined production costs of less than $15m.

The dwindling financial returns for the franchise indicate that audiences are beginning to grow tired of the constant rehashing of a once fresh premise, which is a problem that constantly plagues the horror genre. Even though Paranormal Activity has introduced new characters, gone the prequel route and attempted to establish a wider mythology, it is essentially the same movie being made over and over again.

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