9 Once Terrifying Horror Villains Rendered Lame By Sequels

The Alien remains one of the most striking, original designs in the sci-fi genre. The creature has barely any screentime and is mostly draped in shadows, but boy does it chill the blood. James Cameron wisely realised he couldn’t recapture that awe with Aliens, so he turned it into an action film and added the Alien Queen to give it a fresh twist.

Following that the beast would appear in comics, video games and toys, and the design slowly lost its impact. Alien: Resurrection used them mostly as cannon fodder, and the albino thingy at the end with the massive beer gut was embarrassing; just ask Joss Whedon. Alien Vs Predator was a bland, bloodless punch up between the two icons, and the sequel Requiem was the nadir of both franchises.

The main reason Ridley Scott moved Prometheus away from being a direct prequel was because he felt the design had been overexposed, and he wanted to try something fresh. It’s hard to argue with his logic, but apparently he has a special redesign in mind for Alien: Covenant. Let’s hope so.

Can you think of any other horror icons that got progressively lamer with each passing sequel? Share your thoughts in the comments below.