10 Horror Movie Sequels You Probably Didn't Know Existed

While plenty of movies, whether deliberately or otherwise, lend themselves to a follow-up, others were clearly meant to be standalone stories. However, that doesn't mean that they aren't ultimately given sequels all the same.

These are typically unwarranted, unwanted, have little or nothing to do with the previous story, and ultimately wind up despised at worst, and simply forgotten at best. Such is the case with Donnie Darko, a cult classic whose bizarre story was wrapped up within its near-two-hour run time.

Even with that, and the death of the titular character (Jake Gyllenhaal), S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale was released seven years later in 2008. The sequel revolved around Donnie's sister, Samantha (Daveigh Chase), and unsurprisingly was critically panned and failed to come even close to the original's own modest box office intake.

Donnie Darko organically grew into a cult classic with a loyal fanbase, and when studios try to manufacture that same response, it rarely goes well. Particularly when the writer and director of the original has no input whatsoever. A sequel wasn't needed, and it wasn't wanted, which potentially goes some way to explaining why so few people knew or cared about it when it did come.