Even the best horror movie franchises have a film that defies the conventions of the series and stands out from the pack, for better and for worse. Some of these films are sequels in name only, having absolutely nothing to do with their predecessors. Some are direct sequels but complete tonal shifts from the previous movie. Some even make us wonder whether the filmmakers even saw the original film at all. Whatever the case, a few of thegreatest horror movies of all timegot sequels that had nothing to do with the original.
To say these films stick out like a sore thumb would be an understatement. From tacked-on sequels likeTroll 2andHello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, which were produced independently of their franchises, to baffling official entries in theExorcistandFriday the 13thseries, some of these completely bizarrehorror sequelswork despite being so different from their predecessors. Others are unfortunate low points in an otherwise solid series of films, whose differences are far too out there to sustain the audience’s interest.
Rob Zombie’s originalHalloween, a reimagining of John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s 1978 classic, is altogether a fairly standard slasher film, albeit an extra brutal one. For the sequel, Zombie cranks up the brutality to a thousand, so it’s a great film for gorehounds — see for instance a particularly nasty head-stomping. Beyond this, it’s hard to know just who exactly this film is for, but it’s definitely not for fans oftheHalloweenfranchiseor even Zombie’s previous movie.
In many ways, Zombie’s Halloween II is anti-franchise by design. The writer-director only agreed to do the film toget out of a three-picture Halloween sequel dealwith Dimension, having had a miserable experience makingHalloween. As such,Halloween IIis far more introspective and surreal than its predecessor, or indeed any film in the franchise. It’s more a character study about trauma, with its central villain Michael Myers wandering in and out like a ghost and having visions of his mother with a white horse — altogether headier stuff than is required of aHalloweenfilm.
There’s a reasonTroll 2has absolutely nothing to do with its predecessor, and indeed contains no trolls at all. It was originally produced under the titleGoblins, but American distributors released it asTroll 2in an attempt to capitalize on the previous film. The movie already has this going against it in terms of predecessor-to-sequel continuity, butTroll 2also happens to be one of the most bonkers films ever made, an alien transmission in and of itself, regardless of franchise connections.
Troll 2is also widely regarded as one of the best “so-bad-it’s-good” films, thanks in part to the documentaryBest Worst Movie, directed by the movie’s star Michael Paul Stephenson. It details the production ofTroll 2and its emergence as a cult film. Full of infinitely quotable moments, bottom-of-the-barrel special effects and costumes, and a can-do spirit that makes the film so charming despite its many flaws,Troll 2is a singular movie experience not to be missed.
WhileThe Howlingis a polished, big-budget werewolf horror comedy, its direct sequelHowling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf(also known asStirba — Werewolf Bitch) is more like a low-budget cousin than a proper continuation of the previous movie. For one,Howling IIretconsThe Howling’s fantastic ending, whereby the existence of werewolves is revealed and proven on live TV. Instead, the brother of the protagonist from the first film discovers — alongside the audience all over again — that werewolves are real, and he travels to Transylvania with a lycanthrope hunter played by horror movie veteran Christopher Lee.
The costumes inHowling IIare heavily inspired by 1980s New Wave culture, including a tubular pair of shades worn by Lee, as well as many outfits donned by the film’s main antagonist, the werewolf queen Stirba (Sybil Danning). For this and its soundtrack,Howling IIis very much a product of its era,an endearing slice of ‘80s cheese that never fails to satisfythat particular hunger for horrible horror movies.
The Exorcistis easily one of the best horror movies ever made, in large part because it takes a supernatural premise and grounds it in reality.Exorcist II: The Hereticadopts a more free-wheeling approach to storytelling, mixing in not just demonic possession but also repressed psychic abilities, magical powers, and devices that can sync two people’s brainwaves together. It’s so far removed from its predecessor, at times, one wonders if the filmmakers involved in the production even saw the original Exorcist.
“It was horrible, utterly horrible… and fascinating!”
But as Father Lamont (Richard Burton) says in the film,“It was horrible, utterly horrible… and fascinating!”This line of dialogue — one of the more subdued moments in a film full of laughable quotes — pretty much sums up the experience of watchingExorcist II. It is at times painful in its execution, and common sense dictates turning the movie off, but viewers can’t look away.It’s a proverbial train wreck of a film, utterly horrible, yet fascinating at the same time.
Dario Argento’sSuspiriafeatures some of cinema’s most horrifying imagery, replete with a vibrant color palette that adds to the film’s surrealistic tone. Its spiritual follow-up,Inferno, mostly throws the plot aside, creating a surreal nightmare that relishes in defying logic at every turn. Together,the movies comprise some of the director’s most vivid and mysterious works, and they’re considered amongArgento’s best films. Then there’sThe Mother of Tears, released nearly 30 years afterInferno, which technically completes the witch-themed trilogy, but in a way that feels unsatisfactory for fans of the first two films.
The Mother of Tearslacks the intense and vibrant colors of its predecessors, and for the most part, plays more like an occult mystery film with a conventional plot. As such, it lacks the dreamlike atmosphere that characterizesSuspiriaandInferno. The movie also attempts to explain the events of its predecessors, and in doing so robs them of their mystique. It also has the effect of boggingThe Mother of Tearsdown with exposition, all of it quickly delivered by side characters before they meet some truly grisly ends, which feel hollow and tacked on.
Flesheateris an unofficial sequel toNight of the Living Deadwritten, produced, directed by, and starring Bill Hinzman, who played the first onscreen ghoul in George A. Romero’s classic 1968 film. Hinzman reprises this character, who ostensibly has been lying in wait inside a box buried under a tree stump, warning anyone who finds it not to open it.This more mystical origin of a zombie outbreak undercutsNight of the Living Dead’s more grounded explanation, which is only ever presented as a theory and not concrete fact.
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Moreover, even thoughFlesheaterapes some ofNight of the Living Dead’s most famous scenes, including its infamous ending, the film lacks the biting social commentary of its predecessor, ultimately playing out more like a slasher film than a zombie movie. It sees Hinzman’s titular flesh-eater as the main villain ripping up and consuming a group of teenagers just trying to party on Halloween. It’s also trashy as all get out, with loads of gratuitous nudity and excessive violence. Fans of Romero’s work will no doubt be bemused at the very existence ofFlesheater.
The only connection betweenProm NightandHello Mary Lou: Prom Night IIis the name of the high school, Hamilton. None of the survivors of the original, especially Jamie Lee Curtis, appear in the sequel, which wasn’t initially produced as a sequel toProm Nightat all. Producers tacked on the title after the film was completed to cash in on the success of the previous movie. WhereasProm Nightis a straightforward slasher film with a human killer, its “sequel” is more a hybrid ofA Nightmare on Elm Street, Carrie, andThe Exorcist.
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night IIis also much more comedic than its predecessor, with the main villain, Mary Lou Maloney, possessing Vicki and getting out a good one-liner whenever she kills one of her classmates. All the characters, moreover, have names that reference famous horror figures, including John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Stephen King, and Joe Dante, among others. As such,Prom Night IIexists as a comedic love letter to the horror genre, one with very little in common with its predecessor, but worth checking out all the same.
By 1993, Jason Voorhees had already been brought back as an undead — and therefore virtually unstoppable — killing machine.Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Fridayattempts to explain how Jason became a walking and slashing corpse, and the results are truly wild. Turns out Jason is actually a demon who can possess other bodies, so classic hockey-masked Jason takes a backseat to various character actors whose spirits become inhabited by the killer. Those hoping to see Jason stalk and slash his way through Crystal Lake campers will be disappointed.
Jason Goes to Hellis, ofall theFriday the 13thfilms, truly an odd duck, though that doesn’t mean it’s an unenjoyable movie. Its preposterousness is part of its charm, and there are some truly bizarre moments peppered throughout, including a scene where a man possessed by Jason strips and shaves his male victim before killing him. The film is also notable for setting upFreddy vs Jason, even though the latter film completely ignores the events ofJason Goes to Hell.
The events of 1981’sHalloween IIwere meant to lay Michael Myers to rest for good, with the franchise continuing as ananthology series releasing every Halloween. Of course, these plans never came to fruition, and Michael Myers came back from the dead inHalloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, makingHalloween III: Season of the Witchan outlier rather than the first in a series of Halloween-themed movies. Audiences at the time just couldn’t get past the absence of Myers and Laurie Strode.
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Fortunately,Halloween IIIhas amassed a cult following in the years since its release, with fans and critics alike praising the film for its bizarre plot and bonkers execution. Featuring robot killers, a mystic cult that steals a piece of Stonehenge, and masks that kill anyone who wears them, the film was a bold swing away from the slasher genre entirely and into the realms of sci-fi and even fantasy. Its weirdness,the fact it’s doing something wildly different, is part of what makes the film so great.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacreis a masterclass in utilizing horrifying imagery and sounds to completely discomfort its audience. It’s easily one of the greatest horror films of all time for this reason, and in many ways, its terror cannot be topped. That’s why director Tobe Hooper doesn’t even try, creating insteadThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,an uproarious horror comedy that parodies its predecessor and as well as horror tropes in general.Tonally, it couldn’t be more far removed from the 1974 classic, but that’s precisely what makes the film work so well.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2is also a particularly gory movie, featuring effects work from the great Tom Savini, further setting it apart from its predecessor, which features very little onscreen bloodshed and relies more on suggestion. Not so for the sequel, which relishes in its violence as a means of generating laughter rather than gasps.
