Sequels are always a crap shoot when it comes to quality, and that’s never more true than with horror movies. Particularly those that end up as a franchise, where you have a set of (usually) diminishing returns. For this list, we’re (mostly) sticking with direct sequels, Part II’s and the like. When a sequel works out, it’s like catching lightning in a bottle. Again. When it doesn’t, it’s like licking a car battery. With this list, we’re hoping to give you bottles full of lightning. Either way, you’re probably going to get shocked. I… I’m sorry, that metaphor got away from me a bit. ANYWAY, here are the terrifying double-dips that ended up working out.
Here are the 50 Greatest Horror Sequels of All Time.
30. Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
I have never seen the original Ouija, and my understanding is that there’s no need, as it is run-of-the-mill horror schlock. That makes this prequel a true oddity as it rises far above the trashed original to deliver something that delivers the scares and the drama, although it doesn’t fully reinvent the wheel. The big upgrade, I think, is the change of setting with the ’60s pastiche as well as the fun hook of a family led by a fake-psychic matriarch to set the stage. This is the kind of upgrade you get when you bring on someone like Mike Flanagan to write and direct it. I don’t think this is the highest quality movie on the list, but it may just be the biggest improvement on the original.
–Jacob Holmes
29. Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014)
Dead Snow was a fun film, but it’s really all about the last 30-45 minutes, when the undead Nazis rise out of the snow and start wreaking gory havoc. It’s hilarious and bloody in equal measure, and is tonally different enough from the first part of the film to give you whiplash. Red vs Dead just embraces the gonzo mania of those last 30+ minutes and goes about trying to top it.
Dead Snow 2 is just gloriously insane and consistently more entertaining than it’s predecessor. The gore quotient is high, and the gags are plentiful. Simon, the only survivor of the first film, wakes up with a Nazi zombie arm grafted on – resulting in some cringe comedy AND the ability to raise the dead. Herzog, the Nazi commander, raises an undead army AND finds a working tank. Some nerd zombie hunters from the US liven things up, and the splatter effects are so many and so entertaining that even if one doesn’t fully work you only have to wait a few minutes for something else to explode in blood and guts.
The ending is a little bit of a letdown – more like a shoving match between undead Norwegian soldiers and undead Nazis in a backyard – but until then it’s a bloody joy to watch.
–Bob Cram
28. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Not only do we get our first film with Jason as the killer, but we also get him at his scariest with that one-eyed sack of creepiness. Don’t get me wrong, I love the hockey mask and it is what made Jason iconic, but sack-head Jason is the scariest Jason hands down. Here we get more of the same formula that the original Friday the 13th helped usher in. A group of youngins’ doing the drinkin’, the sexin’, and the pot-smokin’ who all need to die at the hands of momma’s baby boy. This is the only film in the franchise in which Jason actually feels like a real human antagonist. Director Steve Miner works in quite a few frightening shots throughout the film (the shot of Jason running towards the cabin Ginny has just sought refuge in stands out) and maintains a tense atmosphere throughout. The film is brutal, with Mark’s death being a highlight. The climactic chase scene with one of the best final girls of all-time in Ginny is a long, grueling sequence. It proves to be as exhausting for the viewer (in a good way) as it is for the character.
–Vincent Kane
27. Saw II (2005)
I think Saw II is the perfect Saw movie. It improves upon what made everyone fall in love with the original while expanding the scope of the series, moving from a confined bathroom to a larger house of traps. Saw II also helped solidify Jigsaw as a compelling antagonist, and it deepened the mythology surrounding him. Oh, and I think the twist in Saw II was better than the one in Saw.
–Vincent Kane
26. Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
It took me a long, long time to watch Paranormal Activity 2, simply because I assumed it would be just another rehash of the first film. But when I finally gave it a shot, the sequel turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It smartly focused on expanding the story by shifting the focus to Katie’s sister, Kristi, and her family, providing fans with more context for the haunting and revealing the depth of the supernatural curse that followed them. The use of security cameras around the house made the scares feel fresh while maintaining the same creeping dread that the first movie nailed. I loved how it tied directly back to the events of Paranormal Activity, filling in gaps and raising bigger questions about the demon’s motives. Instead of feeling like a throwaway follow-up, Paranormal Activity 2 made the whole series feel bigger and more connected, which made the scares land even harder. It also asks the question… what kind of sacrifice would you make for your family’s safety? The answer may not be as straightforward as you think.
–Romona Comet
25. Smile 2 (2024)
I don’t really know how to feel about this one, both as a movie and as a sequel. It picks up in a good spot and has a lot of potential with the lead as this very public figure, yet something about it just didn’t totally work for me. While Naomi Scott kills in the lead role, the whole thing didn’t have as much bite as the original. Rose’s anxiety felt very understandable in the first film, but the Smile demon spends a lot of time with Skye just messing with her, and it felt to me like a solid hour and thirty-minute film was hidden in the final two hours and twelve minutes cut. The fun and creepy anxiety is still here, though, and it’s a lot of fun as it builds to a bonkers conclusion.
–Valerie Morreale
24. Creep 2 (2017)
The original Creep doesn’t obviously set itself up for a sequel. The two-hander feels very much like a one-off as you uncover the secrets behind this weird serial killer Josef (Mark Duplass), who has paid someone to do a one-day documentary of his life. But Creep 2 finds the way to make a sequel that really works. There’s a sense in the original that Josef sees himself as an artist, not just a killer. He’s basically a filmmaker. But after so many kills, in the sequel, he has found himself uninspired and unsure of whether his terrifying hobby has come to an end. Enter Sara (Desiree Akhavan), who he outright admits to being a serial killer. And yet she pushes him in apparent disbelief of his claim, reinvigorating his love of the cat-and-mouse game. It’s a sequel worth seeing if you enjoyed the original.
–Jacob Holmes
23. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
It’s rare that any franchise, horror or otherwise, gets better as the series goes on; however, that is the case with Friday the 13th. Arguably the best film of the franchise, 1986’s Jason Lives is a huge departure from the rest of the films in the series up to that point, as it’s the first to treat Jason like a monster rather than an unstoppable killer. Maintaining the grit and rawness of The Final Chapter but with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, the film gives every type of audience the perfect horror experience. Filled with great characters you want to see survive the night, a hulking Jason who’s arguably scarier here than he’s ever been before, and some of the best kills in the franchise, Jason Lives should’ve been the last film in the series. We would’ve missed out on Kane Hodder, but we would’ve gotten the perfect end to the series. Fairtrade in my book.
–Sailor Monsoon
22. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Few films have had as big a critical reappraisal as this film has. It’s gone from being hated when it first came out to becoming a cult film with a fan base so rabid and vocal that they themselves made it a bit overrated. They’ve sung the praises of it for so long that it gained a reputation as an unseen horror classic, and while I admire and appreciate that this is the film they all decided to die on, it’s not a classic. While it is still the best Halloween sequel and one of the best Halloween films period, I do think its reputation has been a bit inflated.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think there’s a ton about it that’s fantastic (the silver shamrock theme song, the design of the masks, the death of that kid, the weird-ass plot, Tom fucking Atkins), I just think the die-hard fans of it were a bit overzealous. Having said that, I agree with John Carpenter. This shit always should’ve been an anthology. We missed out on some cool ass films. All y’all assholes with hard-ons for Shatner fucked it up. Goddamn it.
–Sailor Monsoon
21. Pearl (2022)
It’s a matter of preference whether any particular person prefers X or Pearl, but there’s no doubt that the sequel stands tall on its own. Fresh off playing a double role in X (including the titular sequel character of Pearl at 90+ years old), Mia Goth takes her opportunity to really shine in the sequel, delivering a breathtaking monologue and an unforgettable end-credits smile. The film evokes an early ’30s Technicolor and brings us into the unhinged life of Pearl, a farm girl whose desire to escape her dreary farm life to be a movie star results in the ultimate crash out.
–Jacob Holmes
40-31 | 20-11
What are some of your favorite horror sequels of all time? Maybe they will show up later in this list!