There are rare sequels that transcend their predecessors, though. Sometimes, the right creative team would come together for an entry that valiantly attempted to pull the franchise out of its septic history, regaining its audience’s good will and turn lacklaster box office numbers around. Even if it did neither of these things, maybe it just offered something refreshing and different. I’ve compiled a few of those sequels and you can sift through them below, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on this topic. Discuss using the boards below!
Horror Sequels That Turned Things Around
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SAW VI
Kevin Greutert sat in the director's chair of this lively entry which was immensely better than the tepid SAW V. Although part 6 was deeply anchored into the soap operatic mythology of this series, Greutert brought some energy to it and made us remember why we loved the carnage of these films so much. Sadly, it didn't open as strong as the other films and its overall box office take was weak. Audiences felt burned by Saw V...
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Halloween: H20
H20 dismissed the nonsense of Halloween parts 4, 5 and 6 and tried to put things back on track with a simple Myers vs. Laurie Strode story. What it wound up doing is more harm than good, however, because we wound up getting Halloween: Resurrection.
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New Nightmare
Freddy Krueger gets a makeover and a new life outside of the film series and exists within our reality in this smart entry by Wes Craven.
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Final Destination 5
After two so-so sequels, part 5 in this series brought renewed hope. It turned out to be the last entry, but I certainly have my fingers crossed for more.
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Curse of Chucky
Likely the best sequel in the series after Child's Play 2. Dark, contained and clever, this entry showed the franchise still has legs. Small legs. But legs, nonetheless.
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Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
My favorite Friday the 13th film, hands-down. Also a terrific sequel that kept things alive (sometimes with a bolt of lightning) and funny without losing what we've come to expect from a Jason romp. But then came the shitty sequels that followed. Oh well.
