10 best horror sequels, ranked
Horror is one of the most successful genres in cinema. New efforts come out every year. For example, the unexpectedly successful Longlegs keeps making bank at the box office, while several upcoming releases like Alien: Romulus and Nosferatu are eagerly awaited by fans. On streaming, the best horror movies on Hulu, Netflix, Max, and pretty much every major service keep cinephiles entertained all year long, providing multiple thrills from all manner of scary movies.
The aforementioned Alien: Romulus, a standalone sequel to Ridley Scott’s seminal 1979 sci-fi nightmare Alien, gives us the perfect opportunity to look back at the genre and determine which are the all-time best horror sequels. From certified classics of the genre to newer additions that are no less worthy, these are the best horror sequels that offer just as many chills as their predecessors while expanding on their lore, characterizations, and themes.
10. It Chapter Two (2019)
It Chapter Two sees a now-adult losers club returning to Derry 27 years after they last defeated Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsg?rd). Hell-bent on revenge, the entity once again preys on their fears while resuming his killings of several town children, forcing the losers to face it once more.
Compared to its predecessor, It Chapter Two is certainly the weaker effort. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad sequel, as it successfully continues the original’s main themes and allows a stellar ensemble to bring them to life. Sure, it’s too long, it rehashes some of the same issues its predecessor already covered, and it relies too heavily on CGI creations that ultimately come across as more silly than scary. However, the film also rises on the strength of its eerie atmosphere and talented cast, resulting in a superior horror sequel that has been judged far too harshly.
It Chapter Two is available to rent or purchase on Amazon and other digital vendors.
9. Halloween (2018)
The Halloween series is the embodiment of cinematic chaos. The 1978 original is a timeless, groundbreaking entry in the horror genre that was followed by a parade of uneven sequels that range from the truly terrible to the mediocre to the not-so-bad. The 2018 film Halloween, which acts as a direct sequel to the ’78 original and disregards every other movie, including 1981’s divisive Halloween II, is among the series’ best and most confident efforts.
Borderlands star Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role that cemented her legacy as the ultimate scream queen, with the film presenting a traumatized Laurie awaiting Michael Myers’ eventual return. The film tries its hardest to inject some complexity into her story, exploring themes of generational trauma and PTSD. For the most part, it succeeds, thanks to its overt respect for the material and Curtis’ strong leading turn. This inspired new take on the series would spawn two sequels, the disappointing Halloween Kills and the controversial Halloween Ends, proving that, when it comes to this franchise, less is truly more.
Halloween is available to rent or purchase on Amazon and other digital vendors.
8. Scream 2 (1997)
Coming after the game-changing str0ke of genius that was 1996’s Scream could have easily been a daunting task. However, the late Wes Craven made it seem like a walk in the park with Scream 2, which came out a year after the original and seamlessly continued its meta approach with a story that didn’t exactly reinvent the formula, but still delivered more than enough chills, thrills, and laughs to thrive.
Scream 2 follows Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in college as she and her friends become targets of a new serial killer wearing the Ghostface mask. More self-aware than ever, Scream 2 acknowledges its sequel status and uses it to offer smart and timely commentary about the nature of cinema and the sequel’s role in the entertainment franchise. Scream 2 features some inventive kills, including the now-infamous and often mocked opening sequence at the cinema, and one of the series’ best killers in (spoiler alert!) Laurie Metcalf’s demented Debbie Salt/Mrs. Loomis.
Scream 2 is available to stream on Max.
7. 28 Weeks Later
Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later is a pivotal entry in 2000s horror and features a career-launching performance from Cillian Murphy. It’s such a crucial film in shaping the zombie craze of the noughties that its sequel, 28 Weeks Later, was judged way too harshly for the crime of not being 28 Days Later. The sequel stars Robert Carlyle as Don, a man whose actions inspire a chain reaction that reintroduces the Rage Virus into London’s safe zone.
The sequel is more focused on spectacle than on the intimate and quiet approach that made its predecessor such a unique, yet effective horror picture. However, what it does offer is quite entertaining and, above all, brutal. What it lacks in introspective humanism, it more than makes up for in sheer, showstopping horror, creating a sequel worthy of standing besides its groundbreaking predecessor.
28 Weeks Later is available to stream on Hulu.
6. Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
Christopher Lee is an icon of the horror genre largely thanks to his multiple appearances in Hammer Horror movies from the late 1950s to the early ’70s. His finest on-screen moment at Hammer might well be his performance as Count Dracula in 1966’s Dracula: Prince of Darkness, the third entry in the company’s ongoing Dracula series. It follows a group of four tourists who inadvertently travel to Dracula’s lair, where the Count plants to use them as a means to rise from the grave again.
Make no mistake: If there is one reason to watch this film, it’s Christopher Lee. Few actors ever portrayed Count Dracula with as much chilly flair as the late thespian, who is at his most eerily confident here. Prince of Darkness is the definitive Hammer Horror movie and Lee’s finest hour in the role. It also pulls the impressive feat of improving upon its predecessors in pretty much every possible way without necessarily bringing anything new to the table.
Dracula: Prince of Darkness is available to buy on Amazon.
5. Doctor Sleep (2019)
The Shining is one of Stanley Kubrick’s best movies, so continuing it once seemed like a fool’s errand. Enter modern horror maestro Mike Flanagan, who brought back the lore-heavy supernatural element to Danny Torrance’s story with his 2019 sequel, Doctor Sleep. The film follows now-adult Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor), who is dealing with trauma and substance abuse stemming from his supernatural abilities and experiences in the Overlook Hotel. Teaming up with a teenage girl named Abra (Kyliegh Curran), Danny takes on Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her cult, who feed on the shine of others to become immortal.
Unlike its more grounded predecessor, Doctor Sleep fully embraces the supernatural aspect of Stephen King’s novel, to commendable results. McGregor is a capable lead, but this film belongs to Rebecca Ferguson as the demented Rose the Hat, one of the most wicked and striking creations to come out of a King story, which is saying a lot. A true modern cult classic with a reputation that will only keep improving, Doctor Sleep is a classic example of a sequel taking risks and changing the formula to deliver results that are just as good as the original.
Doctor Sleep is available to rent or purchase on Amazon and other digital vendors.
4. Evil Dead 2 (1987)
Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead marked a before-and-after point in independent horror filmmaking. Made for a couple of bucks and a dream, the film launched an unexpected franchise and turned Raimi into a sensation, helping him craft many of his now-beloved trademarks. The sequel, 1987’s Evil Dead 2, is arguably superior, with Bruce Campbell reprising his role as Ash Williams in a story that sees him and his girlfriend vacationing at a remote cabin where they must face a horde of demons after playing an audio tape of incantations.
Sillier, louder, campier, and just as inventive, Evil Dead 2 is the product of a singular creative mind working at full throttle. Campbell gives arguably his best performance as Ash Williams, horror’s original final boy, in a story that is part remake and part reinvention. Evil Dead 2 is better, more confident, and less afraid than its already daring predecessor. It finds the humor in the horror without removing the shock and gore of it all, producing an explosion of creativity and dread that remains as wonderfully harrowing today as it was nearly 30 years ago.
Evil Dead 2 is available to stream on Plex.
3. Aliens (1986)
James Cameron took over directing duties from Ridley Scott for 1986’s Aliens, a sequel that took a different approach to continue the tale of Ellen Ripley and her fight against the xenomorphs. Sigourney Weaver reprises her role as Ripley, who must return to the planet where she and her crew first encountered the xenomorph after communications are lost with the human colony that’s been established there.
It’s not unfair to say Aliens is less a horror movie than it is a sci-fi action thriller. Indeed, Cameron removes nearly all the small-scale dread of Scott’s original in favor of several prominent action set pieces that increase the stakes while maintaining the human aspect, largely thanks to Weaver’s Oscar-nominated performance.
However, what’s supposed to terrify you works brilliantly, including the increasingly grotesque designs for the xenomorphs and their now-iconic queen. Some disregard Aliens as a horror movie, instead choosing to describe it as pure action, but the film is a balancing act between the two genres that does a fair amount of justice to both.
Aliens is available to stream on Max.
2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Few directors have had such an impact on horror as George A. Romero, and his Dead series remains his magnum opus. Of those movies, perhaps none is better than 1978’s Dawn of the Dead, a continuation of the story laid out in 1968’s Night of the Living Dead. The plot revolves around a group of survivors who barricade themselves in a mall to escape a horde of reanimated dead who prey on living flesh.
Romero defined many of the zombie genre’s best-known conventions in Night of the Dead and perfected them in Dawn of the Dead. Like the best horror movies, Dawn of the Dead uses its plot and setting to speak on larger societal issues without ever forgetting to deliver a thrilling and terrifying story.
Despite being nearly 50 years old, Dawn of the Dead remains shocking, gory, and effective, in part because of how much the modern zombie genre is indebted to it and in part because of how good Romero is at his job. This is a sequel that has not only stood the test of time, but one that has improved as a seminal and deeply influential masterpiece of horror.
Dawn of the Dead is available to rent or purchase on Amazon and other digital vendors.
1. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
If one were to name one horror movie that has had the most influence in the genre, James Whale’s 1931 classic Frankenstein would quickly come to mind. Thus, it’s the highest possible compliment to Bride of Frankenstein to call it superior to the original in pretty much every possible way. Set immediately after the ending of its predecessor, the film follows Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who is forced by his former mentor, Dr. Pretorious (Ernest Thesiger), to create a mate for his monster (Boris Karloff).
Bride of Frankenstein is as good as horror cinema can get. Atmospheric, anxiety-inducing, unnerving, and intelligent, it expands and improves upon everything the original did, resulting in a film that is daring, subversive, and mesmerizing. Bride of Frankenstein packs layers of thematic meaning beneath its horror facade, offering a compelling story that is as bittersweet and affecting as it is occasionally shocking and striking. Bride of Frankenstein is a triumph of horror and a timeless sequel.
Bride of Frankenstein is available to rent or purchase on Amazon and other digital vendors.
