Top 10 Horror Sequels That Are SCARIER Than the Original

The “Saw” franchise was well established by the time this tenth installment showed up in 2023. As a result, all of that lore allowed “Saw X” to succeed with the series’ fandom, while also serving as a direct sequel to the first film. The passage of time allowed for better, more gruesome effects, as well as a new array of deadly traps. The return of stars Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith provide connecting tissue to the film, but “Saw X” actually stands on its own as a grim and grisly horror tale, with plenty of, ahem, “guts.”

Ask any old school horror fan worth their salt about 1979’s “When a Stranger Calls” and you’ll likely hear about the film’s opening sequence. There's a good reason for this, too, since it’s arguably the tightest and most white-knuckle opening 20 minutes to a horror film. This situation is revisited with its sequel, 1993’s “When a Stranger Calls Back.” Only this time, Carol Kane’s character is determined to prevent lightning from striking twice. This sequel was developed for Showtime, and underlines how many made-for-T.V. horror flicks were of strong quality. The elements of mystery and police procedurals also return here, and are executed well by Kane and her co-stars Jill Schoelen and Charles Durning.

“House of 1000 Corpses” from 2003 was a wickedly disturbing exploitation effort from first-time director Rob Zombie. The film was heavily indebted to Tobe Hooper’s “Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” but it also introduced us to Captain Spaulding and the Firefly Family. The success of Zombie’s debut allowed a solid budget for this follow-up, and the results definitely show on screen. This is gnarly, unrepentant sleaze and violence ripped from 1970’s grindhouse movies and splattered onto multiplex cinema screens. If audiences could smell horror films, this one would stink to high heaven. And that is NOT an insult.

No horror franchise stays great forever, and the “Hellraiser” franchise is no exception. That said, the first two entries are among the finest horror efforts, and a case can be made for the second being even better than the first. Clive Barker’s original novella, “The Hellbound Heart,” is actually fairly short, and the first film distills all of its creepy essence in a perversely beautiful way. “Hellbound: Hellraiser II” wasn’t written or directed by Barker, but the film expands on the source material in a manner that feels earned and aligns with the OG. The Cenobites also receive more screen time here, alongside a new antagonist: the devilish Dr. Channard.

It isn’t often that a sequel or prequel manages to out-do its predecessor, but then again, 2014’s “Ouija” didn’t exactly set a high bar. The film wasn’t well received by critics, and it wasn’t until director and co-writer Mike Flanagan took over for “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” that things started looking up. The film’s late sixties setting feels authentic, and the acting is improved across the board. The scares are also there, and the atmosphere is palpable – especially for a PG-13 rated film. All of this allows for “Ouija: Origin of Evil” to succeed in every place the original “Ouija” failed.

The infamous, jump scare ending of the original “Friday the 13th” introduced the horror world to Jason Voorhees, and the cultural landscape was forever changed. Yet, it wasn’t until that film’s 1981 sequel, together with 1984’s “The Final Chapter” that an adult Jason entered the chat to stalk ‘n slash. “Friday the 13th Part 2” is particularly grim, thanks to a more grounded and human Jason who has yet to earn his iconic hockey mask. The actions of this sack-clothed killer feel visceral, without much of the self-aware irony that would creep into later installments. “Part 2” may not have as much mystery as the original “Friday the 13th,” but its horror credentials remain secure.

Never underestimate the power of a great premise. The idea of being unable to cheat death is at the forefront of every “Final Destination” film, but the first sequel decided to make that idea BIGGER. The set-pieces thrill and chill in equal measure, while retaining the unpredictability that became another hallmark of the franchise. A grand, life-changing disaster is a highlight in every “Final Destination” film, but the traffic accident in “Final Destination 2” is truly grim stuff. The potential of this deadly chain reaction actually happening to us makes it feel even scarier, and that’s where “Final Destination 2” makes the leap from good to great.

The character of Freddy Krueger had already progressed from truly scary to self-parody by the time “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” arrived in 1991. It took the meta-commentary of “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” in 1994 to make Freddy scary again, and it was super successful in this aim. In fact, the execution and framing here is so well done, that “New Nightmare” actually stands up against the original “A Nightmare on Elm Street” quite well. The bait-and-switch of presenting Krueger as a fictional creation, only for Freddy to appear with a new and updated look, is excellent. Robert Englund is also game for the task, stepping back into the role with an appetite for malevolence.

1979’s “The Amityville Horror” instantly entered the cultural zeitgeist thanks to its true-crime origins. The film has great atmosphere, but 1982’s “Amityville II: The Possession” arguably beats it in terms of shock value and sleaze. Maybe it was the choice to hire an Italian director, Damiano Damiani, to helm the film, since that country’s genre cinema is known for its transgressive nature. “Amityville II” also had great screenwriters in “Halloween III’s” Tommy Lee Wallace and Italian screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti. The two men crafted a story that combines real-life murder with demonic possession elements that make this sequel feel practically squalid.

“Night of the Living Dead” changed the zombie film game when it debuted back in 1968. The era of the giant, irradiated monster was effectively over, to be replaced by a new, more realistic vision of horror. Director George A. Romero would change the game once again in 1978 with this sequel, which upped the ante in terms of stakes, style, and sickening gore. The siege elements that were present in “Night of the Living Dead” remain, only this time set in that bastion of commercialism: the shopping mall. “Dawn of the Dead” might just be the perfect zombie flick.