Top 10 Horror Sequels That Took It TOO FAR

Demons, ghouls, and monsters have nothing on the scariest thing of all: bad reboots. It’s all the worst here because “Believer” isn’t just a lousy horror film. It’s a lousy “Exorcist” film. Not even the highly-marketed returns of Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair can make this flimsy narrative work. Combined with overblown special effects and empty jump scares, “Believer” left fans of the original wondering how things got so off base. Even more chilling, this movie was supposed to kickstart a whole new trilogy of “Exorcist” films. But, ironically, the poor audience feedback didn’t inspire much faith in “Believer’s” future on the big screen.

While Leatherface and his signature chainsaw are always a treat, this time, the blood-spurting mayhem was peppered with just as many meta quips and clever gags. Unfortunately, “The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre” only hits some of its punchlines, and they’re drowned out in fake blood, anyways. The rest of the runtime is full of cult-like imagery, strange acting choices, and a lot of throat-tearing screams. All together, it makes for a distinctly off-kilter moviegoing experience. A memorable one, but off-kilter nonetheless. It’s worth a watch to see a young Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey pay their dues. But if you’re hoping for a real “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Do not let your guard down just because this movie has “Guinea Pig” in the title On the contrary, “Flower of Flesh and Blood” is a ruthlessly brutal endurance test at the multiplex. Let’s just say you’ll want to watch it with a barf bucket nearby. Chronicling a woman’s kidnapping and subsequent torture, the practical effects were so convincing, it spawned an investigation to determine whether the footage was fictional or not. This is after the movie was deemed too graphic for the public, and banned from certain video stores. “Guinea Pig 2” goes so far past the line, it’s not even a movie anymore. It’s a straight-up urban legend.

As annoying and inconsequential as an actual nat, this follow-up to David Cronenberg’s sci-fi calling card is the epitome of what’s wrong with cash-grab sequels. For all of the original’s gory set-pieces, it managed to ground the story with compelling character drama or engaging themes. In comparison, “The Fly II” is all body horror, all the time. And not in a good way. By unceremoniously abandoning the legacy characters, it’s obvious this gross-out gorefest was only made to milk the franchise’s legacy. “The Fly II” certainly has some squirm-inducing moments, but as a sequel to one of the best monster movies ever made, we expected fewer prosthetics, and much more charm.

Fittingly, “The Descent” is a good way to describe the quality of this franchise. The first film was a lean, mean, spelunking adventure full of equal parts shrieks and guts. This ill-advised follow–up, however, stretches that concept until it completely snaps. “The Descent Part 2” suffers from the cardinal sin of bad sequels, which is doing the same thing, just worse. It’s the same leading lady, same setup, same monsters, everything. But, they failed to realize that throwing more blood at the screen does not make for a strong story. Instead of leaving good enough alone, “The Descent” is now remembered as a disappointing franchise rather than a fantastic standalone.

To be fair, this franchise isn’t exactly known for being all sunshine and butterflies. But, even for the horror genre, “Hostel: Part II” is something else. Picking up the same plot threads of its predecessor, it follows the exploits of a few unwitting tourists who find themselves in a glorified slaughterhouse. In other words, it’s a 90 minute excuse to film some of the most gruesome scenes in cinematic history. Horror sequels always amp up the body count. But, “Hostel: Part 2” throws so much graphic material at the screen, it becomes genuinely difficult to sit through. This is one vacation that should’ve stopped after the first leg.

Not to be confused with the first film, “Final Destination,” this is strictly “The Final Destination,” which is a pretty good metaphor for how eye-rolling this movie is. It’s billed as the last in the franchise, and that much is made very clear with the increasingly zany death scenes. We’re talking flying tires, pool pumps, head explosions, and more. “Final Destination” has always thrived on its silly, Rube Goldberg-like assassinations. But, the intricacies aren’t what made it scary; it was the idea that even the most mundane objects could take you out. “The Final Destination” leans so much into absurdity, it misses out on what made the series stand out in the first place.

Cults, babies, curses… is this a “Halloween” movie, or what? Michael Myers’ M.O. is about as straightforward as you can get; he’s a guy in a mask who terrifies babysitters with a butcher knife. Nuff said. Despite that, “Halloween” spends its entire sixth installment ret-conning its iconic villain with a bunch of needlessly boring lore. You can barely call it a slasher film anymore. In fact, the movie spends so much time on Myers’ connection to an old druid curse, it may as well be from a different franchise altogether. Though, we doubt any other series wants it, considering “The Curse of Michael Myers” just isn’t very good, period.

Shooting without a finished script never goes well. If you need convincing, just watch “Alien 3.” That is, assuming you can make it through without yawning or throwing your remote at the screen. As early as the opening act, the movie makes an irrevocable misstep by killing most of “Alien 2’s” surviving cast offscreen. Because who needs story integrity when you have a release date to meet? From there, “Alien 3” insults its audience with an overabundance of violence and a drought of meaningful character growth. It’s a good thing this supposed-ending didn’t pan out. “Alien 3” isn’t the goodbye anyone onscreen or in the audience deserved.

Most horror sequels play by the rule that bigger is better. “Saw” took that to heart, and amped up its third trek to theaters with untold amounts of gore, violence, and disturbing imagery. The franchise’s gnarly impulses peaked here, and for the sake of our eyes, that’s a good thing. Even for an R-rated film, “Saw III” pushes the absolute limit of what a mainstream movie can get away with. Then, just when you think it can’t get any grislier, Jigsaw brings out “The Rack.” Need we say any more? “Saw III” is all kinds of grotesque, to the point it's almost gratuitous. Jigsaw really outdid himself with this one, that’s for sure.