Top 10 Worst Horror Movie Sequels

Audiences probably don’t expect much coming in to the tenth entry of a long-standing, but repetitive, slasher franchise. By this point, many horror franchises are relying on established gimmicks, like sending the killer to outer space for example. With “Jason X,” fans got a campy surprise when their favorite hockey-masked killer wakes up in the 25th century aboard a spaceship. On the whole, critics have not been kind to Jason, with “Part III” accused of being an excuse for 3-D gimmicks, and “Part VIII,” where Jason takes a trip to the Big Apple, being an all-time low for the series to that point. This attempt, however, lowered the bar even further as far as critics were concerned. Worse yet, even fans didn’t flock to see this by-the-numbers flick.

Even the great Freddy Krueger couldn’t dream his way out of this awful follow-up. The direct sequel to the original masterpiece of nightmare mayhem earned an insane amount of hate and backlash due to its change in tone, and the fact that Freddy only gets 13 minutes of screen time. Although the dark humor of the series is well known today, this twisted tongue-in-cheek style was not well received at first, considering how dark the first film was. But with a slew of puns and homoerotic undertones, the sequel has since become a cult favorite for some die-hard fans. Nevertheless, for fans at the time, it failed to deliver on the promises of the first film.

The late ‘90s might’ve revived the slasher genre, but it also revived the tradition of endless and poorly executed sequels. This ridiculously bad follow-up is a prime example. The original film was a massive hit that resonated with young teens thanks to their fear of making bad choices. However, “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” and its ridiculous plot lost its audience’s attention quickly and was a massive flop. And, no: bringing back Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze, Jr. wasn’t enough to save this crude excuse for teen slasher drama. Even the title makes no sense - shouldn’t the film have technically been called, “I Know What You Did Two Summers Ago?”

Another classic horror film; yet another subpar sequel. With this eighth “Halloween” movie, and the seventh outing for famed masked killer Michael Myers, audiences were excited to hear that series-favorite Jamie Lee Curtis would once again be returning as Michael’s sister, Laurie Strode. With “H20” becoming a huge hit a few years earlier, and acting as somewhat of a revival for Michael, the demand for “Resurrection” was palpable. However, the end result suffered from a huge lack of Jamie Lee Curtis (we’ll let you guess why), featured celebrities like Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks hamming it up, and boasted a reality-TV-show subplot that reminded original “Halloween” fans how old they were, and gave the young ones something to look at.

Everyone’s favorite leprechaun is back for his inevitable leap to space in the most outrageous entry of this 7-film franchise. While these movies were never meant to be completely serious, this sequel delves into pure schlock territory and relies on laughs more than scares. The unimportant story has something to do with the leprechaun chasing a princess he fell in love with across space. In short, the film ends up becoming an “Alien” parody but with a demented little leprechaun running around the spaceship. Despite a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as terrible acting and lack of production value, this fourth entry unfortunately didn’t stop the series from investing in many more sequels.

Director Joe Berlinger, a celebrated documentary filmmaker, could acted as a fresh voice to follow-up the fake-documentary and cultural phenomenon that was “The Blair Witch Project.” The original film’s innovative marketing campaign convinced many that this found-footage thriller was real, so Berlinger’s initial idea was to follow a group of characters inspired by the original movie to study mass hysteria and media obsession. The studio, however, wanted a more traditional and stylish horror film, and decided to re-cut and add scenes. They ended up creating the confused mess that we know as “Book of Shadows,” and while it did decently at the box-office, critics quickly destroyed it. Berlinger stuck to documentaries for the most part after this mess.

Maybe it’s hard to give a classic like “Carrie” a sequel, but it seems like these filmmakers were more interested in making a rip-off than a follow-up. Young Rachel is a loner, finds out she has telekinetic powers, and soon learns she is the half-sister of the infamous Carrie White. The rest should be very predictable to audiences. She will be teased, she will feel like an outcast, and she will go on a telekinetic rampage at a major party. Clearly audiences don’t want to see recycled material, because “Carrie 2” tanked at the box office.

A shark attacking people may not be a laughing matter, but a shark knowingly stalking and attacking a specific New England family, then following them all the way to the Bahamas? No, this is not a “Jaws” parody. This fourth entry in the franchise seems to throw much of the continuity, as well as logic, out the window, completely ignoring the third film, as Chief Brody’s family can’t seem to escape the wrath of the great white with a grudge. Or maybe they should just avoid the ocean altogether. “Jaws: The Revenge” has become synonymous with “franchise-killing sequels,” and its tagline “This time, it’s personal” has become a running joke in the industry. We wonder why…

“The Exorcist” was one of the most shocking, successful, and celebrated horror films of all time when it was released, and it was nominated for a staggering amount of Oscars. A sequel may’ve been inevitable, but audiences went from fainting at the original’s screenings, to snoozing during this follow-up. “The Heretic” feels more like a boring “where are they now” TV-special, as we follow the parallel stories of a teenage Regan, now going to endless therapy sessions because of what happened, and a priest who’s investigating the mysterious deaths from the original exorcism. Initially, the entire cast and creative team refused to return. Linda Blair caved in, but she later admitted that the script was a complete mess.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions:
- “Alien: Resurrection” (1997)

- “American Psycho 2” (2002)

- “The Fly II” (1989)

The horror film dubbed as the “Best worst movie ever made,” “Troll 2” continues to be watched by millions of fans not for its scare-factor, but for how hilariously bad it is. The original “Troll” was not a classic by any means, but at least it had a troll in it. “Troll 2” has no connection to the original, and instead follows a family on vacation who is terrorized by small goblins who just want to eat them. Although now seen as a fun romp that spawned a hit documentary about its cult popularity, “Troll 2” takes the top spot because it did not hit any of its intended marks. We dare you not to laugh watching this.

Do you agree with our list? What other horror sequels make you cringe? For more demented top 10s published daily, don’t forget to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.