Top 5 Horror and Sci-fi Sequels that Rock!
By Mike
from Parlor of Horror
Most sequels don’t come anywhere near the spirit, quality and greatness of the films for which they owe their namesake. It’s just the nature of the beast – we’ve already seen what’s behind the curtain. The wizard is exposed and the magic is fading. It’s not easy to get the cat back in the bag, but every once in a while, lightning strikes twice. (If I use one more cliché, I’ll hold the record for the most in one paragraph.)
On to the movies:
5) Poltergeist II (1986)
It’s hard to believe there would be anymore to the story. Instead of rehashing the theme of a home being built on consecrated ground, we have a false prophet that let his followers die at his hand, rather than question their faith in him. Kane, the preacher, is a creepy spirit, reawakened to collect more followers. And who can forget the nasty Tequila worm!
4) Terminator II (1991)
Most will claim this to be their favorite Terminator film. Made at the dawn of CGI film use, James Cameron pushed the digital effects artists to new heights and surreal visuals. The new T-2000 is a metal alloy made of ‘liquid metal.’ I’m sure many of you will be repeating the words ‘liquid metal’ in your best Arnie impression for the rest of the day.
3) Hellraiser II (1988)
If you thought the original was gory, wait until you get a look at the brain surgeon. Repeats some themes from the original. Added to the melee are the mute child that is a genius puzzle solver, large scale views of the Labyrinth, and a great scene depicting the origin/creation of Pinhead.
2) Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Ginny Field is a wonderful character and a heroine worth standing with. Even though Jason has yet to don the hockey mask, he is still a force of horror, wearing a burlap sack with one eye-hole cut out of it. The last act features one of the best stalk and chase scenes in slasher films and Ginny uses her smarts to defeat the masked killer.
1) Evil Dead II (1987)
Raimi and Campbell turn their melodramatic multiple-possession horror flick into a full-tilt black-comedy. They re-shoot parts of the first film with a bigger budget and better results all around. Wonderfully amusing effects gags abound! Eyeball in the mouth, fight with the hand, laughing deer-head, and the dancing lamp are just a few.
Honorable mentions go to:
Aliens
The Amityville Horror II
The Exorcist 3
Jurassic Park 3
2010: The Year We Make Contact
Please Visit Mike’s Great Blog and Horror Movie Review Site Called “Parlor Of Horror”
Over Here: www.parlorofhorror.com
If You Love Sci Fi and Horror, You Will Not Be Disappointed!
Thanks Again for this amazing Post, Mike!
Vic
So what’s your favorite horror/sci-fi sequels? Sound off below!
VIC'S MOVIE DEN 
ALIENS!!!
Good choice! nearly made my Top 5 but I didn’t want to put 2 films from the same director 😉
Great list! I always love seeing Exorcist III getting a shout out (http://fromthedeskandshelf.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/surprising-sequel-the-exorcist-iii-legion/)
I haven’t seen the second Hellraiser or second Amityville. Not too big on Jurassic Park III though. Great article!
Thanks Vic, everything looks great! Love the trailers 🙂
Thank YOU, Mike 🙂
Glad you like everything, bro. Means a lot.
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Amityville 2 scared the shit out of me as a child. I was about 8 and kept having nightmares about it. I was scared of Walkmans for a long time after that!
Me too, mikeyb, there’s one scene where the evil entity comes out of the basement and travels thru the house, growls at the crucifix, throws a sheet over it, then continues up the stair to attack that Defeo kid, creepy as hell!
I remember that scene! Yeah, that was intense.
Wow, that’s a great top 5 sequels, some brilliant films on the list, especially T2 and Evil Dead 2, two of my fave films ever. I also really like Hellraiser II as well, think its a really gruesome film, and the Cenobites get a lot more to do in it. Good to see Aliens get an honourable mention as well, along with 2010, and Exorcist III. Those last two often get overlooked. Great article really enjoyed that, will have to revisit some of these great films again 😀
2010 was a great film and completely answers all the questions left over from 2001 – esp. What the black monoliths actually were! Plus Roy Schieder always puts out his best performance. 🙂
2010 is one of my favorite sci fi films (I am a big fan of the novels by Clarke) and is a very worthy sequel and film (even on it’s own). It totally deserves to be up on the HM list. Roy and Helen Mirren (with Lithgow and Balaban) were amazing. Good job, Mike!
Glad to see Evil Dead 2 at the top spot!
Funny and scary, great combination !
All of the Alien films suck except for the second one. Alien 3 is the worst film I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t seen my review for that, you really should.
I got around to seeing Hellraiser for first time last year, two things I wanted more of is Pinhead and seeing the hell dimension, I’ll to catch up on the sequel some time as that description sounds pretty cool. T2 … that’s probably my all time fave sequel right there. Great list Mike.
Awesome to see Jurassic Park 3 included as an honourable mention. I am a big fan of that film.
Reblogged this on deaconsden.
I do not see why Jurassic Park 3 gets so much hate. It was quite fun from what I can remember! The first five were great choices….except I have to admit that I have never watched any of the Hellraiser series!
I like JP3 quite a bit. I own them all. Hell, when in the right mood, I even prefer it to the second sometimes. I don’t see why so many dis it outright. It set out to do what it wanted to just fine and that was to give us more dinos and more action! Plain and simple.
I’m not a very big fan of the Hellraiser films, myself but not because they aren’t true quality horror films. Mainly just not my cup of tea, I guess. The franchise has many devoted fans, though. I do recall liking the first very much but I haven’t revisited any of them in quite a long time.
Glad you liked the post. Thanks for checking in. I appreciate it!
I still have to rewatch the second at some point! Have not seen it in years! You must be as pumped as me for Jurassic World!
Yeah, it does not look so good from the trailers!
Oh, I am very stoked for the next JP movie! By the way, once again, great job on your Oculus review!
I’ve seen far too few of these movies. Glad Jurassic Park 3 got a mention – really liked that movie. Great list!
Thanks Ben! I’m glad you enjoyed Mike’s list. So far, JP3 making the list has been making many people pretty happy. That movie gets pretty roughed up, no? Personally, I enjoy that entry very much and re-visit it once in a while.
It isn’t the deepest and most relevant sci fi flick ever made but it’s entertaining and sets out to do what Johnston wanted and that was to give us a decent dino/action flick.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Ben. I really appreciate it!
Friday the 13th Part 2 is the only one I’ve seen to date out of that series but I did enjoy it 🙂 You do have me at Hellraiser 2. The first one was alright, a tad weird but alright and the second one is better? Now I need to find it!
As for my favorite horror/sci-fi sequel, that has to be Aliens.
Aliens is awesome! Love that film. i love re-visiting it a couple of times a year. I guess my fav sci fi sequel must be The Empire Strikes Back.
You may enjoy Hellraiser 2. It is considered to be much better than the first and as far as Friday the 13th Part 2, it is my favorite sequel of that series.
Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate it! 🙂
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