My top 15 Most Underrated Horror Sequels

This post may be pretty long, but feel free to simply skim through :) Also, the titles were bolded and there may be a lot of *beeps* since I originally posted this on Facebook. Enjoy!

Since it's pretty close to Halloween, I figured I'd make a list of some severely underrated and misunderstood horror movie sequels that are either hated, overlooked, or totally unknown (to those who aren't movie/horror geeks that is). So if you're looking for some interesting horror flicks that you've never seen, I suggest checking these out for Halloween :D



#15: Exorcist III (1990)-Despite the misleading title (as it has nothing to do with the previous two Exorcist films, this sequel is actually a story based around the Zodiac Killer). It falls under the category of films that are hated simply because of the title (Halloween III, Return of the Living Dead 3) and having nothing to do with the previous films. It's really eerie, pretty terrifying at parts, and Brad Dourif is in it! Definitely worth a look.



#14: Phantasm: OblIVion (1998)-The reason I see this as being underrated is for the fact that the series in general is underrated, but this one gets the most flack. All four films are pretty low budget, but the first three made it to theaters (although Phantasm III was only in theaters briefly), so because this one was so low budget and straight-to-video, it was overlooked and not liked very much. The original idea by creator Don Coscarelli was for this film to be build up to the fifth and final film in the series, to be titled Phantasm's End. The movie doesn't have much of a climax at all, and answers few questions while asking more. If you get a chance to watch this, remember that the entire film was supposed to be a build up to a final film that was supposed to be an epic end to an awesome series. R.I.P. Phantasm.



#13: Tremors II: Aftershocks (1995)-Okay, so it's not a pure horror film, but it's another overlooked sequel that was surprisingly good, especially for being straight to video. It brings back Michael Gross as Burt, Fred Ward as Earl, and has some good supporting casts, while still being fairly gory, suspenseful, and pretty damn original (with having the Graboids "mutate" into smaller-but-still-deadly creatures that use heat-seeking organs to hunt. I have a feeling that if it had gone to theaters it would've done much better.



#12: Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)-Yeah, another one that's not entirely horror. Actually, it's a flat-out comedy, but it still has its horror elements. I suppose people were expecting another intense and terrifying horror movie with the little green bastards being shredded to pieces, and they were half right. It's still got some awesome creature gore, but basically it's a spoof of the first film. I mean c'mon, it's got a genius gremlin, a mentally-retarded gremlin, one that flies, and electric one, a spider gremlin, and it's just plain hilarious. Seriously love this sequel and doesn't deserve its hate at all.



#11: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)-I'm probably the only one with the balls to say that this is the ONLY sequel in the entire series that actually seems to capture the atmosphere and disturbing settings of the original Halloween. It's the sixth film in the franchise, and is the first one to try and explain what Michael is and why he kills and is unstoppable. Unlike the other sequels (before and after) this one takes itself seriously, but really needs to. It's dark, brooding, and has a menacing feel throughout the entire thing, and Michael is more vicious and pissed off as ever. Sadly, the theatrical cut butchered a lot of the movie, including key scenes that are fairly creepy, and the ending was changed after Donald Pleasance died. The producer's cut (yes, Producer's) is available on bootleg DVDs everywhere online, and is available to watch on youtube, and is definitely a superior film.



#10: Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)-Wow does this movie get a lot of hate. The first RotLD movie was a comedy/horror, and the second one was a lame sequel. This one has hardly anything to do with the first two films, so naturally it's hated. But...it's great. It's very dark, very disturbing and gory as all hell, with two (surprisingly) likable main characters. This time, the film centers around a teenage couple, Curt and Julie (hey my parents' names!), breaking into a military facility where Curt's father works. They see some experiments being done with a gas/virus thing that brings people back from the dead, and when they're almost caught, they leave on Curt's bike, only to get into an accident. Julie's killed, Curt brings her back, and that's that. It's a pretty intense movie, and again, the characters are great and Julie's death scene at the beginning is actually kind of...sad...



#9: Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)-I.Love.This.Movie. I've loved it since I first saw it, and all I read is terrible things about it. Sure, unlike the first sequel, it doesn't follow the first film. While the original TCM was gritty and almost like a documentary, and sequel went the comedy route, this one goes down the dark path. Sadly, the movie did terrible in its initial release since the MPAA butchered the movie and slapped an X rating on it. By today's standards, its not very gruesome, but the gore is still very good. Originally, the script was much more grisly and featured some sick deaths, but that was also cut. It changes families this time, with Leatherface now having a daughter and some other random relatives. The movie is very dark, very grim, and really suspenseful at times. It also has plenty of badass one-liners, like: "What are the chances of a brainless bitch like you knowing how to use that thing, huh?" *Woman pumps shotgun* "Pretty goddamn good you backwoods *beep* Would also like to note that this is one of Viggo Mortenson's first films, and *beep* is in it!! Enjoy.



#8: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)-Boy New Line *beep* up. They get the rights to the Friday series and the first film they decide to do not only kills Jason off at the beginning, but doesn't show him for 3/4 of the movie. You can see why it's hated. It turns Jason into a body-snatching snake/demon from Hell, in the vein of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Hidden. That said...I can't help but watch this movie constantly. The acting is corny, the story is lame, it's terribly cliche and un-scary, but my GOD it's entertaining and GORY as hell!! Seriously, out of all 12 films in the series (this being the ninth), it's got the most disgusting, insane, and depraved deaths ever. Hell, one of the first real gore scenes has a coroner go insane and start EATING Jason's massive, black *beep* heart, and it's deliciously disgusting. The movie also has one of the weirdest scenes I've seen in most horror movies, and that's a scene where an old, naked bald man is strapped down on a table and the human that Demon Jason possessed is SHAVING his *beep* mustache before throwing up the creature into his mouth. Weird as hell.



#7: Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)-After the abomination that was Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Wes finally gave in and decided to redeem the series with this awesomely original and genuinely terrifying horror/drama. This is such a misunderstood gem, because it takes place in the real world, with Robert Englund (Freddy) Heather Langenkamp (Nancy from ANOES 1&3) and Rob Shay as themselves in the film. Basically, Freddy is a real demon that has found a channel through Wes Craven's films to survive, and now that Freddy's dead, this demon has been finding other ways into the real world. Basically, this movie *beep* with your mind pretty well. Not only that, but Freddy is *beep* badass as hell. He's not a cheesy jokester anymore, but spends most of the movie hiding until near the end, where his razor-claw is actually a skeletal hand with blades, he dons a black trenchcoat and badass army boots, and is vicious and mean. I suppose fans wanted the campy, happy Freddy as opposed to the mean and terrifying one, but that's the beauty of this insanely underrated flick. This is the real Freddy, literally.



#6: Day of the Dead (1985)-This, again, is the third film in a series, George Romero's Dead series, and it's possibly my favorite. It's so far from the first two films that it's the reason why a lot of people don't like it. It's not filled with lots of zombie action, and it doesn't have that comic-book violence or feeling that Dawn had back in '78. No, this film is dark, brutal, menacing, and plain *beep* mean. The characters are cold and aggressive, it takes place completely underground, and while I said there's not a whole lot of action, when there is, it's *beep* sick. The zombie effects in this film are better than ANY of the gore effects we have today, and it's so damn realistic and mean it's hard to watch. The movie decided to take the zombie genre and really make it more dramatic and realistic, and I think that's what people didn't like. It's too dark and mean, but that's why it's *beep* amazing. It also has one of the GREATEST horror movie deaths EVER!!! (As noted in my list of badass horror movie deaths).



#5: Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)-I guess it's a stretch saying this is underrated, I guess it's just overlooked and forgotten. It's the only sequel in the series directly continuing the story from the first (Between Frank and Julia) and has all the original cast. It's genuinely creepy, very disturbing and gruesome, and so original and bizarre it's hard not to love it. Sadly, the next film (Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth), was the one that turned the faceless cenobite Pinhead into just another horror movie slasher star/icon. Oh well...



#4: A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)-Gay undertones. That's about it. The movie has several gay references and undertones, which is a big reason why it's hated so much. It also defies the rules that were set in the first film and the ending sucks, but that's about it. Other than the original, and New Nightmare, this film has the meanest and most brutal Freddy of the series. He doesn't crack any jokes at all, his eyes are sunken and deep red, and his flesh is disgustingly wet. The premise is pretty cool though; Freddy finds a way to possess the character of Jesse (lol) and slowly throughout the movie begins to make his way into the real world. It's a pretty gory movie, especially when Freddy completely tears out of Jesse's body and then busts a party outside full of teens and begins slaughtering them all mercilessly. That said, it's not a terrible movie at all. It's weird, and addresses the fact that the character is gay, but doesn't seem to want to deal with it (from what I can tell). Ironically, actor Mark Patton (who played Jesse) is actually gay. Pretty cool.



#3: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)-Almost thirteen years after the insanely terrifying and gritty horror flick The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Hooper was given a more modest budget and big name actors to create a sequel. Well....it didn't do so hot. *beep* Dennis *beep* Hopper stars, as well as Caroline Williams, Jim Seidow, and *beep* Bill Moseley! It failed though because, well, it's a comedy. That's right, Tobe Hooper upped the dark humor to slapstick and far from subtle. Sure, the original had a few instances of dark humor and slapstick, but it was heavily overshadowed by the flat-out terror of the movie. This time, the horror is brought down, but the gore is amped up ten fold. I love this movie to death (9/10), and Dennis Hopper rocks. All the actors do great in this, the humor is awesome, it's insane, hilarious, gory as hell, entertaining, campy, and downright *beep* brilliant. Please check this out right away, I think I saw it for ten bucks at Walmart!



#2: Pet Sematary Two (1992)-Not only is this movie underrated, but like...NOBODY knows about it!!! I've probably only seen this a couple times, the first being when I was about four or so (After being so terrified of this movie, I became obsessed with finding it again), but have only seen it like twice since then. All I have to say is....wow. Sure, the first film, while straying from the source material, was pretty good, but this one just amps up EVERYTHING. Seriously, the only reason this movie is hated is because it's a sequel to a Stephen King film adaptation. That, and it's an insanely vicious and mean movie. I know I've used those words a lot, but that's all there is. Sure, the first film had a child get killed and brought back, but my god. That movie had elements of camp, this one just feels dark and *beep* menacing throughout the ENTIRE thing. It's ridiculously gory and brutal, the violence being not too over the top but almost realistic, and plain mean. Kids are violently killed, animals are tortured and skinned, and it's just a brutal movie all around. Edward Furlong stars, alongside, wait for it, MISTER KRABS (Clancy Brown), and ever since I first saw this movie at the ripe age of four, I've always, ALWAYS ALWAYS remembered Clancy's face as it was burned into my brain. So, when you watch this movie, remember the Sheriff is Mister *beep* Krabs from Spongebob. Lol.



Aaaaaaannnddd....here it is....

#1: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)-This is probably the most HATED sequel in the horror movie genre. Several reasons, mainly being that it does NOT feature Michael Myers at all (with the exception of his cameo on a tv spot for the original Halloween). Basically, John Carpenter and Debra Hill were done doing Michael Myers stories. They didn't want to fall into the typical killer-stalks-teens slasher genre the 80s had started, and even then, Michael was *beep* blown up, along with Loomis, in Halloween II! The original intent was to create a Halloween-themed horror anthology, each progressing sequel centering around a different Halloween story. Well, thanks to poor marketing, fans bitched, and we ended up with an endless number of lame sequels featuring the same *beep* over and over again. Thanks fans.



Anyway, the reason why this is so underrated is because it is actually a great, great movie. I'll be honest, I hated it when I was younger. I honestly hated it to the point where I wouldn't even buy it to complete the collection. Now, I absolutely love it. The basic story is about an Irish "witch" who implants pieces of a Stonehedge that's brought to America in microscopic fragments, and inserted into a chip that's on the company's 'Silver Shamrock' Halloween novelty masks. The Stonehedge has this power that is activated through a series of sounds, and these sounds are hidden subliminally in the music played during the Silver Shamrock commercials. The plan? To have every child in America to wear these masks, and at the exact same time, watch the commercials and have them violently killed. A power is released from the masks that basically melts the kids heads into a gory mess of bugs and reptiles. Now that is a pretty horrifying plot for an 80s horror movie, and I effing love it. There's a fairly disturbing scene involving a kid...and this movie, to this day, still has one of the most bleak and badass endings ever.

You can always tell a Milford man.