Top 25 Horror Sequels of All Time

In case you don't have a calendar, we are currently nearing the end of October (tomorrow lol). For some October is a time for pumpkin patches, apple picking, and pumkin-spice lattes... and while I do love myself some fall activities, October for me is all about the spooky stuff. 2024 has wound up being a great year for horror movies, and has notably given us some great horror sequels. Whether it be The First Omen and Alien: Romulus earlier in the year, or recent hits like Terrifier 3 and Smile 2, we have been treated to pretty great returns to beloved franchises, so I figured what better way to ring in Halloween than by ranking my favourite horror sequels of all time. I'll get some things out of the way first. Only one sequel is allowed per franchise, otherwise this would be almost entirely the Scream movies and that just isn't fun. Remakes and prequels are also out of the running, these have to be follow ups to the original films. I am also being pretty strict on horror here, so while I did have it in initially I will not be including Aliens, nor will I be including Zombieland: Double Tap as I consider that solely a comedy. So with that all set, let's get into my top 25.

#25 - Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)

I was bouncing around a lot on what I wanted to put in the last spot, so I figured I'd make a fun pick. The first Prom Night movie, despite starring scream queen Jamie Lee-Curtis, is pretty boring and has only soured on me over time. This film takes the basic slasher and throws everything about it out the window, opting instead for what is essentially an over-the-top Carrie rip-off, and it works. Technically speaking I wouldn't necessarily call this a good movie, and its inspirations are glaringly obvious, but I can't get over how much of a fun time this movie is, a pretty perfect October watch in my opinion.

#24 - 28 Weeks Later (2007)

Where our previous entry is a notable step up from its predecessor, this is a bit of a step down, albeit a small one. This is still a very solid movie without much in the way of faults, it just struggles in comparison to 28 Days Later. Replacing director Danny Boyle winds up taking away a lot of the grittiness that I think made the first so effective, giving the film a more polished feel that just doesn't suit the story as well. The cast in the first is also amazing, and while there are highlights like Rose Byrne and Jeremy Renner, it's hard not to miss Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, and Brendan Gleeson. With the film taking place later on in the zombie epidemic there's also more of a settled feel as people have had time to adapt as opposed to the first film where our characters are still figuring things out. Overall, a step down but still a good movie.

#23 - Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

This is a sequel that I was very much surprised by how much I enjoyed. It isn't as good as its predecessor, but it offers a strong follow up that gives us more of Doug Bradley's chilling performance as Pinhead, and a second outing for criminally underrated final girl Kirsty Cotton. Despite the gore and weirdness of the film, it is visually entrancing from start to finish, thanks largely to stunning set designs and makeup effects. The franchise falls hard and fast in quality after the third film, so I'm glad we have a strong sequel like this.

#22 - Basket Case 2 (1990)

Maybe Basket Case and Basket Case 2 teeter into "so bad they're good" territory, but I have a ton of fun with them so I don't care. Frank Henenlotter is just one of the best at goofy 80s/90s horror comedy, and this film takes everything I enjoyed about the first film and cranks it up. It's over the top fun, following Duane and Belial as they are taken in to a home for "wayward freaks". The makeup is amazing, and that's reason enough to enjoy it. 

#21 - A Quiet Place: Part 2 (2020)

Due to the pandemic this is one that I had to settle for watching a year after it was supposed to come out in my basement rather than on the big screen, and a few years later I still feel like we all missed out especially considering how much I enjoyed seeing A Quiet Place: Day One in theatres. It's been a while since I saw this one but I liked it a lot back in 2021. It hasn't stuck with me like the first film did, and I wish elements of it were more fleshed out, but this is still a pretty strong sequel. The opening scene is awesome, crafting some great tension that never lets up. I do find that the film is missing the charm of Krasinski's character, although Cillian Murphy is a pretty great addition. All in all this is a solid sequel, it just doesn't quite hit the memorable notes of the first film.

#20 - Saw X (2023)

This list so far has only featured the second films in franchises. Much of the list follows suit, as horror franchises often fall off a cliff after their second or third entries. The Saw franchise is far from innocent of this, as it progressively felt more and more like a gory soap opera and really fell off with Jigsaw. Released last year, Saw X is a great return to form for the franchise. Set between the second and third films, we get the return of Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith, and the film starts out by focusing on Bell as John Kramer as he tries to find a cure for his cancer. The end result is a film where you wind up rooting for the series' antagonists, as the people in the traps are even worse from a moral standpoint. The traps are among the best since the franchise's early entries, and while I do enjoy some of the sequels, this is in my opinion the strongest from a filmmaking perspective.

#19 - The Conjuring 2 (2016)

I actually saw this for the first time before watching the first film, too nervous to say "what if we don't watch that" at a Halloween party well before I started loving horror. This one doesn't work for me quite as well as it used to, thanks largely to a bit of a lacking narrative, but I still really enjoy it. Sound and cinematography are used really well to build fear, leading to some pretty strong jumpscares. I found that I cared a lot more about the characters in the first film compared to this one, although the introduction to The Nun and The Crooked Man is much appreciated as both of those scared the shit out of me.

 

#18 - Final Destination 3 (2006)

I don't think any horror franchise follows an exact formula more than the Final Destination movies, and I think Final Destination 3 is where that formula is used best. Admittedly it doesn't feel as fresh as the original, nor is the opening scene as iconic as Final Destination 2, but this in my opinion offers some of the most fun kills in the franchise, and a cast of characters headlined by an early Mary Elizabeth Winstead performance. I don't really care for Ali Larter in the first two films, so maybe her absence here is part of what gives it the edge, but all in all I think this is ever so slightly above the original for the best in the franchise.

#17 - Doctor Sleep (2019)

Nearly 40 years after The Shining came out and eventually reached classic status, the current king of horror Mike Flanagan took on the sequel to Stephen King's iconic tale. This is an interesting one as The Shining has drawn a lot of criticism from King due to its deviations from the source material, so Doctor Sleep was forced to act not only as a sequel to the film but as an adaptation of King's sequel novel. I haven't read Doctor Sleep but I really appreciate where King and Flanagan take this story. It winds up being perhaps too tied to the original in its final act, but the first two tell a story that is very much its own and takes the idea of "the shining" into what I consider a pretty interesting direction. Ewan McGregor is great, as is Rebecca Ferguson as the villain, and while sometimes the recreations of The Shining feel a tad fan-servicey, I really enjoy this return to the iconic story.

#16 - Candyman (2021)

One big trend in the late 2010s and early 2020s has been "legacy sequels," films ignoring most of a franchise's lower quality entries and offering direct follow ups taking place decades after the original film. Some of these are great like 2022's Scream and another film coming up soon in this list, while some fall completely flat and ultimately just piss people off like The Exorcist: Believer and whatever Texas Chainsaw movie it was that Netflix put out. 2021's Candyman is by no means a perfect film, it falls into some underwhelming narrative paths that aren't quite as exciting or interesting as the original Candyman (one of my all time favs), but it does have a lot going for it. Nia Dacosta puts in some incredible work from the director's chair, giving the film a sleek and polished feel with some bold stylistic choices. The cinematography is in my opinion some of the best in horror history, bringing to life the darkness of urban Chicago with some serious beauty. Yahya Abdul Mateen II is great in the lead role, and while I do wish the narrative was cleaner, the strengths here more than make up for it.

#15 - Terrifier 2 (2022)/Terrifier 3 (2024)

This is definitely cheating but with how fresh Terrifier 3 is I'm still figuring out which of the two I prefer, and either one would be in this spot so I'm picking them both here. The second film, despite its tiny budget, truly feels like a horror epic thanks to its large runtime and over the top gore. The third film comes in a bit shorter but much more polished, with the stakes being elevated even higher than the previous film. While 3 more consistently delivers iconic kills, nothing matches the bedroom scene in the second movie. 3 also feels more tense than its predecessor, offering some moments where the fear comes through more than just the gore. I did find on a first watch that the latest film wasn't working as well for me for the first act or so, but I've only seen it once so for now to play things safe I'm putting 2 & 3 here, and I can't wait to see what Art is up to next.

#14 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Coming 12 years after the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this takes everything that made the first one what it was and throws it all out the window. This takes the general idea of the original and optimizes it for the goofy 80s slasher and it works incredibly well. It loses some staying power by ditching the tense griminess, but it's an incredibly fun watch with some great gore. Dennis Hopper turns in a wild performance that really sums up the movie as a whole. It isn't often that a sequel is this different than its predecessor and still works, but this is one of those rare exceptions.

#13 - Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

I absolutely love Gremlins, it's my favourite Christmas movie and I think a perfect gateway horror. After its success director Joe Dante wanted nothing to do with a sequel, but eventually signed on when promised full creative control and a budget triple that of the original. The end result is what has been described as a near parody of the original. This is just simply nuts, cranking the Gremlin-meter to 11 and letting chaos run rampant. There is also a great scene with film critic Leonard Maltin that is worth the price of admission alone. It isn't better than the first, but it certainly is bigger and it's a great time.

#12 - Psycho 2 (1983)

I put off watching this for a long time due to how much I love the original, and while it obviously has nothing on Hitchcock's classic and my favourite horror movie of all time, I actually really like Psycho 2. I never thought Psycho should have been touched but this is a fascinating way to follow it up. The twist has already come so that mystery is gone, but screenwriter Tom Holland (not that one) gives us a new whodunnit that has us wondering if it really is Norman again. Anthony Perkins is amazing as always, and I love how the film explores the reactions to Norman's release. This ultimately could have felt extremely unnecessary, but thanks to its sharp script and great performances it stands instead as one of the best horror sequels of all time.

#11 - Halloween (2018)

The film that brought the "legacy sequel" to the mainstream. Halloween (2018) returns to Haddonfield 40 years after the events of the original film and ignores all seven sequels and Rob Zombie's remakes, telling a story of generational trauma caused from Michael Myers' initial rampage. I love this movie, there are other Halloween sequels I enjoy but this is just fantastic. The tension is rich from the very opening, the kills are brutal and creative, and Michael feels like a force of nature in a way I never quite felt from him before. This brought the version of him that actually gives me nightmares, and his progression in Halloween Kills only heightens how genuinely scary I find him. There are some terrific scenes throughout here, all culminating at Laurie and Michael facing off again four decades after their first encounter. The rest of the trilogy failed to fully deliver, but this was a massive breathe of fresh air for a frankly dead franchise, and I'll never stop enjoying revisiting this.

#10 - Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

This is obviously the earliest movie on this list, and one of the earliest sequels I can think of. I love the classic Universal monster movies, and this is without a doubt one of the best. I do think it lacks some of the cool/creepiness of Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Invisible Man, but those are still some of the best horror movies of all time in my opinion. It makes up for its shortcomings with the introduction of another iconic monster in the bride, as well as remarkable set design and hands down the best cinematography of the Universal monster catalogue. Nearing 90 years old, this still holds up as one of the best.

#9 - Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

1984 is often cited as one of the best years in movie history, and I think this is one that flies a bit under the radar. I'm not a big fan of the Friday the 13th franchise, but it does have its highlights and I think this is pretty handily the best in the series. This is the first film that I really enjoyed Jason as a villain, now in his signature look for the second time and the film seems to have a better grasp of how to use him. Cory Feldman is a hilarious and unhinged addition to the franchise, introducing Tommy Jarvis who would wind up being a mainstay, and Crispin Glover helps give this a comedic edge thanks in part to the most deliriously magnificent dance scene I've ever seen. This has some of the franchise's best kills, and while it very much didn't end up being "The Final Chapter", it gave the series a much needed shot in the arm.

#8 - Smile 2 (2024)

Is it early to put this in the top 10? Maybe. Do I care? No. Yes Smile 2 is barely two weeks old, but I truly believe this is one of the greatest horror sequels we've ever gotten. Like some other entries, this takes everything great about the first film and cranks it up, in this case offering something that surpasses the original. Naomi Scott is unreal in the lead role, delivering one of the best horror performances of the decade, and the way writer/director Parker Finn tackles this as a story about grief and guilt along with the isolation of stardom is simply awesome. The music is fantastic, the costumes are top notch, and of course the scares are top of the line. This also gets bonus points for one of the best opening scenes I've ever seen in a horror movie, incredible stuff.

#7 - 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

10 Cloverfield Lane is perhaps as far from the source material as you can get. While Cloverfield is a found footage kaiju movie, this is a contained thriller where the horror comes from the claustrophobia and uncertainty surrounding their situation. This is another great performance from Mary Elizabeth Winstead, but it's John Goodman in a terrifying against-type performance as Howard. I do find that the finale leaves a bit to be desired, but the film as a whole is a master-class in building rich tension, and I like how this opened up the ability for the Cloverfield franchise to explore very different stories (even if it hasn't fully worked out so far).

#6 - Child's Play 2 (1990)

Another example of a sequel being bigger and better than its predecessor. The first Child's Play is awesome, but this is where Chucky really turns into the foul mouthed doll we know and love. Advancements technologically allow Chucky to feel far more alive this time around, thus making him a more fun killer to root against. A more campy tone is brought in which would really take hold as the series went on, a smart move due to how unintimidating a killer Chucky really is. This features another great child performance from Andy Vincent, the introduction of Christine Elise as Kyle, and a marvelous finale set in a toy factory. It's truly everything you could want from a Chucky movie.

#5 - The Exorcist III (1990)

The second Exorcist film is a direct follow up to the original, but it also sucks so it will get no love here. The Exorcist III however, does not suck at all, and takes a unique turn away from what worked in the first film. This often operates more as a crime thriller than a possession film, but it keeps itself in the horror genre to create some truly creepy moments, especially in the final act. The story had me completely unaware of where it was going, a major win, and George C. Scott is only bested by a haunting performance from Chucky himself Brad Dourif. What this film is known best for though is its iconic jump scare, and I won't spoil it if you haven't seen this, but it truly is a showcase of the best that horror filmmaking can offer.

#4 - Evil Dead 2 (1987)

This is an interesting one, as it is a sequel but essentially acts as a remake of the first film. It's still a sequel though so I'm counting it, and I love this movie. Sam Raimi was given a much larger budget this time around and it shows. The tone is perfectly campy, making it a fun ride amidst its horror while the first film took itself more seriously. Bruce Campbell finds his footing perfectly as Ash, turning an okay protagonist into a genre icon. It's the effects here that really work best though, building on the original to create some horror goodness.

#3 - Day of the Dead (1985)

While it may be the least iconic of George A. Romero's first three Living Dead films, Day of the Dead is shockingly my favourite. It didn't pave the way like the first two films did, but it truly feels like an evolution of the scale and ideas Romero tackled in those two. Set amidst a military base, the film follows the tensions between soldiers on how to handle the zombie epidemic, inevitably giving us a lot of butting heads between intense men. I think zombie movies are often at their best when the real turmoil and conflict comes from the humans and this is a perfect example of that. What it stands as an even more perfect example of though, is that Tom Savini is one of if not THE best in the world of horror makeup. The gore here is astounding, somehow looking incredible even to this day nearly 40 years after the film's release. It's a bloody movie, and it all looks phenomenal. We also get the best zombie performance here, with Sherman Howard doing a great job as the domesticated "Bub". This truly feels like the peak of the zombie genre, a magnificent film.

#2 - Scream 2 (1997)

The main reason I had to limit this to one film per franchise is that otherwise my bias would shine too much and every Scream movie would be on here. I love these movies so dearly, I love the cast, I love the iconic Ghostface outfit, I love the whodunnit nature of the films. Either of the two most recent films easy could have landed there, as I love what Radio Silence has done with the franchise, but I've seen all of these films at least 3-4 times each and Scream 2 is my top choice outside of the original. A large part of it is the introduction of Timothy Olyphant as Mickey Altieri. Aside from maybe Kirby in Scream 4, Mickey is the best character introduced after the first film, with Olyphant delivering a deliciously over the top performance that I love more and more every time. The whodunnit aspect is fun, and I love that we get Craven and Williamson unpacking sequels through the meta commentary that makes these films so great. I absolutely adore this movie, and it just barely misses the top spot.

#1 - A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

What could possibly top Ghostface? you may ask. The answer is simple; Freddy Krueger. I often compare this to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The third Harry Potter film is my favourite thanks largely to how well it bridges the more childlike tone of the first two films with the darker tone we get later on. Dream Warriors works in the same vein, bringing us towards the more comical/fun Freddy we get down the road while still holding on to the creepiness of the first film. While Robert Englund has some real fun with Freddy here, especially with some of his hilarious one liners, the film has a pretty dark narrative. Freddy is basically wreaking havoc on a mental hospital, making the young tenants appear to take their own lives. This makes for some truly haunting moments captured in quite unique ways. The kills here are some of the absolute best in the franchise, and we get the triumphant return of Heather Langenkamp as Nancy. I have a replica of Freddy's needle hand from this movie which is one of my most prized possessions, and that moment might not even be one of the top 3 in the film. This is just a big and bold sequel that hits that perfect combination of scary and fun, stepping it up from the already amazing first film to deliver one of my all time favourite horror movies.