There are some horror movie sequels that move the story in a direction that feels fresh yet honors the reason why fans loved the original. Scream 2 is a great example, as Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) goes off to college yet is still tormented by Ghostface, and her attempt at a new life is stopped by her past coming back to haunt her. But sometimes, the second film in a franchise doesn't feel as high quality as the first one, or maybe there's a third or even tenth movie that also falls flat.
There are several slasher horror sequels that don't seem as scary and smart as the first one, and fans might choose to continue rewatching and enjoying the original.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
While the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre holds up, it's fair to say that the sequel isn't as good. In the '70s film, Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and the other characters come upon Leatherface, who is horrifying. She's a great character who feels strong and she manages to survive. But the sequel follows a new group of characters and doesn't have quite the same feeling.
There isn't a lot about the second film that sticks out, and while it's scary to imagine people being chased and killed by Leatherface, especially since he has a chainsaw, it's hard to say that there's much else going on here. The third movie didn't do very well with critics or at the box office, so not every entry in this franchise is high quality.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
It makes sense that Friday The 13th would get a sequel, and in the opening scene, Alice Hardy (Adrienne King), the survivor from the first film, is brutally murdered. This movie focuses on Ginny Field (Amy Steel), a girl who is studying child psychology. Ginny ends up at Camp Crystal Lake because her Paul, her boyfriend (John Fury), is training counselors. Everyone soon learns that villain Jason Voorhees always survives and they're scared once they hear his story.
Friday the 13th Part 2 does what a lot of horror movie sequels do: gives fans the same kind of story as the first movie. While there is some merit here, as fans do love seeing Camp Crystal Lake, it doesn't feel like there's enough happening here to warrant a second film. Jason is why the Friday The 13th movies are popular, but it's hard to argue with the first movie being the best one.
Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
Freddy Krueger's powers in A Nightmare On Elm Street are incredibly haunting. But when Freddy is a favorite villain, it's hard to love the sequel to the groundbreaking 1984 movie. In 1985, Freddy's Revenge was released, starring Mark Patton as Jesse Walsh, a teenager living in the house where Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) used to live.
Freddy goes after Jesse like he did Nancy, and Jesse soon finds himself in the same nightmare. Like Friday the 13th Part 2, this sequel feels so similar to the first one, but this time Jesse is the main character instead of Nancy. It would have been more interesting to switch up the setting or make something different.
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
While the first Halloween movie is masterful, and there have been a few good entries in the franchise, including Halloween H20 which is a solid movie, Halloween: Resurrection is mostly considered to be a poor movie. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is now in Grace Andersen Sanitarium, and Michael Myers comes back and finds her here. This is when the movie makes a bad decision: Michael kills Laurie.
Since Laurie is an iconic final girl, it seems strange to kill her off, and since the new Halloween trilogy ignores Resurrection since Laurie is still alive, it's hard to want to rewatch this movie when going through the franchise. Fans adore Laurie and they don't want to see Michael win. The film also focuses on a group of younger characters, but fans want to see Laurie.
Jason X (2001)
The 10th movie in the Friday The 13th slasher horror movie franchise and it could definitely be considered the weakest one. This time around, the story of Jason Voorhees is a science fiction one. When Jason is taken to the Crystal Lake Research Facility, he is turned into a cyborg, and 455 years after 2008, Jason wakes up and is ready to kill again.
While it's always cool when a horror movie will do something creative and new, seeing Jason in a sci-fi tale feels a little silly, and it would have been better to make a more straightforward sequel set at Camp Crystal Lake since that's what fans like.