From killer dolls to mind-bending sci-fi,
these sequels had us asking "did that really just happen?" But the real twist?
A twelve-year-old defeating a serial killer in one of these wild follow-ups!
Twenty years before his "Spider-Man" trilogy hit theaters, writer-director Sam Raimi launched his
career with the cult horror flick "The Evil Dead" in 1981. Starring Bruce Campbell as
the lovable Deadite slayer Ash Williams, it tells the story of a group of friends at a remote cabin
who accidentally unleash demonic forces. When these demons begin to possess his companions,
Ash is forced to take extreme measures to stay alive and ultimately escape from the carnage.
When "Evil Dead II" was released six years later, it retconned the story of the original film,
acting more as a remake than a direct sequel. The second film starts with a
recap of the first movie, which drastically changes the plot and the events that occurred
in "The Evil Dead." Obviously, many viewers were left confused about what was going on,
and why the sequel ignores what happened in the first entry of the series.
The changes were largely a result of the fact that Raimi didn't have the
rights to re-use his own footage from the first film. Therefore,
he had to shoot certain scenes over again, while making some modifications along the
way. This explains why Ash is seen returning to the cabin with a new girlfriend in tow,
and without much mention of the friends of his who were present the first time around.
"Oh, you bastards! Why are you torturing me like this?! Why?!"
When Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky" was released in 1976,
the scene was set for what would become one of the most successful sports movie franchises in
history. The series focuses on the career of little-known boxer Rocky Balboa as he grows
into a worldwide sensation following a dramatic fight with heavyweight champion Apollo Creed.
Rocky goes through some pretty tough times throughout the film series. By "Rocky V,"
the Italian Stallion is forced into retirement due to the physical toll of his fight with Ivan
Drago. In fact, he's suffering from some serious brain injuries and takes up the job of a trainer,
mentoring a new young boxer who is rising through the ranks. The 1990 film ends with
Rocky getting into a street fight and leaving the sport for good.
When Rocky returns in "Rocky Balboa" in 2006, the now sixty-year-old former boxer comes back
to the ring to fight an actual heavyweight champion who is in the prime of his career.
The sixth installment essentially forgoes all of the lessons learned in the previous films,
with a near-senior citizen continuing to fight despite his previous health scares and frailties.
"No, Rocky, you suffered severe brain trauma." "Well, he could be wrong, anybody could
be wrong." "I don't think he is!"
"Well, he ain't God, Adrian, only God ain't wrong."
A foundational slasher series, the "Halloween" franchise first began in 1978 when John Carpenter
introduced the world to the masked killer Michael Myers. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis
as final girl Laurie Strode, the first film is a stone cold classic — but as you might expect
from a franchise that consists of thirteen films and numerous other media properties,
it was always going to turn into something of a convoluted mess. Regardless, it's still strange
that "Halloween H20" flat out dismisses everything that came after the 1981 film "Halloween II,"
ignoring an entire three-film story arc that centered on the character Jamie Lloyd.
Jamie is Laurie's daughter who grows up with a foster family following the death of her mother.
She becomes the target of a certain masked killer and is eventually murdered during the
events of "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers." In "Halloween H20," it is revealed
that Laurie never died at all, having faked her death to try and escape from Myers. Not
only does this movie retcon her death, but it makes no mention of Laurie having a daughter,
nor the events that take place during Jamie Lloyd's "Halloween" movies.
Although the "Resident Evil" movie franchise is based on the video game
series, the narratives and characters from the live-action films have generally been separate
from the iconic Capcom IP. Largely the work of writer and director Paul W. S. Anderson,
the sub-franchise began in 2002 with the release of "Resident Evil," starring Milla Jovovich as
protagonist Alice as she battles the malevolent Umbrella Corporation and an outbreak of zombies.
The first sequel arrived in 2004, with "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" following Alice as she escapes
from Umbrella and attempts to flee from the growing infestation in Raccoon City.
Three years later, "Resident Evil: Extinction" continued the franchise with Alice now journeying
through the Mojave Desert as the zombie infection has spread across the entire
planet. One of the main gripes fans have had with this third film is the way that
it has little connection with its predecessors, and starts afresh while ignoring major events
from both "Resident Evil" and "Resident Evil: Apocalypse." Examples of this include Alice's
unexplained telekinesis powers, a worldwide apocalypse that happens completely offscreen,
and a whole host of characters that have seemingly disappeared between the second and third entries.
"I'm missing you already."
Steven Spielberg burst onto the Hollywood scene in 1975 when he directed the highly acclaimed
thriller "Jaws." A huge financial success, it spawned an entire franchise with multiple
movies that involve various other sharks terrorizing the Brody family. The first,
"Jaws 2," arrived in 1978, while the most recent was "Jaws: The Revenge," in 1987.
The immediate predecessor to this final film was the 1983 movie "Jaws 3-D." As the name suggests,
it utilized 3-D technology that required audiences to wear special glasses to
get the full effect. The story largely follows the Brody family as Mike Brody
attempts to stop a rogue great white shark at SeaWorld. Mike, portrayed by Dennis Quaid,
works at the theme park and is in a relationship with a woman called Kay Morgan.
The fourth film doesn't just ignore the ending of its predecessor — it doesn't acknowledge
"Jaws 3-D" in any way. In the later movie, Mike is a marine biologist rather than a SeaWorld
employee. He is played this time around by Lance Guest and has a wife called Carla,
and they both take on a shark that seems to have a personal vendetta against the family.
For some, though, the fact that "Jaws: The Revenge" essentially pretended that "Jaws
3-D" had never existed is for the best. After all, the film was panned by critics and fans.
After the success of "The Matrix" — a film that grossed almost half a billion dollars against
a budget of just $63 million — the Wachowskis got to work on a pair of back-to-back sequels
to conclude the story. "The Matrix Reloaded" sees Neo in full possession of his powers as the One as
he continues to work with Morpheus and Trinity to free humanity from the computer simulation.
"Reloaded" actually ends with more than one cliffhanger. The first deals with the
fact that Agent Smith has seemingly downloaded into the real world by taking over the mind of
a human called Bane, with the film's final shot panning over his unconscious body next to Neo.
The cause of Neo's passed-out state is shown a few minutes earlier when he helps the crew
of the Nebuchadnezzar escape from a group of pursuing sentinels. He somehow destroys them
with the power of his mind, but the sheer effort causes him to fall into a coma.
By the time "The Matrix Revolutions" happens though,
this fact is pretty much discarded. There is never any real explanation given as to
why Neo is able to destroy machines outside of the Matrix. The third film just moves forward
without addressing the strange event, inviting fan theories that the "real
world" of the cyberpunk franchise might just be another level of the simulation.
"Why, Mr. Anderson, why, why do you persist?!" "Because I choose to."
What began life as a Michael Crichton novel, turned into a sci-fi media franchise that
has grossed almost $2 billion in total. Starting with 1993's "Jurassic Park," everyone's favorite
prehistory-inspired film series expanded with two sequels in 1997 and 2001: "The Lost World:
Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic Park III." Even though he never made an appearance
in the second installment, the third follows Dr. Alan Grant as he travels to Isla Sorna to
help rescue a young boy trapped among the dinosaurs that inhabit the area.
The ending of "Jurassic Park III" sees the surviving group — made up of Dr. Grant
and the Kirby family — escape from Isla Sorna when they are rescued by the U.S. military. As
they fly away on a helicopter to safety, they see several Pteranodons also soaring through the sky,
having been let out of the aviary that housed them earlier in the film.
In many ways, the new "Jurassic World" series is a soft reboot of the franchise rather than
a proper continuation of the story, despite the numerous links to the original trilogy. That's
why it's understandable that "Jurassic World" wouldn't address all of the issues thrown up in
"Jurassic Park III" and its predecessors, but the fact that it makes no mention of the Pteranodons
and their apparent escape from Isla Sorna is still pretty baffling. Were they captured? Did
they spread out across the globe? These are answers that the audience will never know,
as "Jurassic World" simply disregarded the ending of "Jurassic Park III" entirely.
When "Highlander" hit cinema screens in 1986, it introduced viewers to a group of immortal
warriors that can only be killed by beheading. Christopher Lambert's character Connor MacLeod
is mentored by another immortal played by Sean Connery, who reveals how the immortals are locked
in a centuries-long battle as they attempt to absorb each other's powers. The tagline of the
film was famously "there can be only one," but that didn't seem to apply to the movie itself:
"Highlander" was followed by two films as well as novels, comics, and a television series.
"Highlander II: The Quickening" is undoubtedly the worst movie in the "Highlander" franchise.
It basically tosses out every good idea from the first movie and goes in a bizarre new direction,
revealing that the immortals are actually exiled aliens from an ancient planet. A
rare example of a film with a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,
the sequel proved to be a box office failure, and has largely been left forgotten in the series.
Taking all that into account, it is easy to see why director Andrew Morahan and the writers behind
"Highlander III" chose to ignore everything about "The Quickening," instead suggesting
that the third film is the true sequel to the original "Highlander." Many fans don't consider
"Highlander II" canon — and the fact that the film is so lousy is definitely part of the reason why.
"You have the manners of a goat. And you smell like a dung heap.
And you have no knowledge whatsoever of your potential."
"The Boy" is a 2016 release that follows nanny Greta Evans as she moves to the U.K. to watch a
couple's child. When she arrives, Greta is shocked to learn that she is actually tasked with looking
after a porcelain doll named Brahms. This figure is based on a young boy who was killed in a fire
20 years ago — his parents have struggled to move on and are obsessed with the doll.
As the story progresses, it seems that the doll may actually have a life of his own. Near the end
of the film, though, it's revealed that the human Brahms actually survived the fire and has been
living in the walls as he moves the doll around. After the disturbed man attempts to kill Greta and
her friend Malcolm, she manages to fatally stab him with a screwdriver, allowing them to escape.
"Brahms: The Boy II" acts as a direct sequel to the first film. Released in 2020 and taking
place a number of years after "The Boy," it sees a young family move into the home where
the terrible events of the first film took place. The porcelain doll has somehow been
repaired — and now, he's definitely, 100 percent possessed by a supernatural force.
Considering that the big twist at the end of "The Boy" was that it's grounded in reality,
the change makes the sequel a much different, much less entertaining movie.
Based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis,
"American Psycho" is a 2000 horror film that stars Christian Bale as serial killer Patrick
Bateman. With the aid of his good looks, charm, and socially conscious yuppie persona,
Bateman kills a variety of victims in gruesome ways while continuing to evade
justice. The film concludes in a way that makes it unclear which of the events actually
took place — if any — and whether Bateman is aware of the reality of his situation.
"American Psycho 2" is a standalone sequel that sees Mila Kunis take on the role of a
serial killer who murders her classmates at university in an effort to secure a coveted
position. There's little meaningful connection between the sequel and "American Psycho," which
is because the film was not intended to be a sequel originally. Instead, it was adapted from
a screenplay entitled "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" that was not part of the same fictional universe.
In "American Psycho 2," Patrick Bateman appears extremely briefly and without clearly showing
his face, obviously no longer played by Christian Bale. After Bateman is killed by a
twelve-year-old, it becomes clear that this is far from a proper sequel to Mary Harron's masterpiece.