Out of all the genres of movies, the Horror genre is by far the best in my humble opinion. And, like every genre, it can't escape the unfortunate sequels and remakes the befall all movies. With Halloween approaching, scary movies are always brought to the forefront and every year I always come across some unseen ones (while still rewatching the classics I love).
While there has been really great sequels and remakes that have been done, there has also been some truly awful ones that should have stayed locked in the vault.
Here are a list of the five worst ones and a list of the five best ones.
1. IT Chapter Two(2019)- The original movie, which was released sometime in the '90s, was a favorite of mine growing up and well into adulthood. There are scenes that will forever terrify me and classic scenes that will forever make me laugh. So, of course I was ecstatic when I heard they were remaking it. You bet I was one of the first people in line at the theatres. IT is a movie that is made into two parts. Part one, which focuses on the kids as kids and how they first encountered IT and then part two, which focuses on the kids as adults and on them stopping IT once and for all. The part one was great, I enjoyed it and it defintitely had some scary parts and a lot of laughs. But then part two came out and... it fell flat to me. I felt it was too over the top and they changed too much. The cast of very recognizable faces didn't deter me from the mediocrity of it and I walked away from it with a feeling of.."They should have left well enough alone." So, when I want to watch a good old classic scare from my childhood, I put on IT the original and stay away from the remake.
2. Halloween (2018) & Halloween H20(1998)- To be fair, I haven't watched all of the movies in this series but I feel like if you saw one you have saw them all. I love horror moves from the '70s and '80s, something about them makes them 100 times better than the scary movies of today. Halloween is no exception. The original one, which was released in 1978, had a permanent spot on my shelf for slumber parties. Since then, there have been a ton of Halloween sequels, prequels, remakes and everything in between and I am here to say enough is enough. I saw the 2018 one in theatres, which had the return of Jamie Lee Curtis, and it was awesome to watch her come back 15 years after her last appearance in this series and kick ass, but after that initial awe went away, the movie was a predicitable boring slasher film with no twists and turns. Now there is another one in theatres and without even going to see it, I know how it will play out so I'll save my money for that one.
3. Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever( 2009) Cabin Fever 3: patient zero (2014)- Whoever made the decision to mess with an already flawless masterpiece needs a stern talking to. The first one, which was released in 2002 is a classic and if you haven't watched it I suggest you pause your reading and go watch it right now. So, of course the discovery of the sequel and then a prequel made me trepidatious because we all know by now the sequels are almost never as good and boy was that sentiment right in this case. I dont think I even made it all the way through the third one...
4. Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003) Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017)- Aw, the fear of flying monsters at night who can smell your fear and swoop down in a moments notice and take you. Ya, that fear never goes away. Atleast, not for me. The original had me screaming and covering my eyes over and over again and I was terrified to be outside at night. Then came along two and three. Honestly, the second one is not not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It definitely had some good scares but, the third one is so boring and just flat out awful. Apparently, there is a fourth one out now too but only time will tell if I go and see it.
5. Child's Play (2019)- No one should EVER mess with the original Child's Play. Chucky is a horror figure classic with many movies added to the series that were great, like the Bride of Chucky. The original, which was released in 1988, was the foundation for the dolls that come to life in the generations that followed. There have been some good scary movies including killer dolls and toys that come to life but no one does it like the original Chucky. This version of Child's Play had bad acting, not the greatest script and it just fell flat to me.
Now, just as there have been many bad sequels and remakes, there have been many that turned out surprisingly well. Here are my list of the top 5:
1. SCREAM 2(1997) Scream 3 (2000) & Scream 4 (2011)- It is very very rare that a movie series can produce four sequels that are just as good as the ones before it but Scream does that perfectly. For my generation, Scream is the ultimate OG for slasher movies. Nothing will ever compare to these movies that have the perfect mix of scares, comedy and mystery. The fact that you never know who the masked killer turns out to be until the end is the ultimate mystery that keeps us on the edge of our seats and,even when you think you know,.. you never do. The acting is always superb and the comedy great. It was just revealed that there is going to be a Scream 5 coming in 2022 and this is the only series where I think they could do 20 installments. If you've been living under a rock for a while, I suggest binging all four movies before the fifth installment comes out and get ready for a treat!
2. The Texas Chainsaw (2003)- This series could easily be in both lists but since the 2003 version of the film, which was a remake of the horror classic from 1974, is one of my favorite scary movies, I decided to add it to this list. The sequels, prequels and remakes that have followed it have not been near as good as this one and it is pretty much for the same reasons as all the other ones; the acting is bad, script is cringy or the flow isn't right. But, atleast there is this one to always go back to.
3. Final Destination 2 (2003) Final Destination 3(2006)- This movie series was doing so well, and then... the fourth and fifth bombed big time but having two successful sequels out of four ain't bad. These movies are high on the list of the goriest movies I have ever seen and I love how different the manner of deaths are. These movies aren't the typical slasher deaths but peculiar and unique ways that stick with you. The overall concept is so interesting and the movies still give me chills after so many years. Too bad the two that followed couldn't have been as good.
4. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)- One word MASTERPIECE. The first one was so chilling and gave me the creeps well into adulthood and I was very weary about the second one because..well.. you know... but this movie may be one of the ONLY movies that was better than the first one. Even if it lost by a hair, the first one is still one of the best scary movies out there. They really don't make them like this anymore.
5. The Ring 2 (2005)- Mark my words: The Ring and The Ring 2 are two of the scariest movies EVER. I tried to watch the first one the other day, and even when it was the middle of the day I was terrified. Whoever came up with this concept is a genius. I remember watching the second one when I was in college and I had to sleep with a light on for a few weeks. I am so happy they didn't butcher this one and kept it as good as the first one.
Honorable mentions are the Paranormal Activity movies, the SAW movies as well as Blair Witch 2:The Book of Shadows.
If there are some movies on this list you have not watched yet, I suggest you get to it as it will make this spooky season your creepiest yet.
Happy Halloween!
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