The scariest thing about Paranormal Activity 3 may be how it's breaking all the rules of horror movie sequels.
The movie made more at the box office this past weekend than the previous installment did, a rare feat for a threequel to pull off. And reactions are generally positive from both critical and general audiences.
With Halloween creeping up on us, we look back at other scary movie sequels that bucked the trend and managed to not suck.
Speaking of Paranormal Activity 3...
Rather than pull a Blair Witch 2, Paranormal Activity 2 stuck to the "found footage" format of the original and improved upon it in several ways. A series of stationary cameras set up throughout the haunted house allowed for newer and more varied scares. We're still afraid of basements thanks to this movie. And DV cameras.
The story, meanwhile, added a few new wrinkles to the growing mythology of the franchise while also focusing mainly on a new group of characters. It may have lacked the originality of the first film, but it was a worthy follow-up all the same.
James Cameron added some inspired action to the mix that started with Ridley Scott's Alien, making Aliens a seminal film.
Ripley vs. The Alien Queen. Newt. Bishop, Hicks and "Game Over" Hudson. This sequel gave us so many memorable characters and set pieces, to the point where fans still debate which classic is the better one. It's a Sophie's Choice for us, but we mostly give the edge to Aliens. "Mostly..."
After a totally off-base, feckless, Michael Myers-less Part III, Season of the Witch, Michael Myers returned to his own franchise and brought the
Many things made this movie stand out as a great scare-fest, but none more than the christening of an all-new 11-year old "Scream Queen," Danielle Harris. As Jamie, Michael's unsuspecting niece, Harris was light years ahead of the game and gave the film a hefty dose of heart. Also refreshing? When Dr. Loomis rushes into the town to warn everyone that Michael's on his way back home, they don't scoff or roll their eyes. They arm themselves to the teeth! Finally a town that remembers that they were once the victims of a horrific mass murderer.
Also, little did we know that Haddonfield was home to the meanest kids in the entire universe! Holy crap…
Despite the name, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is nowhere near being the end of the franchise. But it is one of the more memorable of the numerous sequels.
The Final Chapter introduces a mostly new cast of horny teens who die in spectacularly gruesome ways. You'll definitely think twice about asking for a corkscrew next time. And yes, that's Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis, sporting a Professor Xavier hairstyle to get inside Jason's headspace and take him down, PSYOP-style!
The film also ties up some loose threads from the previous movies and grants the survivors a small bit of revenge. But they should have known better than to think Jason Voorhees would remain dead for long.
Dawn of the Dead was a little late to the party, coming 10 years after Night of the Living Dead kicked off the zombie movie craze. This sequel did more than just bring color to the franchise, though. It introduced a more fleshed-out cast of characters and a unique setting in the form of a barricaded shopping mall. The zombie effects were certainly leaps and bounds above the original.
Dawn also dialed up the social commentary angle, showing us that, one way or another, we're all zombies in this crazy world.
If Dawn dialed up the social commentary, Sam Raimi's sequel-remake undead fest dialed it down - way down - somewhere between Ash cutting off his lady friend's head and chainsaw-ing off his own possessed hand.
Evil Dead II embraces the "bigger and bloodier" rule of sequels while adding a crazy level of slapstick to the proceedings, as Ash continues to get his eyes poked and ass kicked by The Book of the Dead.
The movie never takes its scares too seriously, hence its awesomeness. And the low-budget everything only adds to one of the better cult movie experiences ever. Raimi amps up the gore factor to the point where it seems like he's made a bet with himself to out-gross the previous gag. If fan reaction is any indication, Raimi's gamble paid off.
Click on over to Page 2, for more non-sucky sequels starring Freddy, Chucky and whatever those things are from Troll 2.
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