The 10 Best Slasher Sequels (According to Me)
the importance of a worthy follow up
The slasher subgenre proliferated in the 1980s, an era that spawned numerous long franchises that remain popular today. Many slasher sequels met or exceeded the commercial success of their predecessors, even if they were often widely regarded as inferior films.
The best slasher sequels have three key elements that help them succeed:
Enhanced lore – many sequels expand on the premise of the original, adding backstory and depth such as information about the villain’s past.
Higher stakes – sequels are often more over the top than the original, with a higher body count, more gore, and a wilder finale.
Improved production values – follow ups usually have higher budgets than the original, allowing them to feature better special effects and cinematography.
This list is specifically about part 2’s. I’m planning to examine “threequels” (and so on) in future lists. Also, it’s strictly about slashers. Smile 2 and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (among others) aren’t here. Some people might consider those movies slashers in a loose sense, but I don’t think they are slashery (for lack of a better term) enough to be included.
If a property is to become a franchise, it’s crucial for the second movie to be well received by its target audience. Imagine if Halloween II or Friday the 13th Part 2 had flopped and the rest of the installments had never been made. The history of horror films would have been taken in a significantly different direction. Would anyone remember Michael or Jason today?
Here are my picks for the top ten best slasher sequels. While it would be a stretch to say that all of them triggered successful franchises, each was successful enough to be followed by a third installment.
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10. Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers
Sleepaway Camp 2 is pure ’80s slasher trash, and I mean that in the best way. With Felissa Rose unable to return as Angela, the role was taken over by Pamela (sister of Bruce) Springsteen.
There is a marked shift in tone from the first. The creepy weirdness of the original is replaced by ultra campy humor. That’s not going to be everybody’s cup of tea (or bucket of blood) but, for me, it works.
Springsteen seems to be having a ball as Angela. The acting is amateurish, and the gore effects are bargain basement quality, but this is one hell of an entertaining ride for anyone who likes cheap retro slashers.
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9. Saw II
In typical sequel fashion, everything is ratcheted up a notch in Saw II – more victims, more traps, more gore, and way more screen time for John Kramer. The shadowy figure from the first movie becomes a much more familiar figure starting here, which helped pave the way for him to become a major horror icon.
This time, Jigsaw targets a new crop of victims: a group of felons who are trapped inside a house that is slowly filling with poisonous gas. Amanda is also back to give Jigsaw a helping hand. This installment features the notorious “needle pit” scene and plenty of other gruesome moments.
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8. Psycho II
Psycho II was released over twenty years after the original. Legacy sequels are common these days, but they were a novelty back in the ’80s. Anthony Perkins is remarkably successful at reprising his role after two decades. His nervous, twitchy energy is perfect for Norman Bates.
This is one of the most underrated slasher sequels. While it can’t match the shock and suspense of Hitchcock’s original, it’s a surprisingly creepy and chilling look at people who are haunted by their pasts and unable to escape from their long ago traumas.
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7. Final Destination 2
Final Destination 2 earns its spot on my best slasher sequels list because it has the most memorable set piece of any of the six movies in the franchise. The logging truck highway disaster is a brilliant beginning that surpasses the plane crash from the original.
Even after all these years, anybody who’s stuck on the freeway behind a logging vehicle is inevitably going to think about this movie, whether they want to or not.
It also has one of the best final girls of the series. A.J. Cook is one of the better actresses to appear in this franchise. In a rare instance for the series, Kimberly (spoiler alert) actually survives and escapes death’s design. In fact, she was originally planned to have a cameo in Final Destination Bloodlines.
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6. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Like Sleepaway Camp 2, this movie has a much different tone than its predecessor. Director Tobe Hooper was smart enough to know he could never redo his first movie, so he takes The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in a much more comedic direction.
Sally is a good final girl, but part 2 surpasses her in this regard. Stretch is awesome – the best protagonist in the series. Caroline Williams brings so much charisma and sex appeal to the role.
Hooper’s decision to set the movie’s climax in an abandoned carnival is a stroke of genius. Across the board, this movie surpasses the other sequels by a country mile.
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5. Friday the 13th Part 2
Friday the 13th Part 2 is the first installment with Jason as the killer. This early version of the character is a deranged hermit who lives in a run-down cabin deep in the woods. Part 2 has one of the best final girls of the series – Ginny played by Amy Steel. She’s a child psychologist who is capable of manipulating Jason, who still has the emotional intelligence of a young boy.
There’s no explanation for how Jason is alive after supposedly drowning as a child. He is portrayed as being more or less human in this installment, a far cry from the superhuman killing machine he became later.
Part 2 has the meanest death of the series: Jason hacks wheelchair-bound Mark in the face with a machete and sends him tumbling down a flight of stairs. Poor guy was about to get laid, too.
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4. Child’s Play 2
Child’s Play 2 makes my slasher sequels list for two reasons: 1. The gloriously demented toy factory finale and 2. the foster sibling relationship between Andy and Kyle.
Is it as good as the first one? I think it’s actually better in some ways, and I’m not alone in that regard. A toy factory is the perfect place for the climax of a Chucky movie. There’s so much grotesque doll action in the last twenty minutes that it’s almost unbelievable.
Part 2 has way more Chucky screentime than the first, and far more creative kills. Chucky gets better one liners, too. “You’ve been very naughty, Mrs. Kettlewell!” I wish that Child’s Play 3 had been a direct sequel to this movie. Alas, it’s set several years later and has a completely different cast.
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3. Terrifier 2
Terrifier 2 is a classic example of a sequel that expands upon the foundation set by the original. From the characters to the plot to the production values, every major element enhances the qualities that made the first Terrifier effective. The original is a creepy but plotless gorefest. This one actually has a storyline.
It crafts the beginnings of a mythology for the series and introduces the franchise’s main protagonist, Sienna Shaw (Lauren Lavera). If you’re looking for conclusive answers to the origin of Art the Clown, you won’t find them here, but an intriguing backstory begins to develop.
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2. Scream 2
Scream 2 was released less than a year after the original. The setting is moved from a small northern California town to a college campus. The teenage survivors of the original bloodbath are now attending Windsor College. Unfortunately for them, Ghostface returns to wreak more carnage.
I saw this movie on its opening weekend in ’97 (yes I’m that old) and the sold out crowd was fired up. It remains one of my best experiences watching a movie in a theater. Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson returned as director and writer, respectively, and were able to recapture the original’s mix of humor and scares.
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1. Halloween II
Picking up exactly where the previous movie left off, Halloween II features a dynamite synth soundtrack and strong performances by Donald Pleasance and Jamie Lee Curtis. After surviving the original movie, Laurie is transported to a local hospital. Unfortunately, Michael follows her there and begins to dispose of the hospital staff. Michael finds creative uses for many of the hospital’s medical tools.
Halloween II lacks the artistry of the original film, but it’s a hell of a fun movie and the climax is wrought with tension. In terms of pure entertainment value, this might be the best of the series.
The scene where Michael pursues Laurie down a long hospital hallway is a classic, and the final (for now) confrontation between Myers and Loomis is unforgettable. It’s been a favorite of mine since childhood and that’s why it tops my best slasher sequels list.
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