Underrated Horror Sequels That Are Way Better Than You've Heard

Despite M. Night Shyamalan's misfires, 2016's Split surprised audiences by proving the guy who made The Sixth Sense still has the capacity to produce a restrained horror film. 

The story follows Kevin Crumb (James MacAvoy), a loner whose dissociative identity disorder manifests in the form of 23 distinct personalities. After one of Kevin's more violent identities kidnaps three young women, the protagonist begins an internal battle over the treatment of his prisoners. 

A modest budget – it was reportedly made for $9 million – helped limit the film's scope, and Shyamalan’s penchant for final-act twists pays off big time, especially if you're familiar with his early work. 

Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro is known for his visual style,  and his sequel to the Marvel-inspired vampire-hunter film Blade boasts some of his most visceral imagery.

Blade (Wesley Snipes) is a righteous human-vampire hybrid who's sworn to protect the blood of the living. Blade II takes place two years after the first film wraps, and finds Blade in an uneasy alliance with his vampiric enemies. While they don't see eye to eye, they've found a mutually threatening foe: a mutated line of vampires known as Reapers who are intent on killing everyone, regardless of species. 

Del Toro’s affinity for imaginative character design really pays off, as the Reapers' faces resemble blooming flowers with pitbull fangs. At the box office, the film was the highest grossing installment of the Blade franchise, and cleared its production budget by a considerable margin. 

Whereas 28 Days Later examined the fall of London in the wake of a viral outbreak, 28 Weeks Later picks up months after the virus has been contained. As NATO attempts to return the country to a state of normality, a second outbreak occurs, leading to some unbelievable moments that make the original film seem tame. 

While the film failed to surpass its predecessor’s box office take, it more than delivers as a smart followup. Once you've seen a hoard of zombies get mowed down by the blades of a moving helicopter, it's hard to be scared of slow, old-school zombies. 

The Cloverfield franchise launched in 2008, and has since spawned two followups. All three entries enjoyed guerilla marketing campaigns – the straight-to-Netflix film The Cloverfield Paradox released after a single ad announced its existence at the 2018 Super Bowl - which definitely has pros and cons. 

While the approach yields tremendous buzz, most people don't think about old advertisements once a film is released, so the movies have a hard time sticking in the cultural consciousness. 

Despite the franchise's ephemeral status, 10 Cloverfield Lane is anything but forgettable. The film started off as an original property titled Valencia, but adapted Cloverfield's signature aesthetic (shaky, handheld camera, enormous reptilian monsters) to benefit from name recognition.

John Goodman plays the alternately violent and caring Howard Stambler, a doomsday-prepper who brings Michelle and Emmett into his subterranean bunker to protect them from a supposed nuclear fallout. What follows is a thriller that evokes the containment horror of Panic Room or Saw. 

It's undeniably appealing to see a maestro return to their franchise. When Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero decided to once again visit the topic of the undead, it was immediately clear audiences were in for a treat.

Romero's second followup, 1985’s Day of the Dead, is best remembered for reuniting the director with effects master Tom Savini. Together, the two craft a claustrophobic film about survivors of the zombie apocalypse who try desperately to turn back the tide of infection and restore civilization. Unfortunately, their efforts include an ill-advised zombie domestication scheme.

The result is a masterclass in gore that explores the disturbing long-term impact a calamity can have on its survivors.

When the team behind Ouija: Origin of Evil set out to craft a followup to the much maligned (but financially successful) Ouija, they determined a prequel was the way to go, and focused on bringing creepy visual effects, a solid cast, and a period setting to the franchise. As is often the case with projects from frequent Stephen King adapter and mastermind of Netflix's House on Haunted Hill Mike Flanagan, the result is better than it has any right to be.

The film follows the Zander family, a bunch of fake spiritual mediums whose scam suddenly takes a turn for the real. To make the con seem as authentic as possible, they decide to incorporate a Ouija board into their act, but inadvertently open a portal to the spirit world.

What follows could have been a by-the-numbers possession romp, but Lulu Wilson's disturbing performance as Doris provides legitimate scares and elevates the film well above its predecessor.