10 Best Horror Movies That Never Got The Sequels They Deserved

Horror movie sequels are often a given, and if any movie is successful at the box office, it seems the studio wants to fast-track the next in a series to capitalize on it. However, not all horror movies needed sequels, and more often than not, the follow-up movies never delivered the same thrills and chills as the original releases. With that said, there are also some incredible horror movies that never got a sequel, but they were set up to deliver one that never arrived.

There are some movies that are easily transferred over to a sequel. The slasher genre is where they remain most relevant, because they take the idea of a masked serial killer or a monster, and then the movies can bring them back over and over again. This is done both through supernatural means, such as in franchises like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, and through more realistic means, such as with the Scream movies.

In other genres, it is not always easy to see how a sequel could follow up on the first movie. However, in some cases, there are a few good ways the movie’s sequels could have gone, but in these cases, fans of the films never got the horror sequels they deserved.

10

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2019)

Written and directed by Issa López, Tigers Are Not Afraid is a Mexican magical realist horror film set in the world of drug cartel violence. The main cast are orphaned children who are haunted by the ghosts of their murdered families. The movie ended up as one of the best-reviewed horror movies of 2019, with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it never had a chance to get a sequel.

There is a lot to love about the movie, from the use of animated tigers, a wishing chalk, and ghostly trails coexisting with the very real danger of cartel assassins hunting street children in a Mexican city. Using the world of orphaned magical children and their interactions with ghosts could have delivered a great follow-up story, and it could even have developed a great anthology-style sequel. It was a self-contained story, so it didn’t need a sequel, but horror cinema needs more movies like this.

9

Under the Shadow (2016)

Released in 2016, Under the Shadow is Babak Anvari’s Iranian-language supernatural horror movie, set in 1980s Tehran during the War of the Cities. The story follows a mother and daughter as a Djinn terrorizes them in their apartment building. While the idea of a Djinn terrorizing a young family is scary, it happens while real bombs fall outside during this turbulent time in the country.

Under the Shadow has a 99% Rotten Tomatoes score, so it is clear that it connected with critics, and the idea of a supernatural monster preying on people during a war is terrifying. It is the entire idea of the Djinn and its tendency to use the rise of real-world conflicts to attack those vulnerable to trauma that could lead to a worthy sequel. Add the Djinn to countless real-world conflicts, and it could offer horror in different parts of the world.

8

Coherence (2013)

Coherence is a low-budget indie horror movie from 2013 that ended up as a minor masterpiece. James Ward Byrkit’s movie follows eight friends at a dinner party as a passing comet causes parallel realities to bleed into each other. The bleeding of realities causes the friends to descend into paranoia, violence, and existential terror.

While an ultra-low budget film, the idea of the comet triggering a parallel reality framework makes this one of the smartest concepts of 2010s horror output. The entire idea is that different versions of the same people in the adjacent realities could end up dramatically different and throw everyone’s lives out of focus. The good news is that Byrkit says he wants a Coherence sequel and is developing one, but it hasn’t arrived yet.

7

Session 9 (2001)

Session 9 worked as well as it did because it was actually shot in a real abandoned asylum, and that gave it a level of authenticity that added to the already claustrophobic terror of the story. Brad Anderson’s horror movie follows an asbestos abatement crew whose members begin to crack under the influence of the building’s dark history. This gets worse when a set of recorded therapy tapes details a patient who committed horrific acts of violence.

This is a movie that deserves a prequel, at the very least. The character of Mary Hobbes, heard in the movie only on the tapes, is one of the best horror movie characters who has never had her backstory properly explored. Fangoria reports that Anderson said he would have loved to make a prequel telling Mary’s story, but it never happened, and after 25 years, it is likely too late.

6

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

The Autopsy of Jane Doe is André Øvredal’s horror film about a father and son coroner team who perform an increasingly disturbing autopsy on an unidentified woman. There are too many things that make no sense about the body, and as they continue to investigate, they realize something ancient and dangerous is happening around them. The twist is that this woman is the victim of a 17th-century witch hunt, which turned her into something supernatural.

The father and son are doomed, and this leads to a horrific conclusion. The Autopsy of Jane Doe ends with a perfect hook for a sequel, as a second Jane Doe is discovered, showing that things are going to happen again. The entire story remains unresolved, and the film lives and dies by its brilliant, claustrophobic horror in the morgue. The Lovecraftian horror on display could go further to explain who this entity is and what it wants.

5

The Ritual (2017)

David Bruckner’s Netflix folk horror movie The Ritual follows four British friends hiking through a remote Swedish forest after the death of a mutual friend. They then find a shortcut that leads them into a territory where an ancient, evil creature resides, one that has been worshiped since before recorded history. The setup is similar to The Descent, where the friends are sharing an adventure in memory of a lost friend. However, the results are more supernatural in nature.

The creature these hikers discover in The Ritual is one of modern horror’s most original and deeply unsettling creations. This is an Old God with human worshipers who offer sacrifices in exchange for eternal life. That mythology has enormous franchise potential, and a sequel could have followed new people stumbling into the territory, or, even better, discovering more about the cult itself in a prequel.

4

Oculus (2013)

Before he started making incredible Netflix miniseries and amazing Stephen King adaptations, Mike Flanagan directed the horror movie Oculus. This was Flanagan’s breakout movie, and it is what helped him attract studios’ attention. The movie follows two adult siblings who want to destroy a malevolent antique mirror responsible for their father’s death. It is told in two timelines, flashing back to the past and their traumatic earlier experience with the mirror.

The Lasser Glass, which is the name of the sentient mirror, is a brilliantly conceptual horror object. There are so many stories that could be told in this world, and it is rich for sequels in an anthology format. In much the way that the Conjuring movies explored haunted objects, seeing the history of the mirror or other victims could provide countless stories.

3

The Wailing (2016)

The Wailing is Na Hong-jin’s Korean horror film that follows a small-town cop who is investigating a series of brutal murders in a mountain village after a mysterious Japanese stranger arrives. However, as the investigation rolls on, the cop realizes there is something supernatural in nature going on. This includes demonic possession, shamanistic ritual, and theological ambiguity.

The Wailing was a monster success, winning several film awards at festivals across the world. The movie also ends on a shocking moment that changes everything viewers believed they were watching before that moment. It also doesn’t resolve the mystery, and it instead opens it up even more and shows there is a lot more to learn in this world. The ending’s ambiguity makes this a horror movie that almost demands a sequel.

2

Mandy (2018)

Mandy is a Nicolas Cage horror movie from 2018, directed by Panos Cosmatos. It is a psychedelic revenge horror film that follows Cage’s quiet woodsman, who lives with his partner Mandy. However, their lives are destroyed when a cult leader and his bike gang sacrifice Mandy. This sends this quiet woodsman on a bloody rampage of vengeance. With a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, this was a surprise critical hit for Cage.

This movie could have been part of a big franchise for Cage in the same way that The Evil Dead was for Bruce Campbell. Cage’s character is almost superhuman himself as he seeks vengeance, and when he ends up fighting against what are actually supernatural killers, it helps the movie rise to an entirely new level.

1

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Sam Raimi made his name in the horror genre thanks to his Evil Dead movies. After a few years of working on blockbuster movies like Spider-Man, Raimi made his triumphant return to horror in 2009 with the movie Drag Me to Hell. When a loan officer denies an extension to an elderly woman, she ends up cursed, which is a three-day torment that will literally drag her to Hell when the timeline ends.

Drag Me to Hell ends with one of the most shocking moments in a horror movie when it looks like the young woman survives the experience, only for the ground to literally open and demonic hands drag her to her fate. The Lamia mythology, the rules for the curse transfer, and the supernatural world of this movie are ripe for more stories. As a funny and scary horror movie, it is one that is perfect for a sequel, but it never received the opportunity.