50 Worst Horror Movie Sequels

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995)

The Horror: On prom night, a group of teens get into a car crash. Seeking help, they find themselves in the family home of a certain face-wearing maniac.

Why So Terrible? Notable only for starring Renée Zellweger and a never more OTT Matthew McConaughey. As per an IMDb commenter: “Watching this movie is like having someone kick you in the head for two hours, only to find out that you have just survived the warm-up session and the worst is yet to come.”

Return Of The Living Dead: Rave To The Grave (2005)

The Horror: A college Halloween rave has an injection of cannibalism courtesy of a new drug called Z, which brings the dead back to life.

Why So Terrible? The title tells you everything you need to know about this waste of celluloid. Zombies at a rave? Pull the other (severed) one.

Saw III (2006)

The Horror: Serial killer Jigsaw puts his apprentice out in the field to carry on his work, while also kidnapping a doctor to save him from his own inevitable death.

Why So Terrible? This is the franchise’s tipping point. Whereas the first film was a tension-cranking nail biter with big ideas, by now the series just wants to invent grisly and in-yer-face demises for its characters. From here on in it’s mindless pap.

Sorority House Massacre 2 (1990)

The Horror: Five years after the original gore-soaked massacre, a group of college girls move into Hokstedter house and are about to suffer the same icky fate.

Why So Terrible? There are better places to see women in lingerie than this, and you’ll probably have more fun there than you would here.

From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangmans Daughter (1999)

The Horror: A bloody delve into the bloody past, as we discover how the birth of vampire princess Santanico Pandemonium shook Mexico 100 years ago.

Why So Terrible? The film attempts something interesting by including real 19th century author Ambrose Bierce, but then does nothing with him - it doesn’t even have the guts to follow through with the twists of his tome, the title of which it stole for itself…

The Hills Have Eyes II (1985)

The Horror: The desert from the first film welcomes a group of bikers and some of the first film’s survivors, who are attacked by the remaining mutants.

Why So Terrible? Wes Craven may have proven himself reasonably adept at sequels with New Nightmare and Scream 2, but he well and truly misses the mark with this woeful second go-around with the mutant freaks. Watch the remake instead.

Lake Placid 3 (2010)

The Horror: The terrifying crocs are back, this time working as a diabolical team and chowing down on the residents of the oh-so-ironically-named Lake Placid. Everybody roll your eyes with us.

Why So Terrible? Have you seen the above picture of the aforementioned ‘terrifying’ croc? Yeah, it’s a crock.

Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (1992)

The Horror: A quartet of teens are stalked by Father Jonas, a religious nut who punishes youngsters who transgress in the eyes of the Lord. Sex = bad. Murder = good.

Why So Terrible? A disco dancing Jamie Lee Curtis is long gone, and so is any sense of logic in this drivelsome fourth Prom, which takes itself far too seriously.

Sometimes They Come Back... For More (1998)

The Horror: Two years after the first sequel, this third Sometimes They Come Back sees an ancient evil target a psychologist in the arctic circle.

Why So Terrible?
It wants to be The Thing so badly it hurts, and director Daniel Zelik Berk (who’s not directed since) doesn’t even do us the courtesy of giving us a little compensatory gore. Lame.

Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001)

The Horror: Illinois’ Baxter University hosts the evil Djinn, who promises to make wishes come true – and then rips your guts out as well.

Why So Terrible? Even original baddie Andrew Divoff has buggered off by this point, leaving John Novak to wear the Djinn make-up. If we wish hard enough, will this tripe cease to exist?

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.