Top 5 Underrated Horror Sequels

Horror fans are notoriously difficult to please, and they can be even more difficult to please twice in a row. Sequels in general receive a lot of criticism, but in the horror world they can be brutalized almost as much as one of the victims depicted in the actual films. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that horror fans are used to successful movies turning into long-running franchises, as in the eleven-movie long Friday the 13th franchise (nine movies if you choose to ignore Jason X and Freddy vs. Jason, which a lot of fans choose to do).

A lousy sequel draws particularly sharp barbs because fans know that a drop in quality can kill a franchise faster than Fuad Ramses can kill a sorority's worth of blondes. The fan reaction, then, will either serve to push the series back onto the right track, or at least allow the "true fans" to declare that they were prescient enough to know when the series jumped the shark.

The system is not always fair, however. Sometimes, a decent sequel can be either roasted or overlooked completely by the fans. It may be that the movie is good enough on its own, but just doesn't have what the fans wanted in a sequel. It might be that the sequel experiments with a new direction. Or it could just be that the first film set impossibly high expectations. Whatever the reasons may be, perhaps it is time to pull some of these unsung gems out of the bin and give them a second watch. Here are Sprocket's picks for the top five underrated sequels to horror movies.

5. Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Halloween III: Season of the Witch falls into the category of sequels that did not have what the fans of the original were looking for. In this case, fans of the original were looking for Michael Myers, the relentless killing machine whose speechless, plodding rampages had fueled the first two installments in the series.'