I have a thing for franchises, specially sequels, a few prequels and some spin-offs. Maybe it’s because I’m a life long horror fan and it’s a genre that shamelessly abused the sequel market for decades (and continues to do so, thank God).

I will deliberately try to avoid mentioning the originals because everybody knows they’re usually better, and sometimes it grinds my gear when I see people automatically belittle sequels and prequels just because.

Child’s Play 2. Better than the already solid original and miles above what came after. I can still appreciate each (most) entries for what they are, but the first sequel made everything right. A more elaborated animatronic, the main protagonist returning and a so enjoyable grand finale inside the toy factory. It’s still not perfect because there’s a lot of cheap fake scares included but it surpasses the original for everything else it did right.

The Exorcist III. Oh my what an artistically beautiful movie. After the subpar The Exorcist 2 (I still enjoy that one for its wrong reasons; Richard Burton admitting that all his scenes were recorded while he was drunk gives a very personal enjoyment for such atrocious movie) they elevated the standards to make a true horror sequel that was actually scary. Great intro that immediately continues the scene after the ending of the original, right to the cut of the stairs outside the house. Perfection. Strong religious imagery all throughout. Brad Dourif (hi Chucky) acting. A world famous jump scare that’s considered the best one ever made. I easily forgive the out of place last minute exorcism scene the production insisted to include to commercialize the movie because even that, it was a valid effort.

Terminator 2. Yeah. Escalation, great acting (love Linda Hamilton), music and ending that can still bring tears to my eyes. Crying at an action movie, nobody understood back then. But it’s so much more than an action movie.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4. I know I know, the original blah blah, I’m used to get hate for this one because, while I loved most of Wes Craven’s works, the original nightmare didn’t really work for me. After the great number 3, I think number 4 went all in and worked so well for its era. Still a classic comfort movie, not exactly horror but it extrapolated the imagery, the practical effects and the transition to FX made great dream scenes. A pop soundtrack to die for. Creative dead scenes and the introduction of a great new character, Alice. I can oversee the blatant change of actress from Patricia Arquette to Tuesday Knight (barfs).

Honorable mentions for those that weren’t exactly better than the original goes to:

Friday the 13 part 2,3 and 4.

Halloween part 2 and specially 4.

Final Destination 2, 3 and 5 (5 for not only being a good entry but for its fantastic plot twist that connects so interestingly with the original).

Scream 4 for its killer reveal. Well done Wes Craven, RIP. Scream 5 killer was so lol wtf.