Weird Wednesday: The Weirdest Horror Movie Sequels Ever Made
Most horror franchises are known for eventually reaching a metaphorical point of no return. By this, I mean the sequels become increasingly nonsensical and are generally almost unrecognizable when compared to the franchise’s beginnings. Today, we’re looking at some of the strangest horror movie sequels and ranking their weirdness from “worst” to “best”.
To be clear, “best” doesn’t mean that these are genuinely good movies. On the contrary, many (if not all) of these films are notoriously bad. This ranking is solely based on how bizarre their departures from the original films are.
PSYCHO II
I decided to start this list with an unconventional pick. Psycho II isn’t really weird in the traditional sense. Rather, it’s more of a “why did this need to be made?” type of weird. The original 1960 classic has an extremely satisfying and conclusive ending, with Norman’s “Mother” taking over his psyche while Norman presumably pays for his crimes. In the 1983 sequel, Norman finishes his treatment (after 22 years) at the psychiatric hospital he was apparently sent to after the events of the first film. Once free, he returns home to California, which resurfaces his previous trauma.
While many Psycho fans agree that this sequel isn’t necessarily bad (especially compared to Psycho III, IV, and the 1998 remake), it still is quite weird that the movie even exists after the original’s definitive conclusion.
HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH
This sequel is infamous for one main reason: it’s the only Halloween film (in the original franchise) without Michael Myers! After the middling Halloween II, John Carpenter wanted to turn the Halloween franchise into an anthology format instead of continuing Michael’s story. While this is not necessarily a bad idea (especially after seeing the OTHER Halloween sequels with Michael), the execution left a lot to be desired. For some reason, Halloween III follows an evil mask-maker who uses his masks, a Celtic ritual, and a piece of Stonehenge to attempt a mass murder of children on Halloween.
Needless to say, fans of Michael and critics in general weren’t exactly keen on this concept. What’s more, Halloween III retcons the events of the original 2 Halloween films by showing them as a commercial in the film itself. This means the first two movies were actually fictional movies inside another movie! All of these decisions, as you can likely tell, were truly bizarre.
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE NEW GENERATION
While Psycho II at least maintained a somewhat similar tone to its predecessor, TCM4 completely jumped the shark. TCM2 and 3 already moved away from the grimy and unsettling atmosphere of the 1974 original, leaning more into dark comedy than pure horror. However, the New Generation takes it to a whole new level of absurdity. Just look up any major scene from the film (especially the final battle) to see what I mean. As an extra weird fun fact, this movie starred Renee Zellweger as the film’s protagonist and Matthew McConaughey as the TV-remote-controlled-leg-having antagonist before they were major movie stars.
JASON X
Jason X is one of the most baffling tonal shifts in any major horror franchise. What started as a relatively grounded slasher at Camp Crystal Lake somehow led to Captain America-esque cryogenic freezing, space travel, and a bizarre new “futuristic” look for Jason. The movie’s weirdness can actually be explained by its production history. Jason X simply served as a placeholder film to maintain the franchise rights while production on Freddy vs. Jason was still underway. Setting the film in the future also allowed it to not introduce any new plot holes into FVJ. Despite its (lack of) effort, Jason X still has a small but loyal cult following due to its overall visual style and change of pace from previous Friday the 13th entries.
LEPRECHAUN 4: IN SPACE
I think what makes Leprechaun 4 take the cake on this ranking is the concept of a shillelagh-wielding horror villain, which is already far-fetched. My previous article with Leprechaun Fun Facts does a great job showcasing this! Simply put, while Jason X is weird in the sense that it was a complete tonal shift, Leprechaun 4 is even weirder because the concept in its entirety is weird. With a stunningly low 3.6/10 on IMDB, the movie’s reputation certainly isn’t helping its case. If you would like to experience this fever dream of a film for yourself, it is readily available on Tubi for free.
These picks are only a few examples of horror franchises finding truly bizarre ways to continue their stories. While not every film listed here is a winner, they all represent fascinating points in time where their respective franchise took a weird turn (for better or for worse).
What do you think of these films? Are there any other weird horror sequels I missed? Let me know in the comments!
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