10 Horror Movie Sequels Better Than The Original (Including Black Phone 2)

Horror is a genre that thrives on sequels. It seems almost inevitable for a horror film to get a sequel or two, so much so that some fans were recently asking if a movie like "Sinners" — which feels pretty complete — would get a sequel or a spin-off at some point. While sequels are frequently inferior to the original film that preceded them, there are exceptions, especially when it comes to horror. This week, "Black Phone 2" hits theaters, bringing back Ethan Hawke as the masked serial killer known as the Grabber. The original "The Black Phone" was a big hit with relatively good reviews, but "Black Phone 2" might actually be a better film. With that in mind, let's take a look at some horror sequels that are better than the original.

Virtually everyone agrees that the first "Annabelle" movie was lousy. Folks also agree that the sequel/prequel "Annabelle: Creation" was a massive improvement, and I agree. But for my money, the best movie in the "Annabelle" franchise is "Annabelle Comes Home," which feels like a Halloween haunted house in movie form. In the film, ghosts and ghouls from the Warrens' artifact room full of cursed objects are unleashed and terrorize melancholy psychic daughter Judy (Mckenna Grace), her babysitter (Madison Iseman), and her babysitter's bestie (Katie Sarife), all because that damn doll Annabelle is a messy b**** who loves drama.

In 1931, monsters saved Universal Pictures. First "Dracula" and then "Frankenstein" both ended up being big hits for the studio, and producers quickly realized that there was plenty of demand for more gothic tales of terror — which meant sequels. While James Whale's original "Frankenstein" is a fine film with an iconic performance from Boris Karloff as the Monster, the sequel, 1935's "Bride of Frankenstein," is superior in every way. Free to seemingly do whatever he wanted, Whale embraced campiness for this follow-up, which sees the Monster seeking a mate (Elsa Lanchester), while the nefarious Doctor Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) lurks about causing mischief.

"The Black Phone" was pretty good, although the film frequently felt like it was cheating the "rules" it established for its supernatural goings-on. With "Black Phone 2," director Scott Derrickson gets creative, ramping up the style and borrowing heavily from "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Serial killer the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) may be dead, but that's not stopping him from trying to get revenge against Finney (Mason Thames), the kid that killed him. "Black Phone 2" improves on the first film by shifting the focus to Finney's sister Gwen, played wonderfully by Madeleine McGraw, who has psychic visions of the dream-killer lurking about a snowbound youth camp (youth camps are so traditionally places for summer fun that it's jarring to see one in the dead of winter). While there are some bumpy spots here and there (a teen girl named Mustang who talks like an old timey cowpoke sticks out like a sore thumb), "Black Phone 2" feels like a step up from the previous film.

The original "Child's Play" is a banger of a film, introducing Chucky the killer doll in all his glory. But the sequel, "Child's Play 2," is where things really begin to pop. Weirder, meaner, and featuring a killer climax in a deadly doll factory, "Child's Play 2" remains the best film in the entire franchise as Chucky once again kills anyone dumb enough to get in his way as he tries to put his evil soul in a new body.

All of the "Friday the 13th" films have their charms (yes, even "Jason Goes to Hell"!), but the series really came into its own with movie number 4, subtitled "The Final Chapter" (of course, it wasn't the final chapter, but that's okay). The now undead Jason Voorhees stalks about slaughtering horny teens yet again, but this film also gives him an unlikely nemesis: a little nerdy boy who makes monster masks, played by Corey Feldman. Bonus: Crispin Glover shows up and dances like a lunatic!

Rob Zombie's "Halloween" remake has its defenders, but I'm not one of them. Zombie's approach completely misunderstands what makes Michael Myers scary, giving his version of the character a tragic backstory. Zombie was also hampered by trying to recreate iconic moments from John Carpenter's classic. But with his sequel "Halloween II," the rocker turned filmmaker got to go completely wild, creating a new, original story about trauma, family, and Michael Myers flipping over cars. It still has its issues (Mr. Zombie is really bad at writing dialogue), but 2009's "Halloween II" is so wild and different that it earns its spot on this list. (Note: I'm specifically referring to the superior Director's Cut; skip the theatrical version.)

The first "Maniac Cop," in which a zombie police officer stalks around the dirty streets of New York City in the 1980s, is a blast. But "Maniac Cop 2" is a work of art. Director William Lustig and writer Larry Cohen take things to a whole new level, as the titular maniac cop gets his distinctive rotting, ghoulish face (he mostly just has a few unmemorable scars in the first movie) and wrecks havoc in Manhattan. Loaded with sleazy style and action, it's proof that even direct-to-video movies of the 1990s can be considered classics.

While the first "Ouija" movie made money at the box office, critics tore it apart and for good reason — it's bad! Credit where credit is due: when it came time to make a sequel, producer Jason Blum actually wanted to improve things so he brought in director Mike Flanagan, a guy who knows a thing or two about horror. The result was the surprisingly good and effective prequel "Ouija: Origin of Evil," in which a phony psychic starts using a ouija board with her clients in the 1960s. As you might guess, things go very wrong. Bonus: because this is a Flanagan production, many of his stock players show up, including Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, and of course, Flanagan's wife and frequent leading lady, Kate Siegel.

I'm pretty sure everyone has their own unique favorite "Saw" movie, since it's such a long-running, highly-successful franchise. As for me, though, I've never much cared for the "Saw" series. I've tried again and again to give these torture flicks a shot and come up disappointed each time. So it was a nice surprise when the latest film, the prequel "Saw X," turned out to be the best entry in the franchise. This gore-soaked story makes the wise choice of having John Kramer aka Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) the main character and default hero of the story, as he exacts revenge against a bunch of con artists who have been exploiting the terminally ill. It's a lot of fun to watch.

Damien Leone's "Terrifier" garnered plenty of attention due its graphic gore and its slasher villain, Art the Clown. But the film also received a heaping dose of criticism, with many saying it was little more than a storyless gorefest. When it came time to make a sequel, Leone decided to prove his critics wrong, making a bigger (and longer) movie with more character development and a memorable new final girl, Lauren LaVera's Sienna Shaw. The sequel is still loaded with gore but it's a much more ambitious endeavour that helped solidify Art's horror icon status.