The horror genre is more complex and detailed than film buffs credit it for. Horror blends itself with other movie genres such as thriller, mystery, sci-fi, and comedy in ways that other genres do not. It can be daunting enough to combine two different genres together to create a cohesive narrative, but horror does it on a consistent basis. Unlike other genres, horror also has numerous subgenres that allow for compelling and frightening stories to be told.
Slasher, paranormal, supernatural, religious, and even the classic monster movie give the horror genre the opportunity to produce a variety of stories for horror fans to enjoy. The horror genre has given moviegoers some of the most unforgettable moments in cinema and some of the most intriguing stories to hear.
Horror is one of the most creative genres of film. However, there have been times when that creativity has proven to not be effective in the way it was intended. Since the genre seemingly has no limitations, it doesn't always work out in a film's favor.
Too many sequels to horror films have taken the narrative to ridiculous places that tarnish any credibility or legacy that the other films in a series previously had. There are unfortunately many examples of sequels to horror movies that have gone wrong, but let's take a look at ten horror sequels that completely jumped the shark:
10 A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
The first installment of Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street series was entertaining in every way a horror movie can be. It had gore, scares, and an intriguing concept that probably left many people up at night. The series is a favorite among many horror fans, and some of the sequels are genuinely great. Unfortunately, a lot of them are not. The series really goes off the rails in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. It involves a convoluted storyline where Freddy impregnates one of his victims and uses the unborn child as a vessel for his resurrection. Using an unborn baby as his weapon of choice is an utterly bizarre move that turned a once intimidating villain into a cringe-worthy nightmare (pun intended).
9 Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
The Gremlins movies are horror comedies that definitely lean more toward comedy than horror. The first movie is a satirical statement on consumerism that entertained audiences with its adorable fluffy creatures and murderous green monsters. Gremlins 2: The New Batch continues with the original statement on consumerism and corporate cash grabs, but takes levels of camp up a notch too high, which dilutes the effectiveness of the satire displayed in the first movie. It's definitely amusing, but serum-drinking Gremlins that mutate into essentially super-powered Gremlins is perhaps going a bit too far for a movie that is already about chaotic green creatures.
8 Halloween Kills (2021)
David Gordon Green's Halloween requel trilogy is actually far better than people give it credit for. Halloween Ends is a divisive film in the franchise as some fans believe it sidelined Laurie and Michael, but it was actually a sensible ending for their story and for the trilogy as a whole. Nevertheless, Halloween Kills jumped the shark a few times in its 105-minute runtime. First, Michael escapes Laurie's house which went up in flames at the end of Halloween and walked out of the burning structure like it's nothing. He then proceeds to murder each and every firefighter there with ease.
Toward the end of the movie, the townspeople of Haddonfield form an angry mob to end Michael once and for all. The townspeople brutally attack him, even stabbing him in the back with a pitchfork. Somehow, Michael gets up and destroys the entire mob of vengeful townsfolk without so much as a wince. It's an absolutely absurd moment that unfortunately aligns with other Halloween sequels that this trilogy was supposed to retcon.
7 Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995)
Tobe Hooper's original 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was incredibly influential to the horror genre and was one of the films responsible for the rise of slasher movies in the late '70s and throughout the '80s. There have been various sequels and remakes made in the nearly 50 years since the original was released, none of which have been able to live up to the glory of the first. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is possibly the worst of all of them.
The movie attempted to redirect the tone of the franchise by adding more comedic elements and a gender-swapped version of Leatherface. It also gave indications that the Sawyer family had ties to the Illuminati, which is an understandably difficult angle to build upon when making a franchise. Not even young Matthew McConaughey and Renée Zellweger could save this one.
6 Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
If you thought that Jaws 3D was the worst that the Jaws series could produce, then you are sorely mistaken. Jaws: The Revenge jumped the shark and landed in a vat of toxic waste. The movie has a comical Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 0% and a 15% audience score. To say the movie is bad is an understatement. The shark attack scenes which were once tension-filled offer no suspense or even a hint of fear. The shark that attacked Sean Brody followed his mother Ellen from Amity all the way to Nassau in the Bahamas, which is 1,200 miles away. Not only did it swim 1,200 miles to follow her, it knew exactly where she would be. Jaws: The Revenge had a few other poorly executed ideas that bring shame to Steven Spielberg's classic summer blockbuster.
5 Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
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Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is proof that the franchise should have stopped adding entries after the mess that the fifth installment was. This time around, Freddy Krueger has finally rid his hometown of all children and seeks to move on to new territory. So, he recruits the aid of his previously unmentioned daughter, but she discovers the demonic origins of her father's abilities and meets her dad head-on in one last showdown. It's revealed that Freddy's powers were bestowed upon him by dream demons, which diminishes any of the mystery surrounding the once sinister character.
By this point in the franchise, Freddy had gone from a terrifying child murderer to an unserious prankster who enjoyed delivering bad one-liners before offing his victim. The movie was released when 3D was all the rage for major theatrical releases, so it featured an odd 3D final showdown that blended in with the regular 2D scenes of the film and ultimately added nothing to the narrative.
4 Psycho IV (1990)
30 years after Alfred Hitchcock's horror masterpiece Psycho wowed audiences and left its mark on the film industry, three sequels had been made to the iconic film. The fourth installment was a straight-to-television release, which is indicative of how this film would be perceived. Norman Bates recounts his complicated history with his abusive mother on a call-in radio show whose topic of the night is matricide. He's worried that he might kill again and that his unborn child may inherit his less desirable personality traits. Anything that made the original scary or anxiety-inducing is gone in Psycho IV. The only redeeming qualities are the return of Anthony Perkins and Olivia Hussey playing his unhinged mother.
3 Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996)
If the title alone is not enough to indicate that this horror sequel went completely off the tracks, this explanation will make it painfully obvious. Leprechaun 4: In Space sees the titular character on a distant planet on a mission to win the affection of a space princess named Zarina by kidnapping her. At some point, Leprechaun is blown up and subsequently brought back to life by being urinated on and traveling through the stream of urine. The Leprechaun movies were always campy, ridiculous horror comedies that focused on absurd plot points rather than genuine horror, but the fourth installment jumps several sharks and just keeps going.
2 Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
As mentioned before, there are quite a few entries in the Halloween franchise that miss the mark in terms of storytelling. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers gives The Shape a backstory that no one asked for. Michael is affiliated with the Cult of Thorn, who have both protected him and given him the Curse of Thorn, which is what caused him to kill his whole family. The movie starts off with Michael and Jamie Lloyd abducted by The Man in Black, another affiliate of this cult.
Michael is once again out for blood, but this time he's after Jamie's son and the rest of the Strode family, who thought it would be a good idea to move into the Myers' old house. The absence of Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode combined with the addition of a Druid-like cult left a bad taste in fans' mouths, causing Halloween H20: 20 Years Later to completely abandon any mention of Jamie Lloyd or her surrounding storyline. The addition of mythology surrounding a cult and transforming an iconic slasher killer whose story is effective, because it's simple, into a mystic being tarnishes the legacy of a beloved horror franchise.
1 Jason X (2001)
Perhaps the epitome of jumping the shark, Jason X sees Jason Voorhees cryogenically frozen at the beginning of the 21st century. He is rediscovered in the 25th century and taken to space by a crew of astronauts. Once he is thawed out, he begins his reign of terror once again by picking off each crew member. The movie takes place in a time when Earth is uninhabitable, so the human population has relocated to a planet called Earth II and Jason is one of the few original Earth members left. Since this story takes place centuries into the future, Jason is upgraded to Uber Jason at some point during his killing rampage. It's bewildering to think that this franchise started out at a summer camp in 1980 and somehow ended up in space during the 25th century. It went from a simple teen slasher to a weird sci-fi murder spree.
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