Horror sequels are a mixed bag. The court of public opinion typically looks down on them as cash grabs – and they often are – but no sequel announcement meets such immediate disdain as those in the horror genre. And yet, we still watch them. The cheap thrill of Killer Smurfs from Hell draws both haters and excited genre junkies alike, and the vicious cycle of sub-par spooks continues. Don’t get me wrong, fast food is cheap and can hit the spot when you’re hangry, but sometimes we’re craving more sustenance than the dollar menu can provide. Perhaps a second course Hannibal Lecter would serve.
Some seek to break the wheel of mediocrity and expand the menu, reinventing or delving deeper into their original creations. One such instance of a transformative second outing, a film I admittedly overlooked due to these assumptions and expectations, is Mike Flanagan’s Ouija: Origin of Evil. As a prequel to 2014’s singularly titled Ouija, a darkly lit slow burn into dust based on the popular sleepover “boardgame” of the same name, it did the impossible: It was a great successor to a bad movie! How could this be? We’ve all been in or around debates regarding sequels that are as good or better than the original, but if the foundation is already rotten, could they possibly craft something better to stand in its place? The answer was to burn the whole thing down and start from scratch. The Hasbro tie-in made Universal money, so a follow-up was inevitable, but surprisingly one of those ravenous studio suits decided to do something right for a change.
Before we take a closer look at this modern-day miracle, let’s have some fun and get into sequel taxonomy. One of the key elements of horror is suspense, and a great sequel cannot simply be more of the same. We’ve seen the scares, we know the twists – something has to change. After pondering some genre standouts, I’ve come up with six categories of notable shriekquels.
Bigger is Better: James Cameron couldn’t have said it any other way when he wrote “Alien$” on a whiteboard in a room full of studio executives. Bombastic sequels aren’t always the answer. They can be quite the problem. Yet, when in the capable hands of a filmmaker such as Cameron, explosions, and gunfire can be a good thing. A claustrophobic classic like Alien evolved into a terrifying study on what happens when one horrific creature becomes an entire hive, and a new classic was born. Other dazzling spectacles that upped the ante include 28 Weeks Later, Dawn of the Dead, and Final Destination 2.
Less is More: In what is essentially the opposite trajectory of the Alien franchise, 10 Cloverfield Lane is so good it demands its own category. Indirectly related to the mysterious alien invasion hit Cloverfield, it tells an intimate and intense story of a woman attempting to survive her captor in a bunker during a perceived earth-altering event. To transition from apocalyptic creature feature to psychological thriller was a gamble, but it more than paid off.
Tonal Change-Up: A unique approach to a sequel (and my favorite) is when filmmakers decide to throw caution to the wind and alter the entire tone of a film. The Bride of Frankenstein experimented with mixing comedy and horror way back in 1935 to great success, and Evil Dead 2 continued that trend fifty-two years later. Introducing us to Bruce Campbell’s comedic talents, this sequel created a farcical remake that would permanently alter the franchise. Bride of Chucky followed suit in 1998, and each has spawned beloved television series that marries dark comedy with horror. The tonal change-up can apply beyond humor, too, as we saw when Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects went on the lamb and transformed his House of 1000 Corpses into a sadistic road movie.
Generational: A more recent trend, franchises like Halloween and Scream have risen from the dead in 2018 and 2022 respectively. They’ve combined legacy characters with fresh young casts, modern technology, and new blood spills while we get to spend some time with our faves again. These films have their critics, but I love a good comeback. Doctor Sleep, Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining, was also committed to film in 2019. A genuine surprise, it tells the arresting tale of an adult Danny Torrance battling a clan of psychic vampires led by the bewitching Rebecca Ferguson. It sounds silly, but damn, does it work.
Sequel Satire: The big gun here is Scream 2. It doesn’t alter the slasher formula, but takes the bigger is better approach with thrilling chase scenes and shocking deaths, while simultaneously throwing everything you think you know about horror sequels back at you. It may follow the same format as the original, but its knowing winks to what it means to be a sequel, especially a slasher, holds Scream 2 in a league of its own. The time loop slasher Happy Death Day 2U takes this approach one step further, thrusting protagonist Tree into an alternate dimension where her death loop persists, but the killer and her reality have shifted. It’s strangely familiar, yet entirely distinct, and keeps Tree and the audience guessing.
Expansion Pack: If run-of-the-mill horror sequels are known for anything, it’s an absolute disregard for plot and character development. Every so often, a sequel arrives that continues the original story in a captivating and insightful way. Insidious II picks up immediately where the first leaves off, weaving a dark tale of a family marked by those beyond the veil that is fascinating to watch. Hellraiser II similarly takes us to Hell and expands on its twisted lore, and Paranormal Activity 3 travels back to the 1980s to reveal a sinister origin story of its own. Finally, we come to Ouija: Origin of Evil, a prequel set in 1967 that forgoes the typical dead teenager body count for a more personal story of a struggling family’s inner demons that just so happens to include some actual specters, too.
When Origin of Evil was released in 2014, Mike Flanagan wasn’t the household name he is today. He had some smaller, well-loved films like Hush and Oculus under his belt, but this marked his first excursion into larger studio fare. After having read some interviews with him surrounding the film’s release, it’s clear he was hesitant to accept the job, as he most likely groaned at the thought of a sequel to Ouija just as many of us did. It’s unclear, however, why Universal decided to take the success of the original and craft something of quality as a follow-up. It’s easy money, but perhaps one of the producers felt burned after checking out some Letterboxd reviews.
Anyone familiar with his work knows Flanagan’s specialty is that of tragic family portraits met with the supernatural, so aside from the necessary inclusions of an ouija board and some light ties to the original, he was able to write and direct a true Mike Flanagan feature. It invites us into the world of struggling faux medium Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) following the death of her husband. She spends her days with her two daughters, Lina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson), scamming nice folks out of their money through elaborate seances and spiritual readings. To spice things up, Alice introduces a Ouija board to the mix. Young Doris takes an interest while attempting to contact her late father, and something otherworldly takes hold of her.
The differences between the prequel and the original are immediate. The 2014 film is a bare-bones mystery involving a teen’s supposed suicide that is – you guessed it – actually the work of a spirit she contacted via her Ouija board. It is dark and lifeless, and the plot primarily involves everyone being confused until Lin Shaye shows up two-thirds in and provides some much-needed exposition. Characters are unceremoniously killed without anyone batting an eye, and the climax concludes just as you’d expect from an early 2010s supernatural mystery. Origin has character. The attention to detail in its 1960s setting is immersive, down to the old-school Universal logo showing up at the film’s opening and digital cue marks dispersed throughout to give it that authentic feel.
And the scares? Plentiful! When the family first discovers the Ouija board’s properties, the film takes on an almost Spielbergian sense of wonder. Though this camaraderie is short-lived, it helps us grow attached to the characters, and when things ultimately take a dark turn, it’s all the more upsetting. Lulu Wilson is a wonder herself, embodying a child gradually being taken over by an evil entity in a way that not many could turn out at that age. She becomes cold and calculated, uttering unholy whispers into the ears of her loved ones, and even takes part in a jaw-dropping moment of CGI body horror that isn’t something you’ll soon forget. There are an appropriate amount of jump scares and spooky imagery, and it’s not much of a spoiler to suggest things end in tragedy for this family. It’s a far cry from the 2014 Ouija, which offs characters we barely know in quick succession and includes only a single notable spooky moment.
Suffice it to say, choosing the “Expansion Pack” route for a sequel and hiring an auteur of Flanagan’s caliber proved wise. The studio managed to turn a Fillet-o-Fish into a filet mignon paired with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. We all enjoy kicking back with a Friday the 13th sequel now and again – it’s almost like comfort food – and I genuinely mean no disrespect toward your B-movie favorites. They’re great fun and a necessary pillar of the genre, but sometimes it’s nice to be challenged by horror. Or, at the very least, kept guessing. You can only go in blind to a franchise once if every sequel is more of the same, and eventually, the magic is lost. Whether it’s a total tonal change-up, a salacious satire, or one of the elusive sequels that go smaller and more concise, I welcome change in the horror genre and hope filmmakers continue to embrace it, too.