12 Horror Movies That Definitely Deserved Sequels

Horror movie sequels are an industry of its own. Some have tons of them, like the “Saw” franchise, building an intricate web of lore that, even if it doesn’t always make sense, is fun to watch if you love the original film. Sometimes a sequel happens that the fanbase could do without or that isn’t really needed. Yet, more often than not, there’s one that deserves another installment, and it never happens.

There are plenty of top tier horror projects that fans of the genre would love to see sequels of and, even after decades, are still hoping for. The reasons are endless — whether it’s because the world is interesting and they want to be back in it, there are unanswered questions, or they simply just want more of the characters, monster, or setting. All are valid, even if they don’t always result in more content. These are the horror movies that still don’t have sequels, even though they deserve them, and it keeps us up at night.

What happens when a strange being can replicate the appearance of any life form? That’s what a group of Arctic researchers find out in “The Thing.” It means anyone could be the titular monster, so they can’t trust each other. There is a way to tell what shape the Thing is in, but it comes at the cost of paranoia and extreme measures. Who will survive? Will the Thing escape, and where did it come from?

John Carpenter’s “The Thing” is a film that leaves fans wanting more, but with the acknowledgement that it might be difficult to match the bar set by the original. There’s been a comic book series from Dark Horse Comics that serves as a sequel, and there’s been a prequel movie (also titled “The Thing”), but nothing that is a true second installment – though the director has ideas. There’s plenty of ways to continue the story, including others finding the researchers and the Thing, the Thing moving on to another content, or maybe even more Things appearing as they start to invade the planet.

Syfy was slotted to do a sequel miniseries in the early 2000s, which would’ve added a ton to the story. There was more background on the mysterious entity, and a time jump that took the Thing to a new continent and climate. Ultimately, it didn’t happen due to budget constraints, so fans are still waiting.

A university keeps a body frozen for decades to study it, but why? The body has alien slugs in it, of course! While trying to join a fraternity on their college campus to impress a girl, Chris (Jason Lively) and J.C. (Steve Marshall) accidentally thaw and release the body of a man who also happens to be host to alien slugs. As the slugs infect more people, those individuals become zombie-like, coming back from the dead and attacking anyone in their path.

“Night of the Creeps” is a great creature feature with plenty of room for exploration. The concept itself — alien slugs taking over bodies and multiplying — provides several directions for a continuation. The story could take place anywhere, so long as the slugs are there. More about where they originated from could be incorporated, if there were additional crash sites with the slugs like in the opening sequence of the movie, and what the end goal of the slugs is. They can take over any life, but what happens when they’ve done all of that? We don’t know, but we want to.

Sunglasses revealing that many humans, particularly those in positions of power, are actually aliens? That’s what plays out in “They Live.” Nada (Roddy Piper) ends up with these sunglasses, learning the world around him isn’t at all what he thought it was, and they are being fed a specific picture by the aliens in power. With the help of his new coworker Frank (Keith David), they let the rest of the world in on the secret.

While a “They Live” sequel may seem like an odd choice, especially given the ending, it makes a lot of sense. Though the film leans more sci-fi than horror, it’s effectively a movie about alien invasion. The aliens are trying to artificially modify Earth’s climate to better match their home planet, living in plain sight while they continue to gain more and more wealth and influence. A second one could look at the aftermath of the population finding out what’s going on, which could open up the possibility for the aliens to be more sinister and volatile as their control falters and their propaganda no longer makes an impact.

The crew of “Event Horizon” finds out exactly what’s lurking on a spaceship that went missing on its first journey. It turns up years later, but it’s not empty. There’s evidence of something sinister, and they only discover what after they move into the ship when their own is damaged. The team experiences hallucinations, finds odd video logs, and ultimately decides that they, and the crew before them, are experiencing something paranormal that hitched a ride along the way.

“Event Horizon” is an interesting play on space horror, relying on the unknown rather than immediately attributing it to an otherworldly being. This presents several opportunities for continuing the story. Because it ends with the main characters being found by another team, the sequel could fall into a loop, watching them save the crew we got to know in the original film. However, because the cause of everything is never established, just that it seems to be an unseen force, they could attempt to identify it.

There was talks of a sequel at some point, with director Paul W.S. Anderson confirming that they were exploring ideas for both a sequel and prequel during a Q&A in 2011. As of 2020, he said he doesn’t have an interest in making another, telling ComicBook.com that he “didn’t want to go back to the same world and ruin it for anybody.”

While many know director Bong Joon Ho for 2019’s “Parasite,” “The Host” is a must watch. The movie follows a man who is taken by a large aquatic monster in the Han River, separating him from his daughter. While he makes it out alive, he’s in quarantine because they say he might have a virus from the monster. He doesn’t know where his daughter is, and when he hears from her, she claims she’s in the sewers alongside the creature.

“The Host” has so much lore it can build on in a sequel. There is seemingly no one fighting against the monster, like there’s an agreement to just let it live in the sewers. The ending of the movie feels final, but is that really all it took to kill it? It’s a result of strange mutations from chemical waste and has survived worse. Could it really be the only one? The chemicals went straight into the river, so realistically, they could’ve caused anything living there to mutate, opening up a whole world of monsters to cause problems.

With its success during its initial release, a 3D sequel was in development, but it never came to fruition. Like many popular Korean and Japanese horror films, there were also plans for an American remake, but that never made it to production either.

“Trick ‘r Treat” takes place on Halloween night, with four different stories connected through a single entity: a short demon with a burlap sack over his head, known affectionately as Sam. He has button eyes like Coraline and carries a lollipop with a bite taken out of it. He’s there to make sure you follow the traditions of Halloween. If you don’t, anything could happen — but it’s usually death of some nature.

The premise provides the perfect formula for a franchise following Sam, especially since he’s a significant part of what gives the film a cult following. He continues to appear, making sure people are following Halloween traditions, upping the ante. The traditions start simple, like going trick-or-treating, but maybe they change over time, modernizing as events like trunk-or-treats become more popular. Maybe Sam is upset about that and tries to get everyone back on track.

While director Michael Dougherty originally planned a sequel, it has been through some ups and downs. He left the door open to the possibility of one. “It would be great to do, maybe some day we’ll get to it,” Dougherty told Bloody Disgusting in 2012. “Every year I think about it a little more, obviously.” As of 2023, there is a script, with Dougherty confirming it was in development, but nothing’s been released.

Christine (Alison Lohman) becomes cursed after denying an old woman an extension on her mortgage in “Drag Me to Hell.” She has three days before the dark spirit terrorizing her actually drags her to Hell, not giving her much time to undo it. Though Christine does her best to remedy her situation, including going grave digging, it’s in vain when she makes an error.

“Drag Me to Hell” is a movie that needs a sequel. An important part of the ending is Christine’s boyfriend Clay (Justin Long), who is about to propose, seeing what happens to her. Another film could explore what happens to the curse in that moment. Does it pass to him? Does he try to save the next person so they don’t have to go through what he did? Justin Long is a scream king, and him starring in it would make for a great watch.

In 2023, director Sam Raimi confirmed that there were talks of second installment. While participating in a Reddit AMA to promote the Adam Driver-led “65,” he responded to a fan asking about the possibility with some good news. “The team at Ghost House Pictures[,] Romel Adam and Jose Canas, are trying to come up with a story that would work and I’m anxious to hear if they do,” he wrote. There has yet to be any additional news.

A small town is overrun by something biological that turns them all into murderers in “The Crazies.” The government begins to intervene, quarantining people to try and prevent it from spreading, but their efforts are unsuccessful. Those who are infected are continually able to overpower their forces, pushing them back and essentially gaining ground, despite the efforts from the authorities.

The 2010 version is a remake of the 1973 film, neither of which have sequels. Despite being a financial success, earning $54 million at the box office against a $20 million budget, there were no talks of another. While “The Crazies” tells audiences what is causing the infection, outlining the how, what, and why, that’s not what a second movie could focus on. We see what happens in the small town, but what about when it spreads throughout the world? Does something like “The Stand” happen, where there are some people naturally immune? Or does it become a wasteland, with random pockets of survivors like “The Walking Dead”? The options are endless.

“Oculus” follows Kaylie (Karen Gillan), a young woman trying to figure out what happened to her family over a decade before. Her younger brother, Tim (Brenton Thwaites), was sentenced to time in a psychiatric hospital after the death of their parents when they were kids. Everything centers around a strange, antique mirror that manipulates reality, and Kaylie has spent her adult life trying to track it down, learn more about it, and destroy it before it can hurt anyone else.

The movie is written and directed by Mike Flanagan, who is now known for Netflix series like “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Midnight Mass.” Effectively, “Oculus” has become a forgotten part of his filmography, when it’s arguably one of his best, most memorable projects. That said, there are plenty of directions for a sequel, mostly including the mirror ending up in a new home. Lore could continue to build, and more of the mirror’s power could come to light. Maybe the new owners even realize what was happening to Tim and Kaylie and try to pick up where they left off. The possibilities are endless, and it’s still surprising that a second “Oculus” never happened.

Americans working abroad are in for the worst work day of their life in “The Belko Experiment.” Once arriving at work, they are told by a disembodied voice to start killing people. If they don’t follow these instructions, double the individuals are killed remotely by whoever is running the show, thanks to mandatory chips in every employee’s head.

A “Belko Experiment” sequel has the same potential that additional seasons of “Squid Game” did, giving us a character with the ability and drive to burn everything to the ground. The film literally ends saying that this was only the first stage. What is Stage 2? What happens next for Mike? Is it like the survivors of “Escape Room,” who are now on a list of people that need to be disposed of? Could he infiltrate the operation and put an end to it? Any of these stories would make for an awesome sequel.

As of 2018, there were no plans for another, but that could always change. Sean Gunn, who appears in the project as Marty and is the brother of the film’s writer James Gunn, shared what he knew with Screen Geek. “I don’t know. The movie was, I guess, a little bit of a success, but it’s always hard to guess that sort of thing,” the actor said. “As of now, there are no plans that I know of, but we sure had a lot of fun doing that.”

Cults, hospitals, and monsters are all center stage in 2016’s “The Void.” Dr. Richard Powell (Kenneth Welsh) is a cult leader defying the odds, able to survive death. He sought out this ability after his daughter died. Part of what he’s tapped into is a monster with tentacles, taking residence in people’s bodies. Of course, everything is rooted in entities that aren’t from modern times, and the doctor can communicate with them.

“The Void” ends with a ton of questions. What happened to Dr. Powell and the sheriff after they fall into the titular void? Can the former continue to come back from the dead, using the tentacle creature to bring other people back from the dead? Who was he actually communicating with, and was he just a tool for a more sinister entity? It’s implied that the sheriff may have passed through the liminal space of the void into the afterlife, but we don’t know for sure. A sequel could answer some of these, though it probably shouldn’t try to tackle all of them.

Who are the strange doppelgängers in the driveway, and what do they want? That’s what 2019’s “Us” explores. Addy (Lupita Nyong’o), Gabe (Winston Duke), and their children are on vacation when things start to go wrong. Their doubles break into the house after ominously appearing out front, trying to “untether” themselves by killing their counterparts. It’s happening across the country, and it’s difficult to escape from someone who is almost exactly like you in every way.

Jordan Peele’s second horror film sets up the perfect avenue for a sequel: what happens next for Adelaide? After the shocking revelation at the end of the movie, anything is possible. Does she find others like herself? Do the Tethered take more control over the country? The commentary, in particular, can really go in any direction, building on what’s presented in “Us” without becoming a derivative or unnecessary sequel. It could even take place on the same night as the original film, but follow a different family on the other side of the country. As long as Peele is writing it, another entry in the “Us” universe could bring so much to the table.