Top Horror Sequels Worth Watching This Halloween
Terrifier 2, Evil Dead II, and Final Destination: see which horror sequels made the biggest impact worldwide.
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As Halloween time draws nearer, a fresh evaluation employing VegasInsider's supercomputer has spotted the most triumphant horror sequels, prequels, and spin-offs throughout history. 370 movies from over 70 franchises were researched as part of the study.
The most successful five continuations of the horror genre were: Evil Dead II (1987), 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), Terrifier 2 (2022), Terrifier 3 (2024), and Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025). At least four of the main categories were captured by each of these sequels in comparison to their predecessors.
While, Evil Dead II crossed Evil Dead (1981), 10 Cloverfield Lane won over Cloverfield (2008) in the fields of critical acclaim and ROI. The Terrifier franchise also displayed unbelievable expansion: the audience and financial ratings of Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3 were much better than that of the 2016 original, hence, their growth was much more than that of the original film. Moreover, Final Destination: Bloodlines not only managed to earn double the total gross of the 2000 release but also got higher critical ratings.
The highest earners when it comes to worldwide box office revenues were It (2017) at $704 million, It Chapter Two (2019) at $473 million, The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) at $459 million, Prometheus (2012) at $403 million, and The Nun (2018) at $366 million. In particular, the movie Prometheus is the highest-grossing horror prequel ever.
Critical Favorites
Creep 2 (2017) and Slumber Party Massacre (2021) both received 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Aliens (1986), Prey (2022), and The Fly (1986) ranked the highest in the remaining three positions. Additionally, Aliens was awarded the highest rating on Metacritic with a score of 84, followed by The Fly, 28 Weeks Later, 28 Years Later (2025), and Pearl (2022). Jaws: The Revenge (1987), on the other hand, was most severely criticized, with Rotten Tomatoes going from 97% to 2% between the original and the sequel.
Aliens (8.4), Dawn of the Dead (7.8), and Evil Dead II (7.7) earned the highest marks from the audience. The Terrifier series continued its success with successive releases: the debut film was rated 5.6/10, followed by Terrifier 2 with 6.1 and Terrifier 3 with 6.7. Jaws: The Revenge had the steepest descent, falling from 8.1 for the original to 3/10.
