Casey Chong looks at seven of the best horror threequels…
Horror franchises tend to be erratic even for iconic ones like Halloween and Friday the 13th. The first film is often seen as a high point that’s hard to top, let alone replicate in the subsequent follow-ups (i.e. John Carpenter’s Halloween and Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street). But that doesn’t mean all follow-ups are inferior as there are certainly worthwhile entries and here we’ll be talking about the best threequels (that would be the third film in the series) as we celebrate the arrival of Terrifier 3. Check out our picks below…
Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
Steve Miner, who previously directed Friday the 13th Part 2, returns for the second time in this immediate follow-up. Likewise, in keeping the tradition of Friday the 13th franchise, it’s all about the trifecta of must-have elements: gratuitous violence, sex & nudity and creative kills. Miner fulfills them, showcasing his directorial flair for building up dread and tension for the first 15 minutes alone, detailing the death of a middle-aged couple.
Friday the 13th Part III introduces a new group of teenagers and that means fresh meat for Jason Voorhees’ continuous killing spree. There are a few good kills, even going overboard and more so if you manage to watch this in 3D in cinemas back in the day or the Blu-ray Deluxe Edition. The most memorable kill? That would be the scene where Jason squeezes one of his victims’ temples so hard his eyeballs popped out of the socket (!)
Miner also slapped in some goofy elements, courtesy of Larry Zerner’s (Shelly Finkelstein) comic-relief character who loves to prank one of his friends, Vera (Catherine Parks). Not to forget, the pivotal moment where Jason finally ditches the burlap sack in favor of Larry’s hockey mask covering his disfigured face. Friday the 13th Part III also benefits from Harry Manfredini and Michael Zager’s riveting Jaws-like score.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
A Halloween movie without the iconic Michael Myers? Or even connected to Laurie Strode? That’s blasphemy to the franchise, especially given the establishment of the first two movies. Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, Halloween III: Season of the Witch totally subverts fans and audiences’ expectations at the time with a completely different story. It was more of a standalone entry, detailing the Twilight Zone-style plot of a mad owner of the Silver Shamrock Novelties company Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy, who would appear in RoboCop five years later) plotting to brainwash every child in America with microchips implanted in his rubber Halloween masks.
Upon the first viewing at the time, it sure feels like the franchise had betrayed its fans. Still, subsequent reassessments proved otherwise, beginning with Dan O’Herlihy’s creepy antagonist turn as the diabolical Conal Cochran. The combined elements of witchcraft and black magic with a dash of sci-fi works well in Wallace’s intended direction and storytelling favor, resulting in an eerie and macabre horror explores the dark sides of capitalism and consumerism.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
After the less-than-stellar 1985 sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors marks a return to form for the franchise. Of course, the 1984 original remains unsurpassed but the third entry is no slouch either. Then-rookie director Chuck Russell may have been a newcomer in his debut feature but he shows plenty of creativity in visual effects and set pieces.
From the giant, slimy slug-like Freddy (Robert Englund) storming out of a carpeted floor trying to swallow Kristen Parker’s (Patricia Arquette, whose screams tend to sound deafening) whole to Freddy controlling Phillip Anderson’s (Bradley Gregg) exposed veins like a marionette doll, the movie packs with lots of iconic funhouse-type horror moments. Personally, the best one goes to Jennifer Caulfield’s (Penelope Sudrow) brutal death after Freddy’s head emerges from the top of a wall-mounted TV, complete with mechanical arms protruding on both sides before thrusting her head through the screen. That scene alone effectively combines the macabre horror and pitch-black, tongue-in-cheek humor (“This is it, Jennifer. Your big break in TV. Welcome to prime time, bitch!”).
The story, which predominantly takes place in the confines of a psychiatric hospital, allows Russell to turn the setting into a visual playground. The third entry even brings back two of the original stars, Heather Lagenkamp’s Nancy Thompson, and John Saxon’s Officer Donald Thompson. Their returns could have easily succumbed to mere fan service, especially under the hands of a lesser director. But Russell, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Wes Craven, justifies their appearances that proved to be integral to the story.
The Exorcist III (1990)
The laughably absurd Exorcist II: The Heretic sure felt like a final nail in the coffin, resulting in one of the worst sequels – horror or not – ever made. William Peter Blatty, the author himself whose 1971 book The Exorcist became the source of William Friedkin’s inspiration, returns for The Exorcist III. Only this time, he served as both screenwriter and director adapted from his own Legion novel. It marks his second and final feature film after the underrated genre-bending existential drama The Ninth Configuration ten years prior, Blatty opts for the slow-burn dread, favoring methodical direction in telling his story of a police lieutenant (a perfectly grizzled George C. Scott) investigating a series of Gemini Killer-style murders.
The Exorcist III features the return of Jason Miller’s Father Karras from the first movie and Brad Dourif’s creepy supporting turn while Blatty stages some genuine scares (the creepy old woman crawling on the ceiling above George C. Scott’s Lt. William F. Kinderman comes to mind). Then, there’s the elaborate hospital scene where Blatty skillfully incorporates static shots, long takes and the power of silence which ends with one of the best jump scares ever seen in a horror movie.
Army of Darkness (1992)
Sam Raimi’s first two Evil Dead movies resulted in memorable horror classics, thanks to the director’s unique blend of over-the-top violence and dark humor. His Evil Dead II was particularly a step-up to the already-genre-defining original and the anticipation was high for the third movie, especially after its promising finale in the sequel.
But Army of Darkness is somewhat of an anomaly as Raimi diverts from the previous movies’ single-location setting (the remote cabin, that is) to a… Medieval-era fantasy-comedy-horror hybrid. The third entry even significantly toned down the extreme gore and violence that defined the first two movies.
And yet, Raimi’s radical change of direction manages to work like a charm. He successfully infuses slapstick horror and Three Stooges-like comedy while the Ray Harryhausen-style fantasy elements, particularly the appearance of a reanimated skeleton army packed with enough outrageous fun and quirky moments. Then, there’s Bruce Campell with his go-for-broke Ash character delivers one of his most entertaining and funniest performances to date, complete with endlessly quotable dialogues (“Shop smart. Shop S-Mart! You got that?”).
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
Don Coscarelli, the man behind the innovative Phantasm back in 1979 was renowned for the imposingly lanky Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man, the flying silver sphere capable of drilling its victim’s brain, and the fever-dream storytelling that inspired many movies, notably Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street.
But the 1988 sequel was surprisingly dull and laborious and thankfully, Coscarelli returns with a vengeance in Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead. The third entry has Angus Scrimm reprising his iconic role and remains as formidable as ever while Coscarelli packs his movie with offbeat characters, notably the horny Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and Rambo-style Rocky (Gloria Lynne Henry), resulting in some comedic and entertaining chemistry between the two. Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead amps up the wickedly fun horror vibes with some creative gore effects and even a spectacular stunt work revolving around a hearse crash.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
The found-footage horror subgenre may have been overplayed by the time Paranormal Activity 3 arrived in cinemas in 2011. But Catfish co-directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman manage to find fresh angles in reanimating the franchise by letting loose a little rather than sticking to the first two movies’ formulaic structure. They add comic relief within the franchise’s familiar false-alarm jump scares and some creative moments, notably the fan-mounted camera. It was an ingenious move since the oscillating fan allows the camera to pan left and right and vice versa, making you wonder if there’s something sinister about to happen or make you jump.
Paranormal Activity 3 also features some remarkably tension-filled moments during the second half of the movie from the Bloody Mary game in the bathroom to the Poltergeist-inspired kitchen set piece.
What are your favourite horror threequels? Let us know on our socials @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
