Since there has been horror, there has been horror sequels. One of the most beautifully twisted quirks of the genre is how often these independent, shoe-string flights of fancy suddenly turn into money-printing franchises. Halloween. Friday the 13th. A Nightmare on Elm Street. Horror is built on the backs of nightmares that were only supposed to last a single night and ended up stretching across decades. Just by the law of averages, this has resulted in plenty of…less than stellar films. Even the most diehard among us can admit that horror is littered with a vast selection of subpar sequels, reboots, reimaginings, and every story extension in-between. And yet! It’s also a wonderfully deep landscape filled with diamonds in the rough for those willing to dig.
Below, we take a trip through 20 horror franchises and highlight the times that, against all odds, spooky lightning struck twice.
