Sony Pictures will release the highly-anticipated Insidious: The Red Door this Friday, which sees the cult horror franchise’s original cast back for what is envisaged to be the final chapter in the Lambert family’s saga of unimaginable horrors.
Directed by the saga’s very own Patrick Wilson, with a screenplay written by Scott Teems from a story by Leigh Whannell, and starring Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Hiam Abbass, Sinclair Daniel, Andrew Astor and Rose Byrne, The Red Door chronicles how, in order to put their demons to rest once and for all, Josh (Wilson) and a college-aged Dalton (Simpkins) must go deeper into The Further than ever before, facing their family’s dark past and a host of new and more horrifying terrors that lurk behind the red door.
To celebrate Insidious: The Red Door arriving this Friday 7 July, CinemaChords thought it would be just the right time to look back on some of the best horror sequels of recent years.
Take a look at our list of the Top 5 Horror Sequels of the 2000s and decide whether you agree with the choices. If you don’t, tough.
1) Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Packing enough punch, blood and scares to please the most devoted of zombie fans, Dawn of the Dead may be a sequel remake, but it is a worthy one at that. It’s as gory and tense as they come and boy, those zombies can run! The shopping mall setting is perfect for creating a feeling of claustrophobia and inability to escape, yet, allows enough space for some nail-biting chase scenes. It definitely doesn’t hold back and that’s why Dawn of the Dead remains to be the best horror sequel almost a decade after its release.
2) 28 Weeks Later (2007)
Danny Boyle was behind one of the greatest horror films ever back in 2002 with 28 Days Later. However, an extremely enjoyable and frightening sequel was released 5 years later that was set 28 weeks after the events of its predecessor. It may not have been quite as effective as 28 Days Later and that was to be expected, but Juan Carlos Fresnadillo did a great job at picking up where Danny Boyle left off. It’s bloody, scary and has plenty of moments that will leave you covering your eyes and on the edge of your seats; when are we going to see 28 Months Later I wonder…
3) The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
Rob Zombie is one of those directors you either love or you hate. I love him; his visual style is remarkable and the characters he creates are brilliant. The Devil’s Rejects is the follow-up to House of 1000 Corpses and continues the story of the serial killing Firefly family who are on the run from the police. It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek; we know what we’re seeing isn’t meant to be taken too seriously, but that’s why it works so well. The film is equally as shocking as it is comedic and is a perfect sequel, if you’re a Zombie fan that is.
4) The Descent: Part 2 (2009)
The Descent was a brilliantly terrifying and suffocating viewing experience released in 2004 and 2009 saw the arrival of the film’s sequel. It may have lacked the originality of the original, but The Descent: Part 2 was still pretty horrifying. Not many things are scarier than being trapped in underground caves, but if you throw some mutated creatures into the mix, you’re going to get something unbelievably chilling. Why anyone would want to venture back in to those caves is beyond me, but that is what Sarah has to do when no one believes her story of cave-dwelling beasties. It’s a film filled with suspense and horrible deaths, but it does suffer from its similarity to The Descent and, at times, ridiculousness.
5) Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
The low-budget horror-smash that is the Paranormal Activity franchise is not yet quite finished, but the films are definitely beginning to suffer from their repetition of similar scare tactics. The first one was effective as it was something original, but arguably now, it’s getting a bit tiresome. The second in the film set was pretty good. It was a nice addition to the first film, setting itself 60 days before the events that occurred. This time, there’s a dog involved which is always nice and, obviously, most of the activity takes place in Hunter’s room. Freaky stuff.
Some honourable mentions:
Saw 2, Final Destination 2, [REC]2.
Be sure to catch Insidious: The Red Door when it receives its release this Friday, 7 July, 2023.
