Cult Classic Sequels That Killed It.

In a time where movies like 2024’s Atlas are an example of straight to streaming awfulness, I wanted to take a look back at when straight to video / dvd films were fun. We’re talking sequels to movies that barely anyone saw. Here’s a few of my picks for sequels that not only live up to the original film, but in many ways exceed them.

So, in no particular order, checkout my inaugural list of Cult Sequels That Killed it.

How do you top the surprisingly brutal and darkly comedic perfection of 1988’s Waxwork? You make a sequel that is barely tied to the original with a major downgrade to the leading actress.

Wait Zach, I thought this was a best of list? Why are you shitting on your very first pic?

Hold up, I’m just stating the facts. Monika Schnarre is a fine character actress and a legendary model, but Deborah Foreman she is not. That’s not to say she’s bad in this film. I think her skillset was perfect for the movie that became WW2. She has that glassy eyed, confused look most models have in front of a camera—which is perfect for the overtly comic anthology film.

In place of the spooky and ominous House of Wax featured in the first film, this bananas sequel takes place throughout space and time. It’s a parody anthology making fun of and in some cases recreating scenes from famous films of the past like 1963’s The Haunting and 1979’s Alien. These sequences expand the cast to inclue genre greats like Bruce Campbell, Martin Kemp, Marina Sirtis, and David Carradine.

Is it perfect? Hell no, the film definitely drags in parts—but it’s so batshit insane that watching it with a group of friends is a blast.

I peed my pants laughing the first time I watched the initial murderous hand hammer sequence.  And if that isn’t the highest review a horror comedy can receive, I don’t know what is.

I don’t think this is a hot take, but Cube is the most underrated influential film of the last 30 years in both the science fiction and horror genres.

Vincenzo Natali’s 1997 masterpiece was the originator of escape room horror.

Yes, I’m aware the prison break / escape the castle genre has been around as long as time, but Cube modernized it to such a degree that other filmmakes just had to make their own versions. I include movies like Saw II, Escape Room / Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, and 2020’s Meander in this group. Hell, there’s even a videogame on Steam that’s been fairly success that is clearly based on Cube, called Half Dead.

Needless to say, Cube is all-time classic. Which is often problematic for any sequels chances at measuring up. Look at Nightmare on Elm Street and Nightmare on Elm Street 2 for a perfect example.

However, Cube’s follow-up films ducked a lot of the issues other sequels slammed into face-first.  They stick to the basic premise of the original, providing bits and pieces of explanation and fleshing out the world more.

A lot of people really love Cube 2: Hypercube, but I feel like that film pales in comparison to the third entry in the series, which is actually a prequel to the first film.  

This film gives you a behind the scenes with the shady organization alongside competitors fighting their way through the traps and hazards of the cube facility. You almost feel dirty watching along with the tormentors who killed some of the characters you liked in the previous films, but by the end you get some epic reveals which turn the entire series on its head and answer many of the questions left unanswered in the first film.

 Now you’re hitting me in the feels. This terrible movie is one of my childhood favorites that I bet 99% of people have never even heard of. Hell, in the US, I don’t think it ever saw a dvd or Blu-ray release. You used to have to order a copy from Mexico or Spain in order to see it and even then, the DVD was just the foggy VHS transfer.  

Not gonna lie, I never saw the original film. I’ve read about it in Horror Hound editions, and I’ve seen it mentioned in a documentary or two, but never watched it. Why? Because it’s even worse video quality than its sequel and less insane.  

The crux of the Saturday the 14th series is that it’s a bad horror comedy set around a house built on an ancient portal harboring an evil so wacky, no one is safe.

The first movie is a send up of classic haunted house movies, attempting a poor impersonation of a Mel Brooks film.

The sequel is the story of a boring young man who finds out that he can be an all-powerful anti-Christ if he chooses to aid the Evil One in conquering reality, but he’s undecided. He loves his family, even though they only eat candy and won’t let him eat savory / healthy foods, and he doesn’t totally hate the world, but as the summer drags on he starts to get tempted. He’s provided a girlfriend in the resurrected Cleopatra and given the ability to augment his reality—and of course, unlimited cheeseburgers.

This is low budget Faust folks, plain and simple.

But it’s Faust with cameos and homages to many characters and tropes of the horror genre.

It also has a fantastic cast playing the supporting roles including the likes of Ray Walston, Avery Schreiber, Patty McCormack, and Michael Berryman.

This movie isn’t for anyone, and most people will hate it, but I love it.

Fight me.

 One of the few movies I’ve watched an equal number of times with the all-time greats like Big Trouble in Little China and The Faculty. If you haven’t seen Trancers, it’s probably too late for you, but for me as a kid who rented every single Full Moon feature that hit the blockbuster shelves, this movie was a lifestyle.

Jack Deth is a man’s man, a hero on the edge patrolling the streets of our nightmare future hunting down zombie / mutant / vampire creatures called Trancers.

Spoilers, it’s a rip-off of Blade Runner.

But it’s so much fun. Jack Deth is a living one-liner and man out of time. In the first film, he’s a real A-hole, but because he’s played by Tim Thomerson he became an icon. In the second film, his character is much less ridged and leans more into the comedic elements of an overall dark story.  

The first movie is great, but Trancers 2 has better film quality, lighting, and Jesus Christ—the cast! 

We’re talking Megan Ward, Jeffery Combs, Barbara Crampton, Martine Beswick, Richard Lynch, Art LaFleur, and a brief appearance by Helen Hunt (who obviously had already hit it big by this point, but came back for a brief shooting session for her scenes)

This one has actually been remastered in 4k and the awesome synthwave soundtrack was remastered as well and put on PrimeVideo—if you aren’t a connoisseur who bought the 4k bluray.