Following up a successful movie with a decent sequel is always a challenge no matter what the genre is. Far more often than not, the sequel ends up paling in comparison to the original, doomed to just the same beats in less effective ways.

This rings especially true for a lot of the horror genre. There's certainly no shortage of sequels to various franchises big and small, but it's rare when any of them manage to stand strong on their own. So when it actually happens, it's a surefire cause for celebration.

The recent releases of Smile 2 and Terrifier 3 prove that the art of the sequel isn't lost, with both franchise entries going bigger and better with their distinct brands of terror to notable critical and commercial success.

That got us thinking about other exceptional horror sequels, from slashers to supernatural hauntings and beyond. Here's a list of ten favorites to check out or revisit this Halloween night, whether your plans are to laugh and holler at all the blood and guts or sleep with the lights on afterwards.

‘Saw II’ (Currently streaming on Max and Peacock)

James Wan and Leigh Whannell created a true legacy with the original Saw, ushering in a new age for the horror genre in the early days of the 2000s. It's no easy feat to follow that up, but this first sequel from director Darren Lynn Bousman is a massive reason why this particular franchise is still going strong even to this day. Saw II takes the original's structure and simply amplifies it, trapping more victims in a bigger house of horrors this time around and pulling off a twist just as shocking as the first. It solidified that the Saw formula could work, and created iconic horror moments in its own right as well - like that damn needle pit.

‘Evil Dead II’ (Currently streaming on AMC+)

Sam Raimi's second crack at his gory demon passion project isn't exactly a sequel in the traditional sense. It's more of a reimagining of the original movie, but with a far more stable budget for its numerous effects as well as a considerable shift in tone. Whereas the first Evil Dead is a scary horror movie through and through, Evil Dead II gets downright silly with it, ramping up the insanity to eleven and laughing all the way through. Bruce Campbell's tremendous lead performance turned Ash Williams into a true cinematic hero for the ages, and Evil Dead became a cult favorite that has yet to be tarnished. The most recent addition to the series, last year's Evil Dead Rise, is also pretty fantastic.

‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’ (Currently streaming on Netflix)

Two years before becoming a household name thanks to the massive success of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, Mike Flanagan was brought on by Blumhouse to make a follow up to the 2014 flick Ouija. The movie was a decent commercial hit but a critical failure, and with Flanagan given free reign of the story, the director opted to craft a prequel set in the 1960s that had minimal ties to the first film. The result is a truly rare example of when the second film is actually far superior to the original, with Flanagan's masterful touch shining through in every frame. Family drama mixed with supernatural spooks are his bread and butter, and Origin of Evil is a stellar and eerie period piece that truly stands out.

‘The Conjuring 2’ (Currently streaming on Max)

James Wan went back to scary movie basics with 2013's The Conjuring, taking inspiration from the cases of infamous real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The sequel goes overseas into the terrifying case of the Hodgson family, where a young girl is being haunted by the apparent spirit of a creepy old man. With Wan returning to direct once again, The Conjuring 2 isn't just a strong follow up the first film, but a real standout for the franchise as a whole. It's still the best out of all the other sequels and spin-offs that have come out in the years since, and a huge reason for that is likely due to the sheer terror factor of the film's antagonistic Crooked Man. Nightmares for days.

‘Halloween H20’ (Currently streaming on Paramount+ and AMC+)

Decades before it became an ongoing trend that just won't quit, the Halloween franchise didn't just try their hand at a legacy sequel but one that focused on the trauma of its main character. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later brings back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, now an adult working as the headmistress of a prestigious academy. Michael Myers returns as he always does, and Laurie's rematch against the original slasher villain is a battle is one with real weight; somehow feeling more satisfying than the one that would take place another twenty years later when the series was rebooted once again. H20 is a surprisingly thoughtful take on what someone like Laurie might have gone through after such a harrowing experience as a teenager, and offers up some truly cheer worthy moments for longtime fans of this iconic franchise.

‘28 Weeks Later’ (Currently streaming on Hulu and Paramount+)

Picking up five years after Danny Boyle's low-budget post-apocalyptic movie 28 Days Later revived the zombie subgenre, director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo proved that this particular brand of undead was here to stay. Fast-moving Rage Virus zombies offered audiences a fresh take on the old-timey cinematic monsters, and 28 Weeks Later's blood-soaked apocalyptic setting and atmosphere is what has kept these images in everyone's heads. There's no Walking Dead without these two movies, and the sequel is often overlooked despite delivering on the franchise's promises tenfold. With a new film titled 28 Years Later set for 2025 with Danny Boyle returning next year, here's hoping that fans can rediscover just how good it really is.

‘Hellbound: Hellraiser II’ (Currently streaming on Prime Video and AMC+)

The Hellraiser franchise is definitely one of diminishing returns. Clive Barker's strange and distinctly psychosexual original movie is a pretty stunning work of horror art, but one that quickly deteriorated into a bottom-of-the-barrel scary movie series that was doomed to go straight to home video. There are, of course, a couple of standouts amongst the whopping eleven films in the franchise, the best of which is the immediate sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Director Tony Randel goes for broke and puts criminally underrated Final Girl Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence reprising her role) into the labyrinth of Hell itself, where she faces off once again with the criminally underrated villain Julia Cotton (Clare Higgins), her twisted step-mother. Loaded to the brim with amazingly gruesome effects and inspired horror designs, Hellraiser II is not a sequel that should be overlooked.

‘Scream 2’ (Currently streaming on Max)

The original can't be touched and everyone has a favorite of the numerous sequels and requels, but none of them can happen without the success of Scream 2. How do you make a sequel to a movie that pokes fun at the very idea of sequels to horror movies, where everyone already knows what to expect? Wes Craven found the answer in doubling down on the meta-commentary that made Scream so special, with Scream 2 having just as many witty things to say about sequels and franchises as the original did for horror movies in general. Like we said about Saw II, Scream 2 was proof that the series' unique formula of satire, horror, and whodunit could work more than once, and is one that's still continuing today.

‘Doctor Sleep’ (Currently streaming on Max and Prime Video)

Mike Flanagan makes the list once again, this time with a proper sequel instead of a prequel, but one that had an impossible task ahead of it: Following up one of the most famous horror movies of all time, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Ewan McGregor stars as Danny Torrance, now all grown up and suffering from the same addictions as his traumatizing father before him. His innate psychic abilities bring him back to the Overlook Hotel to reconcile with the ghosts of his past, as well as into conflict with a soul-sucking killer that goes by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson). Flanagan's film expertly threads the needle between acting as a proper sequel and homage to Kubrick's historic film while also serving as a faithful adaptation to Stephen King's original vision. It's a disturbing, smart, and deeply thoughtful take on the material that deserves even further recognition.

‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ (Currently streaming on Prime Video and MGM+)

Dan Trachtenberg's directorial debut is clear evidence that this is one filmmaker that's truly got the sauce; a successor to 2008's found-footage monster flick Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a masterpiece of nail-biting suspense. Set in an underground bunker where a mysterious man (John Goodman) holds a pair of people hostage, the film cleverly blends elements of horror, thrillers, and sci-fi, creating an intense atmosphere of paranoia. Goodman’s chilling performance adds immense depth to the tension, creating a guessing game that never unfolds in the ways you expect. The success  of 10 Cloverfield Lane sparked discussions about the very nature of sequels and the integration of different genre elements, and it continues to influence how filmmakers approach storytelling in shared universes today.