Revenge of the endless sequels

Randy: “There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate - more blood, more gore - carnage candy. And number three: never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead” Scream 2

Because I am a lazy swine I have only included franchises that consist of four or more films, have recurring characters and are ones that I like.

Halloween: in total eight movies completed and one more in the pipeline. Notable films in the series (besides the first one obviously) “Halloween 3 Season of the Witch” absolutely nothing to do with Michael Myers; he’s not even in it. An evil toymaker plans to take over the world with mind control Halloween masks. ‘4 more days to Halloween Halloween Halloween 4 more days to Halloween Silver Shamrock!’ Halloween H20 (the 7th film, twenty years after the first) the return of Laurie Strode, Jamie Lee Curtis proves she is still a scream queen when she faces Michael Myers after he has tracked her down once again.

Police Academy: 7 so far and a new film due to be released 2006, fingers crossed the guy who can do all those cool noises is in it. “Police Academy 3: Back in Training” the students from the first two films are now the instructors. Forced to compete with a rival school when they find out one is to be closed down, hilarity ensues.

Hellraiser: Also eight films in total and rumours of Clive Barker working on a way to kill Pinhead for the last film. Notable additions to the series include; “Hellraiser: Bloodline” the 4th film which is set partly on a space ship in the future and partly in modern day America. “Hellraiser: Inferno” the 5th and what I believe to be the best sequel so far. A corrupt cops' decent into a personal hell littered with bizarre and disturbing images. “Hellraiser: Hellworld” Pinhead loses all self-restraint and starts killing off teenagers Freddy and Jason style.

Jaws: 4 films overall, my personal favourite installment has to be the third film “Jaws 3-D”. It truly is a very very bad film but it’s in 3-D! Imagine the horror as a shark leaps out of the screen towards you. 3-D should be brought back.

Nightmare on Elm Street: In total we have 7 films and not strictly a sequel but worth a mention; “Freddy Vs Jason” where Mr. Manicure goes up against Mr. Hockey mask. Best of the sequels here would be “New Nightmare”. Fiction and reality blur as Freddy Krueger seeks revenge for being killed off in the last film by murdering the actors and creators from the past films.

Friday the 13th: A whopping 10 films make up this franchise not counting, Freddy V’s Jason. Jason Voorhees truly proves that evil never dies. Best of the sequels “Friday the 13th Part 2”, now for the uninitiated amongst you, Jason is not the killer in the first film, his mother is, bet she was an embarrassment at Parents Evenings. In “Part 2” old potato head dons the mask and boiler suit and horror ensues. “Jason X” Jason takes a nap, suddenly it’s the 25th Century, and he’s on a spaceship no wonder he’s pissed off.

Alien: 4 films so far and “AVP: Alien V’s Predator”. Best of the sequels has to be “Aliens”, a no nonsense sci-fi marvel that screams perfection. Sigourney Weaver is a wonderful final girl and it’s only her acting ability that has carried subsequent films that have been seriously below par.

Children of the Corn: The concept of murderous children has so far been stretched to 7 films. All quite poor to be honest but “Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return” boasts the return of John Franklin as the uber creepy Isaac.