Let me just say I’m not here to talk about Godfather 2, Aliens, The Two Towers, T2 or The Empire Strikes Back because you already know just how brilliant those movies are. I’m thinking of sequels you may not have seen. You’ll certainly have seen and enjoyed the original but you never really bothered with part 2 because, well, you just didn’t. So you’ve got your Poltergeist 2, Jaws 2, The French Connection 2. You have some sifting but decent sequels do exist. You also have to allow for the fact that the majority of them will not be as good as the originals. If you can get over that, there are many movies with the number 2 or higher tagged on at the end of the title for you to enjoy. Here's just a few of my faves!
Psycho 2! Back in 1983 the good people at Universal decided to make a sequel to Psycho and boy did they face an uphill battle. I mean, think about it: There’s just no way you’d let a lunatic like Norman Bates out of the hospital… No Fucking Way! And if by some miracle you did, there is absolutely no way in hell you’d send him back to that fucking house. If and I do mean IF you can overlook these issues there is a lot to enjoy in Psycho 2.
The story centres around Norman Bates, Lila Loomis (Vera Miles) and her daughter, Mary (Meg Tilly). Lila is the sister of Marian Crane who Norman knocked off in the shower 22 years ago. Lila is, I suppose, justifiably miffed that Norman Bates is being released from hospital and given his freedom. She will stop at nothing to A. prove he is crazy and B. see him recommitted. Norman played majestically by Anthony Perkins cuts a sympathetic figure which is quite the achievement given his past. Watching him struggle to maintain his sanity but eventually fall into madness at the hands of Lila and her daughter is surprisingly sad. Norman has bought into the system that gave him his freedom and he really wants to be a good person. There is a point in the movie when Mary decides what she and Lila are doing is wrong and she does her best to protect Norman. However it’s far too late by then and an interesting Bates family twist helps to open the door to Norman’s dark thoughts once again. Robert Loggia plays Norman’s doctor and is his usual affable self but you pretty much know he's not going to make it to the last reel.
Thankfully the movie maintains a cheeky sense of humour with Norman’s eventual acceptance of his madness an endless source of joy. The ending is as funny as it is shocking (with a dash of tragedy) and I will not spoil it here. This is a movie to be savoured with everyone involved giving it their all. Jerry Goldsmith’s score (like the movie itself) is the perfect blend of tragedy and foreboding, Dean Cundey’s cinematography is beautiful (when isn't it) and director Richard Franklin deserves serious credit for reopening the Bates Motel for business. Psycho 2 isn’t as good as the original but it doesn’t harm it in any way. In fact, seeing Norman and the old house drenched in Cundey’s cinematography is a real treat. So much more than just a horror movie! Fun fact: Part 3, directed by Perkins, is pretty fucking good too…
Jaws 2: As a kid I loved this movie. As an adult, I’m less enthused. Jaws, you see, is my favourite movie. I cannot be without Jaws for too long. The sequel is the epitomy of a cash in… BUT, it’s a fun time. Spielberg and Dreyfuss were going to come back but Close Encounters took precedence. So we’re left with Roy Scheider once again playing Chief Brody suspecting a shark is back on the prowl in the Amity Island waters. There's a half eaten whale on the beach, two missing divers and a hunch. “Mayor of Shark City” Larry Vaughn played again by the excellent Murray Hamilton doesn’t buy into the theory and neither does anybody else. Of course Brody’s sons go out in their boats with their friends and it is at this point that Jaws 2 becomes a sort of a slasher movie. Cue shark attack after shark attack and some memorable scenes. The helicopter attack is a doozie and who can forget “sh- sh- sh- sh- sh- SHAAAAAAAARK”? There’s also a really effective scene where one of the teenagers gives her life to save Brody’s youngest son Sean. The shark is attacking again and young Brody cannot get back up to safety. In dives Marge to save him. She helps him up and then, well… have a look here:
As monster movies go, Jaws 2 is a pretty good one. Just don't expect it to be in any condition to take on its predecessor. Fun facts: Deputy Hendrix plays a dentist in Halloween 2. Dick Warlock who plays Michael Myers in Halloween 2 did a lot of stunts in the cage attack in the original Jaws. Lance Guest who plays Jimmy in Halloween 2 plays Mike Brody in Jaws: The Revenge...
Young Guns 2. Straight away, you’ve got a fucking killer song in Blaze of Glory by Jon Bon Jovi to get the six shooter twitchin’. Jon also dies in the movie in a short cameo… which isn’t unwelcome. The Young Guns movies are based on the life of William H. Bonney aka Billy the Kid. Emilio Esteves has the lead role and is ably supported by Kiefer Sutherland, Dermot Mulroney and Lou Diamond Phillips. The first movie takes time to set up the relationship between Billy and the gang who are taken in and cared for by John Tunstall (Terrance Stamp). When Tunstall is gunned down by “Oirish” bad guy L.G. Murphy’s (Jack Palance) henchmen, The Kid and his gang start to take their revenge and a war breaks out. The first movie is a decent watch but lacks the energy of the sequel. You wouldn’t want to make too much of it but Young Guns 2 ramps up the action as Billy is hunted down by “law men” and eventually his best friend, Pat Garret, played by William Peterson. The production values are high, the score by Alan Silvestri (yes, he did Back to the Future) is absolutely top notch and you do not feel the time go by. Fun fact, that’s Bradley Whitford questioning Brushy Bill Roberts at the start… no not the fucking guitarist from Aerosmith, the other one… Josh Lyman to the layman!
Poltergeist 2. "God is in his holy temple". Reverend Kane, who is so clearly a demon that he may as well be wearing a sign, sings this creepiest of hyms as he tries to take Carol Anne to "The Other Side". The Freeling family are now living in Diane's (JoBeth Williams) family home after their home imploded at the end of the original movie. One thing to note about the Poltergeist movies is despite some genuinely quality scares, they are PG movies. The emphasis is as much on fun as it is on horror and with the comedic talents of Craig T. Nelson being utilized, it works. This sequel isn't as good as the first movie but it isn't a total dog either. The family are likeable so you're rooting for them, there's the superbly done "vomit a creature" scene and a sense that the next entertaining attack isn't far away. Poltergeist 2 never sets out to do anything original, it does set out to make a fun ghost house movie and it succeeds for the most part. Worth a look and wears the spirit (ahem) of the original on its sleeve. Fun fact: the "haunted" chainsaw is a nod to the director of Poltergeist, Tobe Hooper, who also made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Friday the 13th Part VI - Jason Lives. Okay right out of the gate let me just say, this movie is a fucking blast and easily the best entry in the Friday cannon. It pokes fun at itself, at you (care taker finding Jason's grave dug up looks slightly off frame and says "some folks got a strange idea of entertainment") and at horror movies in general. There are also nods and winks to John Carpenter, Mick Garris, Sean S. Cunningham, Boris Karlof and for no reason whatsoever... James Bond:
There are many more for you to look out for and Jason Voorhees himself is on hilarious form, something the franchise should have made more use of as it went on. He seems more curious in this movie and definitely has a sense of humour. Tom McLoughlin's direction is a plus but it is his writing that shines. I mean it's a fifth fucking sequel, you absolutely have to take the piss. The cast range from okay to really rather good. Thom Mathews plays returning character Tommy Jarvis and is very enjoyable. David Kagen as the sherriff is also a hoot with Deputy Rick played by, wait for it, Vincent Guastaferro equally enjoyable. I'm gushing over this movie but it's a diamond in a dredge mine.
Fun Fact...Visual aide needed:
That's Tony Goldwyn above. Yep, the bad guy from The Last Samurai was stabbed by Tom Cruise and Jason Voorhees.
Escape From LA. Right, this movie has more than a few problems. The biggest of these problems? The special fx are terrible. Carpenter apologists suggest he was going for a comic book look and at times that works really well. But far too often it looks horribly dated and actually felt dated back in 1996 too. That being said the movie has one undeniable plus: Snake Plissken is fucking cool. Escape From New York was a decent hit for John Carpenter and Kurt Russell in 1981. Russell never really got over playing Plissken and when suddenly he had the clout to make whatever movie he wanted (on the back of the huge success of Tombstone) he went for Escape From LA and got Carpenter back to direct. This time round Snake is poisoned by the powers that be and promised the antidote if he retrieves a doomday device from the vermin lurking in LA which, like New York, is now a maximum security prison. Look, the movie is an eye sore (sorry couldn't resist) but there's a wonderful cameo from Bruce Campbell which ridicules the plastic surgery infatuation rampant in LA, there's a quality live or die basketball scene, Stacey Keach and Michelle Forbes are a good foil for Snake and Steve Bucemi steals scene after scene. Pam Grier and Peter Fonda are also welcome additions. The ending is a piece of brilliance too. Peter Fonda said of the movie, "the money wasn't bad but to just be a part of that Russell/Carpenter friendship for a while was amazing". As movie fans, I think that's how we should look at this movie.
Fun Fact: Escape From LA features Kurt Russell's one and only writing credit...
Blade 2: Better than the original! YES IT IS! Guillermo Del Toro does a fine job here with excellent set pieces and genuinely monstrous vampires. B movie legend Ron Pearlman is on superb form too and Blade himself takes a bit of a back seat to allow the story to develop. That's not to say he doesn't kick severe arse when needed. He really does. But it's to the movie's credit that Blade isn't forced into every scene. Fun fact: There is reference to The Dark Knight returning in the movie. David Goyer wrote this and went on to...well you see where this is going.
The Bourne Supremacy: An improvement over the original with Bourne (Matt Damon) being pulled back in (just when he thought he was out). Karl Urban plays a ruthless assassin hired by Ward Abbott (Brian Cox) to take Bourne down. Bourne knows too much about Abbott's CIA dealings and needs to be handled. They frame him to find him and then they go after him. Bourne quickly turns the tables and takes the fight back to the whole agency delivering on his promise that if he even sensed their presence: "there is no measure to how fast and how hard I will bring this fight to your doorstep". He is as good as his word. The movie has many things to admire but a real piece of genius is the inclusion of Joan Allen as Pamela Landy. Allen is always class. Charged with finding Bourne she brings a strength of purpose to her role and after looking closely at the case she discovers that Bourne is very much the victim here. A scene where Bourne makes contact over the phone while looking at her through a sniper rifle is rivetting. The movie has some superb up close and personal action sequences and director Paul Greengrass is to be applauded for putting together some bone crunching scenes, most notably a fight to the death in a house with another trained assassin and a brilliantly put together car chase in Russia which would have been a great closer for any other action movie. This isn't just any other action movie though and there is a surprising and wonderful coda which adds a depth to the character of Jason Bourne that is most welcome. Best movie of the franchise so far. Fun fact: At no point in this movie does Bourne crack a smile... fuckin' hard core!
Predator 2. The first movie is one of those movies that does what it wants and doesn't give a shit if you like it or not. It's an absolute treat too! You've all seen and know it by heart. Part 2 does the exact same thing and in some ways, does it better. That's not to say it's a better movie, it ain't but there are things I prefer about it. The setting for example, LA is just way more interesting than a jungle in the arsehole of nowhere. Bill Paxton is always welcome and is on fine form here. The lead role went to Danny Glover and I've always liked him. Apparently the Predator isn't a big fan and spends much of the movie putting Glover through the mill. It's an enjoyable movie with a hilarious turn by world's angriest man, Gary Busey and a couple of scenes featuring Adam Baldwin should please Firefly fans. Give it a try. Fun fact: Bill Paxton dies thus completing his classic sci fi death trilogy. That's death at the hands of a Terminator, an Alien and a Predator.
Return To Oz. This should have been awful but it ain't. Not to be confused with the actually awful Oz The Great and the Powerful, this one is extremely dark and sinister. Dorothy can't get Oz out of her head so, ya know, electro shock therapy should fix it, right? Anyway, she ends up back in Oz to find her mates have been turned to stone and the place has never been worse off. She sets out to right the wrongs and "restore balance" as it were. Beware the Wheelers. These creepy creatures will be too scary for your very little ones and will stay with some of your more sensitive older ones too. This is a good movie but, not unlike Psycho 2 above, no matter how hard it tries it just cannot outrun the shadow of its older sibling. Well worth a look. Fun fact: Walter Murch never directed another movie.
The French Connection 2. Gene Hackman is fucking superb in this movie where he once again plays Popeye Doyle and pursues Franco Rey to France in order to carry out justice. He inevitably gets kidnapped and turned into the thing he hates the most. A drug addict. His performance is jaw dropping. The movie is a fair bit darker than the first but if all sequels were this good the movie world would be a much better place. See it! Fun fact: The French Connection 2 is the first sequel to ditch the word "part" from its title.
That's a little taste of some decent sequels out there. There are some huge franchises with sequels of varying quality. Indiana Jones, Lethal Weapon, Die hard, Mission Impossible to name but a few. Some of these sequels are outstanding movies. I mean, the Last Crusade is, for me, the best Indy movie. Mission Impossible 4 is the best in that franchise, well worth your time. Don't be put off by the presence of the number 2 (or higher) if you're curious about a movie, get the popcorn on and rip into it.
Cheers,
G.
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