With nearly every movie that rakes in the big bucks at the box office (regardless of if it is a good film or not), studios and executives will rush to make a sequel in order to replicate that financial success and bring more money into everyone’s pockets. And whether that film arguably needs a sequel, depending on where the story ends or not, is almost always heavily debated. And some of the most common films toget sequels, are creature features.
With intense thrills, terrifying horror, and absolutely amazing-looking monsters and creatures, creature features have wowed audiences and sent blood pressures rocketing for decades now. But while the first films are usually fairly good and critically acclaimed, the sequels that are made almost always fall flat compared to its predecessor. Here are some creature feature films that did not need sequels.
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One of the best blockbuster films of all-time, directed by Steven Spielberg, and recently christened by Quentin Tarantino as the best movie ever made;Jaws(1975) was a smashing success, both critically and at the box office. It then went on to spawn three sequels:Jaws 2,Jaws 3D,andJaws: The Revenge. The sequels did not replicate the success of the original film at all, critically nor at the box office. All three combined grossed domestically just barely half of what the first film made. The three all boast similar criticisms, that they lack the thrills and suspense of the first, and that there isonly so much that can be done with multiple moviesdealing with only overused shark attacks.
Arguably director Ridley Scott’s best film,Alienwas a groundbreaking movie for the science fiction genre, and one of the most iconic horror movies to have ever been released. With its success, the film ended up with numerous sequels over the years, all with varying degrees of success. James Cameron’sAlienswas the most successful out of the bunch. But the third and fourth films, along with the prequel series, have not met the same bar of success. This was mostly due to the fact (according to critics), that the sequels ended up becoming repetitive, with the cast continuing to fight the same Xenomorph race over and over again, and with original ideas going down the drain in favor of the action. That also includes the crossover franchiseAlien VS Predator,which also received the same criticism.
3An American Werewolf in London
One of the most lauded werewolf movies ever made, and one of the most iconic transformations ever,An American Werewolf in London(1981) was a smashing success for both Universal Studios and Director John Landis. And thoughit took fifteen years, with an entirely different cast and crew, the sequel,An American Werewolf in Paris,was released in 1997; and flopped hard. Barely breaking even at the box office, the film was criticized for its over-the-top, sitcom-esque humor, lower-than-average CGI creation, and the lack of use of the Parisian background the film was set in. The sequel went on to be nominated for “Worst Sequel” by the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, and original director John Landis said he “was really disappointed” when he saw the film.
2Jurassic Park
Another Steven Spielberg classic,Jurassic Parkwowed and terrified audiences in 1993 with its superb suspense and giant animatronic dinosaurs. Making over a billion dollars USD at the box office, off a budget of $63 million,the studio was quick to greenlight a sequel. Based on the book by Micheal Crichton,Jurassic Parkdid also have a book sequel that the second film was based on,The Lost World. With only Spielberg, Richard Attenborough, and Jeff Goldblum from the original film returning,The Lost Worlddebuted to mixed reviews from critics. While the action and dinosaurs looked good, the story and writing itself were subpar compared to the original film; while also talking about how hard it is to make a great sequel. The film did smash at the box office, though, making over $600 million USD. A money-making machine of a franchise, four moreJurassic Parksequels have come over the past two decades.
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A cult classic starring the great Kevin Bacon,Tremors(1990) follows a group of people from a small town who must defeat giant worm-like monsters that live underneath the town. Critically acclaimed for its wonderful balance of horror and comedy,Tremorsholds high reviews all across the board from critics and reviewers alike. Though it didn’t do well at the box office ($16 million off of a $10 million budget), the film spawned six sequels over the last thirty years. But since there’s only so much that can be done with a plot of people hunting monsters, the sequels didn’t live up to the original’s fame and uniqueness, with nearly all of them becoming direct-to-video movies.
