The Top 30 Most Underrated Sequels... To Me

Sometimes, there are so many sequels to something that it becomes like an infestation rather than a franchise (some nice, recent examples of this would be the Saw and Paranormal Activity movies) and, inevitably, you're going to have more than your fair share of those that just don't make the cut or live up to the original films that spawned them. On the same token, you can have only one or two sequels to a beloved movie that end up being prime examples of why some stories simply don't lend themselves to being continued and should be just left alone. But, while there are indeed plenty of sequels that get the praise that they do deserve right along with those that get the scorn they do (Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Empire Strikes Back, and Aliens being prime examples of the former) there are also a number of others that, for one reason or another, either get hated on or simply overlooked when they themselves have something to bring to the table. Obviously, this is all subjective and a matter of opinion but, when it comes to sequels, there are plenty that I feel don't get a fair shake or even an acknowledgement when they should. To me, it's not important whether or not a sequel outdoes or improves upon its predecessor (although there is definitely room for that) but rather that it's simply an entertaining and worthwhile second, third, or whatever chapter of the story that its parent told. I was actually just thinking about this particular position of mine just a couple of weeks ago and that's when I decided to put together this little list. It also didn't hurt that I haven't done a list in a while and I need something to put up on the blog in the meantime. This is going to be a bit similar to that list I once did of movies that I like but everyone else seems to hate, save for a couple of details, with the most important being how I've listed them. On that list, it was due to how much I personally liked the movies, whereas here it's about how underrated I feel they individually are; the more unduly ignored and hated I think a film is, the higher it is on the list (believe you me, ordering them like that was no easy task). The other major difference is that, save for a couple of the Indiana Jones movies that I feel deserve more respect than they get, I'm going to be sticking to sequels that really are continuations of the original film rather than more episodic series like James Bond and Godzilla. And finally, I feel must stress that, like everything else I do on this blog, this is all going to come down to personal opinion. If you disagree with any of my selections, that's fine; just be respectful about it. Plus, if there are any movies that you think deserved to be on here but weren't, it's either because I don't agree or I simply haven't seen them. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get started with a couple of extras. When I was putting this list together, I ended up with a lot more than I thought I was going to and since I wanted this to be a traditional list that had either a five or a zero at the end of the number, I decided to leave a couple out to make it thirty. I still think that these movies are a little bit better than people give them credit for but I've decided that those that are actually on the list deserve more attention. So, without further ado, let's get to these extras.

Extra 1: Final Destination 3 (2006). For many, Final Destination is a franchise that should have stopped after two movies, even though a fair amount of people do enjoy the fifth installment that was released back in 2011. For me, though, the only bad egg in this whole bunch is the abysmally bad and forgettable fourth film, The Final Destination; everything else has been really entertaining. I don't know if I like this or Final Destination 5 more but, regardless, I thought it was just as entertaining and creative as the first two movies. I thought the two main leads were worth caring about, the opening premonition with the roller-coaster was really good, and the deaths were nicely gory and inventive, like the two girls getting fried in the tanning beds, the one guy's head getting sliced up by an engine fan, and the girl's head getting repeatedly shot with a nail-gun. While I didn't care much for the climax involving the goth guy wanting revenge on the lead girl because he blamed her for his girlfriend's death (which they sort of reworked for the fifth film), I honestly don't see why fans of the first two movies wouldn't enjoy this one. It's miles better than the fourth one, which was just absolute garbage and a pure example of studio heads thinking, "These stupid fans will go see anything as long as it has the Final Destination title on it."

Extra 2: The Mummy Returns (2001). The Mummy from 1999 with Brendan Fraser is a movie that I am not at all ashamed to admit that I enjoy. Yeah, it's hardly high art and the CGI is now terribly dated but I find it to be a very entertaining, Indiana Jones-style adventure with horror elements that doesn't take itself too seriously; in short, it's everything that a good summer blockbuster should be. I didn't see this sequel for the first time until just a year ago but I had heard that even those who liked the first one didn't think much of it, with the biggest criticism being a very bad digital effect involving the character of the Scorpion King. While I can definitely agree that said effect is downright atrocious, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself while watching this flick. I still like the first film better but to me, The Mummy Returns had a lot of the same elements that made its predecessor enjoyable: a good, likable cast with Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and Oded Fehr, lots of fun action sequences, beautiful photography and locations, good music, a great, epic scope, and the overall feel of a fun, rollicking adventure. Again, it's hardly a thought-provoking film and Stephen Sommers is most certainly not a great filmmaker (you need only see Van Helsing to realize that) but, still, I think it's a fun movie that works well as a summer blockbuster and that there are much worse ways you could spend two hours and ten minutes.

30. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Yes, I agree that there was no reason to make another Terminator movie after Terminator 2 wrapped the story up in such a nice, poignant, and satisfying way, that this film's assertion that Judgement Day is inevitable flies in the face of the concept of the future not being set, which was virtually the entire driving force behind the stories of the previous films, and that the only driving force behind making it was to profit off of the name. I understand all of that totally. That said, though, I've always found this flick to be a very entertaining action movie and, if nothing else, a great nice time-waster. The plot is nothing more than a retread of the chase scenarios of the first two but I feel that there is a lot to recommend this movie: even though I enjoy him more in the previous films, Arnold Schwarzenegger is still on form as the Terminator, I didn't mind Nick Stahl and Claire Danes as John Connor and Kate Brewster, the action scenes are well done and exciting (the chase scene that culminates with the Terminator hanging off of an enormous crane is undoubtedly the best), the special effects are top notch, and the ending is surprisingly downbeat and solemn for a big-budget, Hollywood movie. Again, I understand why so many don't care for this flick and I do agree that there are problems, such as the humor ("Talk to the hand," is not something the Terminator should say) and the T-X not being the most memorable antagonist, but I feel that it's entertaining enough to where I don't think it deserves so much scorn. Personally, I enjoy this a lot more than Terminator: Salvation.

29. Scream 3 (2000). There are just some movies where it's almost unwritten rule that you have to hate them and this is one of those that certainly qualifies. While the entire Scream franchise has now become one of those things that is hip to bash on, I feel that, even though they are perhaps more glossy and slick than they should be and the whole self-referential angle that kicked into high-gear with the original has now been done to death, they do have their merits and are well-made, entertaining modern slasher movies, including this one. Although I do like the first two more, Scream 3 is another sequel that, like Final Destination 3, has enough of the elements from its predecessors to where fans should enjoy it as well. The returning cast members of Neve Campbell (who I've always felt gave the best performances in these films), Courtney Cox, and David Arquette are just as likable as ever (even though I wish he hadn't died in Scream 2, I enjoyed Jamie Kennedy's posthumous video appearance here), I didn't mind Patrick Dempsey as Detective Kincaid and I especially like the rather haunting scene between him and Sidney, I thought the angle of the murders taking place on the actual set of one of the fictional Stab movies was a nice way of building on the opening of the second film, the murders themselves and the way they come about wasn't too shabby in my opinion, and I really like the climax at the mansion. I do agree with the criticism that the soap opera-like plot thread involving Sidney and her family that runs throughout the series becomes very convoluted here, with the killer being revealed to be her half-brother and whatnot, but on the same token, I think it was handled better here than the BS revelation involving Sidney's cousin in Scream 4 and I like that for once, the killer doesn't have an accomplice. While hardly a modern classic, I don't find Scream 3 to be as bad as most make it out to be and, like Terminator 3, I think it's much more enjoyable than what came afterward (plus, it's hardly Wes Craven's worst film).

28. Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993). Admittedly, Return of the Living Dead Part II is something of a guilty pleasure for me due to how overly goofy and silly it is but, still, I would put it as my least favorite of the series (I'm not counting those two Sci-Fi Channel originals which I've never seen and don't ever care to). Number one would, of course, be the original by Dan O'Bannon but beneath that would be this criminally underrated little gem that has zero humor, already making it stand out from its predecessors, and acts more as a nicely dark take on Romeo and Juliet. I thought the two leads, Melinda Clarke and J. Trevor Edmond, gave really good performances as hopelessly smitten teenagers who end up severely violating the laws of nature in order to stay together. Clarke manages to be both horrific and tragic as she deals with her rapidly deteriorating condition, both mental and physical, and her uncontrollable urge to eat human brains (it's a real shame that she refuses to talk about the film nowadays) while Edmond comes across very convincingly as someone wracked with guilt over what he's turned his girlfriend into and, at the same time, torn between feeling sympathy and affection for her and not being disgusted by the horrible things she's doing. The makeup effects are quite impressive, such as Clarke's well-known visage of shards of glass and nails sticking out of her skin and the designs of the other zombies seen throughout the film, especially at the end, and Brian Yuzna keeps the film moving at a good pace throughout its 97-minute running time (it's far and away his best movie as director). It's a shame that this movie doesn't have the cult-classic status of the original Return of the Living Dead because, while not a masterpiece, I think it's a successful way of doing something different with the franchise and ultimately makes for a nicely done, tragic love story, which I think the horror genre could use more of.

27. Superman III (1983). You may have noticed by this point that a lot of these movies are third installments (don't worry; many of them, including my number one, aren't) and while I wasn't consciously thinking about it while putting this list together, I think a big reason why so many get the shaft is because "three" tends to be an unlucky number when it comes to sequels, like it's where the story begins to get stretched very thin and can't hold itself together. But, as I've been maintaining throughout this list, I think there are plenty of third, fourth, and so on installments in various franchises that, while maybe not classics, have something to bring to the table, case in point, this little unpopular entry into what was then considered to be a pretty solid film franchise. I used to be one of those who really didn't like this film and often said that I thought Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was better (have you noticed yet how fourth installments seem to be where franchises fail with me: The Final Destination, Scream 4, Terminator: Salvation, etc.?) but since I did those reviews of the Superman movies back in 2013, I've changed my tune since I had to think about them much harder than I had before. Like a lot of the movies here, Superman III is hardly an overlooked masterpiece. It has a number of issues, the biggest of which is Richard Pryor. He may have been one of the greatest comedians who ever lived but in this film, he's out-of-place and painfully unfunny, taking away too much of the gravitas and verisimilitude that Richard Donner and company had tried so hard to instill into this franchise from the beginning (that bit he has where he's dressed up as a soldier and gives a General Patton-like impression and also when he describes how awesome Superman was in stopping Webster's initial plan make me cringe). Moreover, there's far too much comedy in this film altogether, with the stapstick-filled opening credits sequence and the stuff that goes on when Pryor's character of Gus Gorman messes with a supercomputer being just a couple of examples, and the villains, which include Robert Vaughn as Lex Luthor wannabe Ross Webster, his stern sister, and his ditzy secretary who wants to keep her genius-level intelligence a secret for some reason, are pretty forgettable. On the good side, though, Christopher Reeve is still wonderful as Superman, gets to play down the clumsiness of Clark Kent, and is a hoot to watch when Superman starts to go bad from the effects of the artificial Kryptonite that Webster and his cronies try to kill him with. The best scene by far is the battle between his good and evil selves in the junkyard and I also like Annette O'Toole as Lana Lang and the relationship she and Clark have throughout the film. It also doesn't hurt that the effects are better here than they ever were before, the action scenes with Supes are still fun, and the climax where he battles Gus' out of control, sentient supercomputer is enjoyable in an over-the-top, comic book way. It might not wind up on my list of the greatest comic book movies and I understand perfectly why both Reeve and Pryor were never too fond of the film but Superman III is, nevertheless, a movie that I can put on and watch to kill some time.

26. Spider-Man 3 (2007). I can honestly understand why people were disappointed with this film three years after they got the awesomeness that is Spider-Man 2 and I also agree with a lot of the complaints: the film is far too cluttered, with too many characters and plot threads going through it, the character of Venom, which everyone was excited about, is squandered horribly, and the comedy is just too much. I saw this movie in the theater and while I did enjoy it for the most part and still do, that whole section with Peter Parker going "emo" due to the effects of the black Spider-Man suit made my jaw drop, especially when he started dancing in that club and even said, "Now dig on this," at one point. I was honestly thinking, "Sam Raimi, what the hell are you doing?" It's a little hard to take things seriously, especially a serious moment like the scene afterward where he contemplates what he's done (which is a scene I do like, especially when he struggles to take off the black suit), when you throw something like that in the middle of it all. But, all of that said, I think this movie has a lot more to offer than people give it credit for. Tobey Maguire, at least when he's not acting goofy and cheesy as all get-out, is still sincere and likable as Peter Parker and Spider-Man, Thomas Hayden Church positively owns the role of the Sandman and I found his whole story to be the best thread throughout, the special effects are awesome, the action scenes are just as spectacular and enthralling as ever, and I really like the new pieces of music that Christopher Young put into the movie after taking over from Danny Elfman. In addition, while I do agree that they could have gotten a better actor than Topher Grace to play Eddie Brock, I thought Venom was well-done enough for the small amount of time that he is in the film and, even though I feel they could have saved his character arc here for another movie, I thought Harry's death at the end of the film was touching. So, yes, I agree that the film has more than its fair share of problems and, at almost two-and-a-half hours, is a little too long, but I still think that it's entertaining and has plenty of good to offer along with the not so good.

25. Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992). Many will agree that, like other horror franchises, Hellraiser began to fall apart when it went to space with the very lackluster Hellraiser: Bloodline, whose poor box-office performance relegated the remainder of the franchise to the direct-to-video market, which it will likely never get out of, but before that, the franchise managed to churn out one last truly good installment with this often dismissed chapter. Hellraiser III might not have the same unique feel and style that the first two did and Ashley Laurence is sorely missed, as are the original Cenobites of Chatterer, Butterball, and the female, but this film makes up for that by really letting Doug Bradley loose as Pinhead, who is now no longer as restrained as he was previously since his human side has been separated from him. You can tell that Bradley is having an absolute ball in the role here (listen to him cackle like a madman as he massacres everyone in the club in that one scene) and it's also nice to see him truly play Elliot Spencer, the benevolent man that Pinhead was before he opened the Lament Configuration who is now trying to stop his evil half. I know some feel that this degrades the series down to nothing more than a slasher film and while I can't deny that the latter half of it does feel that way, I think it's done in such a well-executed manner that it's really not important. Aside from the good points I've already noted, you've also got a likable enough lead, some really good makeup effects (albeit not as gruesome as those in the previous films), and a very fun latter half, with an enjoyable Cenobite rampage through the streets, that leads to a nice confrontation between Pinhead and Elliot Spencer. I don't think it's as classic as the first two but it's still worth a watch and is a lot more enjoyable than the majority of the films that came after it.

24. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). This is admittedly the most blatant offender of the notion that sequels are usually nothing more than rehashes of the films that spawned them, with the only major differences being the change of location to New York and the slapstick being much more over-the-top and cartoony. Other than that, it's virtually the same: Kevin McCallister is having problems with his family, especially his older brother Buzz, and wishes that he could get away from them, ends up getting separated from them and enjoys it at first but soon begins to miss them, meets up with someone whom he's first spooked by but later befriends, and has to escape from and outwit the Wet, or in this case, "Sticky," Bandits and is ultimately helped by his new-found friend before being reunited with his family. Even some of the same gags and scenes are recycled, like the power going out, causing everyone to be late in getting to the airport, the whole thing with the fictional gangster movie, his family stuck watching a foreign-dubbed version of It's A Wonderful Life (French in the first film, Spanish here), the sequence of Kevin walking around and seeing the side of Christmas that he's missing, a few of the traps he uses against Harry and Marv, and even the very end of the film with someone yelling at him for something. So, yes, if you watch this film shortly after the first one, you're going to get a major sense of deja vu, but I've always found it to be a welcome feeling of deja vu. This is one of the few sequels where virtually the entire cast returns and they're still as good, or, in the case of Buzz and Uncle Frank, as unlikable, as they were before, especially Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern, even though the latter is much dumber here than he was before. The feeling of Christmas and the importance of family around that time of year, while not quite as prevalent or genuine as it was before, is still here and is helped by another nice score by John Williams, even if most of the music is recycled from the first film. The last third of the film is just as, if not more, funny than the one in the first film, with the gags being even more over-the-top, as I mentioned (the part where Marv gets electrocuted to the point where they do the old gag of his skeleton being shown, all while he's screaming in a very high-pitched voice, never fails to crack me up). On top of that, there are some welcome new elements here. I thought the new location of New York was used rather well, particularly the fancy hotel that Kevin manages to check himself into, Tim Curry is always a welcome addition to any movie, and Eddie Bracken is very warm and sweet as toy store owner, Mr. Duncan. It is a big example of a sequel only being made because the first one was a success and so, like I said, it doesn't feel quite as genuine as its predecessor, but I think director Chris Columbus did a good job in making Home Alone 2 another fun flick to watch around the holidays (it's certainly better than the crap that came after it).

23. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). This film seems to get more respect nowadays than it once did but, at the same time, I still hear a fair amount of people, including mainstream critics, crap on it so I think it deserves a little more defending. The biggest criticism, of course, is how dark it gets, with even Steven Spielberg admitting that's why it's his least favorite of the series (never mind all of the carnage he would later unleash in movies like Amistad and Saving Private Ryan). It is definitely the least child-friendly of all the films, with a guy's heart getting pulled out while he's still alive, the freaky cult of the Thuggee led by the rather intimidating Mola Ram whose hideout is a red-glowing, underground temple where they use children as slaves, and section of the movie where Indy himself is temporarily made into a mindless slave to the cult, but I think that's one of its greatest strengths. It's amazing how downright intense it becomes in the middle and for me, it makes it all the more satisfying when Indy is snapped out of his trance and is able to kick some Thuggee ass. Like a lot of people, I do find Kate Capshaw to be very grating and annoying as Willie but she doesn't completely ruin the movie for me, and neither does that rather unnecessary, disgusting feast scene they have when they arrive at the palace. Other than that, I can't find much in this movie to gripe about. Harrison Ford is still the man as Indy, I actually don't mind Short Round (a young kid who knows how to drive a car and play cards is pretty damn cool in my book), the location of Sri Lanka (which is supposed to be India) is beautifully shot, the action and stunts are just as impressive as anything else in the franchise, John Williams comes up with another awesome score (I especially love the main theme that you hear throughout this particular film), and the last third of the film feels like it just goes without hardly taking a breath. The Last Crusade will always be my personal favorite Indiana Jones film but if I would have to pick my second favorite, I would have to say that it's this one. You may not want to share it with your kids until their into late childhood but, regardless of the darkness, it still has all of the elements that make these movies nothing less than pure, escapist fun.

22. Return of the Jedi (1983). I never imagined that I would have to put one of the original Star Wars movies on a list like this and defend it but, as I've learned over the years, a lot of people aren't too fond of this movie and I honestly don't get why. It doesn't quite reach the level of The Empire Strikes Back, which I agree is the best of the entire saga, but it's still my second favorite of the movies and is a very fitting closure to the original trilogy in my opinion. Everything is wrapped up very nicely: Luke Skywalker becomes a full-fledged Jedi and manages to redeem his father, who in turn kills the Emperor, Han Solo and Princess Leia are finally able to get together by the end of the movie, and Lando, with the help of his friends and the Rebel Alliance, manages to destroy the second Death Star and finally defeat the Empire, restoring order and peace to the galaxy. Moreover, there are so many great scenes and setpieces in the film, like the first third at Jabba the Hutt's palace, the battle between Luke and the rancor as well as the all-out fight out in the desert, the speeder-bike chase through the forests of Endor, the big battle of Endor, Luke nearly succumbing to the Dark Side when he attacks Darth Vader in a rage, Vader saving his son from the Emperor's wrath and shortly afterward able to finally look at him with his "own eyes" when he removes his helmet, and that last great celebration on Endor that never fails to give me chills, truly coming across like the end of an epic story. When you add into that the still great and evolving performances of the main cast, Ian McDiarmid making his legendary debut as the Emperor, more awesome special effects, cool-looking creatures, and another great music score by John Williams (I do realize that this is the third time in a row I've said something like that), you've got an absolutely superb final installment in a timeless trilogy. I know that George Lucas has since dumbed it down a bit with his special editions, with that song and dance number in Jabba's palace and Vader now yelling, "No!" before grabbing the Emperor being particularly eye-rolling, but I still really love this movie, always have, and always will. And yes, I like the Ewoks and don't mind that they helped the rebels in fighting the Empire (helped, not defeated), so there.

21. The Son of Kong (1933). Making a sequel to a cinematic landmark like King Kong is already no easy feat but when you add into that a rushed shooting schedule and a low budget, it becomes virtually impossible. But, in spite of everything stacked against them, producer and mastermind Merian C. Cooper, his partner Ernest B. Schoedsack (who would direct this film by himself rather than sharing it with Cooper as they on the original), and effects maestro Willis O'Brien did the best they could regardless and what came of it can hardly be considered on the level of the original but still has some merit of its own. On the bad side, the film's rushed nature is very evident when you watch it due to how small and claustrophobic a lot of the environments are, as well as that it's just barely 70 minutes long while King Kong is 100, there's an overabundance of comedy, particularly with the cartoony, buffoonish depiction of Little Kong himself, and the creatures and dinosaurs here just aren't as cool as those in the original, but there are still great elements to be found here. The best part of the entire movie is Carl Denham, who is now much more humble and down-to-Earth than he was before due to the financial ruin he's experienced because of the damage that Kong caused in New York, making him easier to relate to and cheer for, especially since he proves to be a very decent guy (this led actor Robert Armstrong to preferring this film over the original). The rest of the cast is pretty good too, including Frank Reicher and Victor Wong who reprise their roles from the original (with the latter having more to do than he did before), John Marston as the slimy, scheming Helstrom, and Helen Mack as the leading lady, who may be a poor substitute for Fay Wray but does alright (I like that she doesn't scream as much as Wray did). The stop-motion effects are still nice despite the reduced budget and personal turmoil that O'Brien was going through at the time, the scenes involving the creatures aren't bad at all, and the film is very easy to watch due to its short running time and fast pace. Not a groundbreaking, fantastical adventure like the original by any means but still a nice little flick that's worth revisiting every now and then.

20. Jaws 2 (1978). Like King Kong, Jaws was a tough act to follow and in this case, the lack of participation from both Peter Benchley and Steven Spielberg really compounded the problem. But, like The Son of Kong, they did the best they could under the circumstances and I think that what they delivered was more acceptable. I've always found Jaws 2 to be a pretty solid follow-up to the original 1975 blockbuster. Jeannot Szwarc may not be on Spielberg's level of talent but I think he managed to do well enough in filming both the suspense and action scenes involving the shark and the character scenes with the actors, as well as making Martha's Vineyard look even more beautiful than it was in the first film. Speaking of the characters, while Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss are both sorely missed, you still have Roy Scheider who, even though he really didn't want to be involved and often fought with Szwarc, manages to hold his own really well once again, as do Lorraine Gary, Jeffrey Kramer, Murray Hamilton, and new addition Joseph Mascolo as the rather slimy Len Peterson. I do agree that it is ridiculous that the local government of Amity Island once again refuse to believe that there's a great white shark roaming around and don't listen to Brody, despite what he went through before, that the shark isn't photographed as well as it was previously, and that the film does become more like a teenage slasher flick during its last quarter but I think said last act and the movie as a whole is done well enough to where it doesn't make much difference. I've always enjoyed the climax involving the teenagers and the shark, which I think not only has some good action and thrills but some nice acting from the kids, especially when one of the girls gets swallowed whole by the shark and when they have to get young Sean Brody off of the lone boat he's stuck out on. And plus, how can you not love the ending when Brody tricks the shark into biting onto a large electrical cable, engulfing it in flames? As I've been saying a lot here, it might not be a classic but as a good way to kill two hours, it works just fine.

19. Batman Returns (1992). While this film was a big hit when it came out and is cited by many as being the last really good Batman movie until the Christopher Nolan films, it still tends to get the short end of the stick, especially with mainstream critics, and it's another situation where I do fully understand the criticisms that people level against the movie but, at the same time, I think it more than overcomes them. I absolutely love the first Batman by Tim Burton and even though I don't Batman Returns quite reaches the level of that awesome flick, there's still lots to recommend it nonetheless. Yes, like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it is a rather dark film and definitely not something you should show your kids until they get a little older but it's Burton's recognizable style and, in an odd way, really compliments the world of the Batman comic books, especially in regards to how they were around that time. Speaking of which, I also do agree that Batman himself should be in the film a little more than he is and that the story does feel congested at points but, in the case of the latter, this is a movie where the visuals are key. Burton had free reign with this movie and really takes advantage of it, turning Gotham City into a beautiful but, at the same time, very sinister and dark world that's dripping with film noir-type atmosphere, with lots of shadows and often very strange lighting. The various sets, like the main cityscape, the Penguin's lair, Wayne Manor, Max Shreck's offices and dance hall and so on are absolutely gorgeous to look at and the snowfall adds even more to the otherworldly, fairy feel to it all. Going back to Batman himself, while he should be more involved in the proceedings, when he's there, he's still really cool, managing to kick a lot of ass and Michael Keaton is just as awesome here as he was before. You've also got some nice villains in the form of Danny DeVito's Penguin, Christopher Walken as Shreck, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, with the latter being my favorite live-action version of the character and having a nice, complex relationship with Bruce Wayne and his alter ego. And Danny Elfman delivers another great score, effortlessly managing to go from being beautiful and mysterious to upbeat and heroic to dark and gloomy, perfectly accentuating the visuals that Burton creates every step of the way. It's not a perfect film and can be seen in many respects as a major case of style over substance, especially when it comes to the story, but for me, there's much more substance here than there is in both of the Joel Schumacher films combined and is also just a great cinematic experience in general.

18. Psycho II (1983). Making a sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's legendary classic seemed like pure sacrilege but when Australian-born director Richard Franklin, who was a student of the Master of Suspense, took up the task, he absolutely nailed it. This film is such a great, well-told thriller in its own right that Hitch would have been more than proud; in fact, if you didn't know that he died three years before its release, it would be easy to think that he had been in the director's chair here. Anthony Perkins returns to his most famous role and manages to not only be as great as he was before but to also very believably make Norman Bates into the innocent victim this time around rather than the villain, which is no easy feat. Vera Miles also returns and while the turn her character from the original film takes here hardly makes her likable, it is certainly logical and Miles plays it very well, as do Meg Tilly as her daughter who's conflicted about helping her drive Norman crazy again and Robert Loggia, who manages to actually be a good guy for once, as Norman's sympathetic psychiatrist. Franklin plays great respect to Hitchcock's methods of suspense in his directing by not drowning the movie in gore (although there is certainly more here than there was before in order to appeal to the slasher fans of the day) and Tom Holland's screenplay is great in both continuing the story of Norman Bates rather than rehashing it and coming up with twists and turns that don't feel at all contrived. Rather than recreating Bernard Herrmann's work, Jerry Goldsmith does his own thing with the score and comes up with music that goes from being beautiful and sympathetic to eerie and full of tension, and the film's ending is a real shocker given how Norman's character has been portrayed throughout the entire film. The original will always be a classic but it's high time that this more than worthy followup stops being overlooked and gets the praise that it rightly deserves. All hail Psycho II!

17. Halloween II (1981). Some may find it surprising to see this movie on here since it does have more than its fair share of fans, of which I am a pretty big one, but, as I've said on many of the other entries, this film still gets the short end of the stick from many other people (including a friend of mine who will remain nameless but will know who he is when he reads this), especially mainstream critics, and I think it's completely unwarranted. For me, this is just as much of a classic as the original John Carpenter film and because I first saw them back-to-back, I've never been able to imagine one without the other. The way it picks up right where the original ended makes it probably the clearest example of a sequel that's ever been made and Rick Rosethal does a more than capable job of maintaining the mood and style that Carpenter created, which is helped immensely by Dean Cundey returning as cinematographer. The cast is memorable and likable, with Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis doing a great job in reprising their roles (even if the latter doesn't do much except lay in a hospital bed until the film's last third) and newcomers Lance Guest, Tawny Moyer, Leo Rossi, Cliff Emmich, and Hunter von Leer making for a good batch of supporting players. Veteran stuntman and coordinator Dick Warlock is very creepy and menacing as Michael Myers (my favorite person to ever play the role), the hospital setting is used very well, the added blood and gore, despite being indicative of how the language of horror films had changed in-between the movies thanks to the slasher craze, lend a nasty, visceral feeling that the original didn't have, there are some really good sequences and shots (some of my favorites being the recreation of Michael's face appearing out of the darkness, the chase sequence through the hospital, and the explosive climax), and the new, synthesized type of score by Carpenter and Alan Howarth is just as creepy and moody as the legendary one from the original. Everyone has their opinions but for me, Halloween cannot exist without Halloween II and I think this sequel deserves a lot more recognition and kudos.

16. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). This film seems to get a lot more respect now than it used to, having finally gotten a nice special edition from Shout! Factory back in 2012 and all, but the fact that its current IMDB rating is only 4.4, making it the lowest-rated Halloween film after Halloween: Resurrection (which I was originally going to put on this list since I do actually enjoy that movie but, after thinking about it, I decided that it makes perfect sense why so many people hate it), says to me that there are still a good number of people who don't think much of it, which is a shame. As I stated in my actual review of the movie, I used to be one of those people who refused to give this movie a chance simply because it didn't have Michael Myers in it but when I finally did break down and watch it, I realized that it was actually a nice little horror flick from the 1980's. In fact, I would say that it's this one that gives me the Halloween feeling more than any other entry in the franchise due to its story involving the ancient Celtic origins of the holiday and the concept of masks that will kill anyone wearing them on Halloween night. The film has a superb cast, with Tom Atkins making for a good, everyman-type of hero, Stacey Nelkin being cute and innocent as the rather young leading lady, and Dan O'Herlihy positively stealing the show as the charming but evil Conal Cochran (the scene where he explains his "motive" to Atkins is bone-chilling), director Tommy Lee Wallace manages to create a mood and style that would make you think that John Carpenter himself was back in the director's chair, the makeup effects used to show what happens to those who come in contact with the masks are horrific and disgusting (the demonstration scene is one of those you never forget), the purely electronic score that Carpenter and Alan Howarth come up with perfectly accentuates the mood and the story, and the ending is nicely open-ended, not unlike that of Carpenter's The Thing. There are some things that don't make sense, like how Nelkin's character becomes an android by the end of the movie, and I don't think I even need to mention that fucking Silver Shamrock jingle (when I first popped Shout! Factory's Blu-Ray in and heard that, I about went ballistic), but Michael Myers or not, this is a very well-made horror flick and a perfect one to watch to get you into the Halloween spirit.

15. Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985). Like Halloween III, this movie gets a little more respect now than it used to but it still remains a very polarizing entry in the series for fans due to the concept of the killer being someone other than Jason Voorhees. While I understand why first-time viewers would feel cheated when the killer's identity is revealed at the end, I think that if you give it a chance, you would see that this is actually one of the most flat-out entertaining films in the franchise. First and foremost, it knows that it's an exploitation movie and doesn't shy away from it, showing a lot of nudity, a fair amount of drug use, and a lot of really brutal kills (this has one of the highest body counts of the entire series, with nearly 30 people getting butchered before it's over); in other words, everything you'd want in a Friday the 13th movie. There are a lot of memorable scenes, from the opening nightmare with Corey Feldman to the kid getting chopped to pieces by an utter psychopath at the half-way house, Tommy Jarvis beating the crap out of people who mess with him by way of inexplicable kung-fu skills, Miguel A. Nunez Jr. singing to his girlfriend while in the outhouse, the goth girl Violet dancing in such a way that her movements almost look like stop-motion, and the climax where the three survivors confront the killer in a barn and ultimately send him falling onto a bed of spikes. On top of that, there are a number of characters here who manage to be memorable instead of just useless cannon fodder. John Shepherd is very convincing in coming across as a deeply disturbed man as Tommy Jarvis, Melanie Kinnaman makes for a passable leading lady, Carol Locatell and Ron Sloan steal every scene they're in as the over-the-top hick characters of Ethel and Junior Hubbard, Dominick Brascia is dopey but sympathetic as the ill-fated Joey who decides to try to make conversation with the wrong guy, and it's also hard to forget Tiffany Helm as Violet, Jerry Pavlon as stuttering Jake, Nunez as Demon ("ooh, baby, ooh, baby,") and Shavar Ross as Reggie the Reckless, who acts tough but ends up screaming like a girl. The "who done it?" angle of the film may be clumsily-handled from the beginning, the acting, as is typical with the Friday the 13th series, sometimes isn't the best, and the film's ending ultimately doesn't lead anywhere, but if you can't put all of that and the fact that Jason isn't in the film aside, I think you'll find this to be a very entertaining slasher film and one of the most memorable of the franchise.

14. Child's Play 3 (1991). I often hear this referred to as the absolute worst of the Child's Play movies and, maybe it's just nostalgia and affection since this is the first one I ever saw, I've never understood why because this is my second favorite of the movies after the original. I've always enjoyed this a lot more than Child's Play 2 (which I've never been able to completely get into for some reason) and, even though I enjoy Bride of Chucky and Curse of Chucky, it feels like the last true Child's Play to me. It may not be the best entry in any of the franchise but, on the whole, I think Brad Dourif does another good job as the voice of Chucky and I also don't think Justin Whalin is that bad as the teenage Andy Barclay or Perry Reeves as his eventual love interest, the animatronic effects of Chucky are still well-done, the setting of the military academy, while not exactly original, isn't that bad, I like some of the kills (particularly the first one where Chucky strangles the head of the Play Pals corporation with a yo-yo, the guy getting crunched in the garbage compactor, and Andrew Robinson getting his throat slashed), the music score by John D'Andrea and Cory Lerios is kick-ass and my favorite aspect of the entire film, and I enjoy the finale in the amusement park with Chucky getting torn to pieces in a huge fan. Not a great film by any means but, to me, an entertaining one and a good way to kill 90 minutes (and Don Mancini, this film is a lot better than Seed of Chucky, so you should really stop with the bad-mouthing).

13. Rambo III (1988). There are some franchise entries where it's almost like a rule that you have to hate them and love everything that came before them and this is one of the biggest examples I can think of. Long before I actually got into the Rambo films, I always heard everyone say that First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II were both awesome, albeit in very different ways, and that Rambo III sucked. Well, when I actually saw all four of the movies for the first time thanks to that Blu-Ray set, I could not understand why Rambo III caught so much flack because it was just as entertaining as the first two and I, in fact, ended up enjoying it more than the second one. People often complain that this is when the series "devolved" into mainstream 80's action fare, with Rambo spouting one-liners and the action scenes being extremely overblown and such. My response to that is, "Yeah, maybe, but so what?" In fact, I don't get why people feel that it "devolved" since the second film is often considered the quintessential 80's action movie and everyone loves it but for some reason, the third film wasn't allowed to do so. And as for the humor and one-liners, there's definitely more of it here than there was before but it doesn't go overboard and the stuff that Rambo says doesn't feel out of character from what we've seen before. Finally, people always bring up how the Cold War with the Russians all but ended right after the film was released and how America's relationship with Afghanistan, especially in regards to the Mujahideen, whom Rambo aids in the film (which led to a change in a dedication to the them at the end of the film in re-releases following 9/11), has changed since then but I always say, "Well if that's the case, why not act the same way towards Rambo: First Blood Part II and all of the other similarly-themed action movies around that time?" The bottom line is that Rambo III, while not perfect, is a great action movie with a lot of good ingredients. Sylvester Stallone is still on form as Rambo and it's nice to see Richard Crenna take part in the action, especially since this would be the last time he played Col. Trautman (the fact that the two of them were nominated for Razzies, with Stallone actually winning, reinforces my feeling that the people behind the Razzies are idiots), the locations are shot and used very well, with the Israel deserts that stand in for Pakistan looking especially breathtaking, the action scenes are bigger and better than ever, Jerry Goldsmith creates another exciting score for the franchise, and the last act is just incredible, going at a blistering pace and leading up to an awesome final battle in the desert, with tanks and helicopters getting blown up all-around. It might not be a deep, thought-provoking movie but for purely fun, high-octane action (and what's wrong with that, I ask), you can't do much better than this.

12. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze (1991). Just about everybody loves the original 1990 live-action Ninja Turtles movie (except for John Stanley, author of the Creature Features horror and sci-fi movie review book) and hates the third film from 1993, although I have some affection for it since it's the one I watched the most when I was a kid, but opinion on this second one seems to be rather mixed. Those who love the first film for how surprisingly dark and adult it is (albeit not as much as the original comics) often put this one down for being more kid-friendly, with the turtles not using their weapons as much and not saying "damn" like they did before, as well as the film having a lighter tone overall. While that certainly is true, and I do think that the first film is a little bit better, I still find this movie to be a really enjoyable ride. The turtles are just as likable as ever, with the voices really capturing the spirit of the characters (Robbie Rist rules as Michelangelo and I actually prefer Adam Cart's performance as Donatello to Corey Feldman's in the first and third films) and the animatronic, puppet effects for them by Jim Henson's Creature Shop are still top-notch; the humor may be more kid-friendly and whatnot but it still makes me laugh, especially the bantering and exchanges between the turtles, which really makes them feel like siblings; I don't mind that Shredder is not as menacing as he was before since, again, it leads to some laughs; and the action and fight scenes are still fun to watch, even if they're not quite as... "high stakes" as they were before. There are a number of issues I do have with the film, though, such as Tokka and Rahzar (who were originally meant to be Bebop and Rocksteady) not being the most memorable or intimidating of baddies, David Warner being given a role where he has nothing to do, the stupid dance club scene with Vanilla Ice, Super Shredder being killed by a pier falling on him at the end (that is just lame), and the fact that there really is no "secret" to the ooze that created the turtles, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is a lot of fun and very entertaining. People need to start giving this a little more credit since it's hardly the worst incarnation of the Ninja Turtles, especially when viewed in retrospect nowadays.

11. Curse of the Fly (1965). Up until 2007, it was almost like this film didn't exist since it was never released on VHS or laserdisc (although I did see bits of it on cable) and it was only that year that it finally got a DVD release when it was put into a box-set with The Fly and Return of the Fly (which I highly recommend getting, by the way) but even so, I had heard a fair amount about it, mostly negative. I heard that it was the worst of the original three films and that there was no fly-monster to be seen but, while the latter is certainly true, I think that this is overall an unjustly overlooked flick. Due to the presence of Brian Donlevy (who is good here), the lack of Vincent Price, and the fact that it was shot on a low-budget in England, it feels more like one of Hammer's Quatermass movies than anything to do with The Fly, and the two young leads, George Baker and Carole Gray, admittedly aren't the most compelling actors, but I think there are some interesting ideas here. For one, this is indeed a second sequel to the 1958 original, with the Delambre family, particularly Henri (Donlevy), attempting to perfect their teleportation device to where they can teleport people back and forth between Quebec and London. However, the young Martin's decision to marry a young woman that he comes across unexpectedly and the fact that their past experiments have resulted in hideously mutated people complicate matters. Again, yes, there are no fly-monsters to be found here but you do get some mutated people, including Martin's first wife who's kept in a nearby horse stall like an animal, and Martin himself suffers from teleportation side-effects that cause him to age rapidly, forcing him to take a serum to keep it in check. There's a particularly horrific scene where two mutated men are teleported to London and come out fused together into a writhing mass of flesh (somewhat similar to the ultimate monster in The Quatermass Xperiment), which is then killed with an axe. The original 1958 movie and David Cronenberg's 1986 remake will always be the best and this movie doesn't anywhere close to their levels but, regardless, it's not as bad as you've probably heard it is and is worth at least one watch if you're a fan of old science fiction and monster movies.

10. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995). Yes, this film's troubled production is legendary and what resulted is hardly the crowning jewel of this franchise but I've always gotten enjoyment out of this flick ever since I first saw it. Both versions may have problems, with the theatrical version being something of a mess, especially during the third act, and the producer's cut having eyebrow-raising stuff like Michael Myers having raped his niece and getting stopped by magical stones, but there's just something to this movie that I can't put my finger on that makes me like. I think it's because it has more of the Halloween feel and atmosphere to it than Halloween 5, meaning that it does feel like October rather than spring, that Michael, especially in the theatrical version, kills people in some pretty brutal ways (I love when he causes that guy's head to blow up and when he goes on an absolute rampage at Smith's Grove during the third act), that the overall tone to me is very foreboding and kind of freakish, that I like the score, and that I don't mind the cast, particularly Marianne Hagan and Paul Rudd, the latter of whom I kind of relate to in terms of his character being socially awkward. While I do wish that Donald Pleasence had been left out of the film since he has little to do and looks and sounds like he's at death's door, and I don't like the whole Thorn cult explanation as to why Michael is the way he is (one of the reasons why I prefer the theatrical version since, if nothing else, he still comes across as utterly uncontrollable rather than standing around and listening to the cult like he does in the producer's cut), I think that this film overall, despite some issues, has something to it and deserves to be rediscovered in some ways.

9. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). The original Gremlins is a movie that I watched many, many times when I was a very young kid but I never saw the sequel until I was 17 and I'm sorry that I didn't see it sooner because this movie is a real hoot, which is why it surprises me that there are so many people who don't care for it. The biggest complaint about it that I've heard is that it doesn't have the dark edge that the original does, going for pure, cartoonish comedy, slapstick, and satire and becoming less of a horror-comedy as a result. While that certainly is true, it doesn't bother me at all because of just how damn entertaining it is. While it starts out fairly benign, with Gizmo ending up at a high-tech office building in New York City after his owner dies and the antique shop is demolished, you become aware of what you're in for pretty much from the beginning, with how overly mechanical the building is and the absolutely zany, over-the-top experiments being conducted in the laboratory that are out and out parodies of stuff you've seen in old mad scientist flicks (for God's sake, the movie begins with animation of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck). Once Gizmo gets wet again and spawns some more bad mogwai that eventually become gremlins, however, the movie goes absolutely nuts. There's just too much stuff in this flick to mention all at once: you've got the gremlins drinking chemicals that have various effects on them, with one becoming intelligent enough to talk with the sophisticated voice of Tony Randall, another becoming half-spider, and one becoming a female; Christopher Lee as the mad scientist in charge of the lab (he's a hoot, by the way); John Glover as the child-like, eccentric billionaire behind the company; Robert Prosky as a Grandpa Munster impersonator who reports on the mayhem; a moment where the fourth wall is utterly demolished when the film breaks and the usher in the theater has to get Hulk Hogan to force the gremlins to start the movie back up; and all-out musical number with the gremlins at the end that involves renditions of New York, New York, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, and others. That's to say nothing of all of the blatant references to other movies, cameos from people like film critic Leonard Maltin (actually giving the original Gremlins a bad review and getting attacked for it), John Astin from The Addams Family, and Joe Dante himself, and so much other stuff, all the while underneath all of this pandemonium is Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, and Gizmo trying to restore order. While the movie does lose any semblance of a story during the utterly insane second act, to the point where I tend to forget about the main characters and Gizmo, everything is just so much fun that I can live with it. Throw in some excellent creature effects by Rick Baker and his crew (the gremlins look absolutely like real, breathing creatures) and a wonderfully zany score by Jerry Goldsmith and you've got one of the most unconventional but rewarding sequels that's ever been made.

8. The Evil of Frankenstein (1964). This is yet another sequel that I had always heard described as a very weak entry and yet when I saw it, I had no clue why everyone disliked it so. This, the third entry in Hammer's Frankenstein series, is where they go from being chapters in an actual continuing story like the two previous films to a number of stand-alone films, with the only constant factor being Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein (save for 1970's The Horror of Frankenstein). Here, the good doctor, along with his assistant, returns to his family estate in Karlstaad in order to get some money to continue his experiments and while doing so, discovers his original creation frozen in ice. While he manages to thaw the creature out of the ice, he has to employ a hypnotist to bring it back to consciousness, a hypnotist who decides to use the creature to commit crimes for him behind Frankenstein's back. It's interesting that this film's title is The Evil of Frankenstein because Cushing's portrayal of the doctor here is the most sympathetic of the entire series, portraying him as a misunderstood man whose well-meaning experiments are destroyed by those who can't see them as anything other than evil. While it certainly sticks out like a sore thumb from Cushing's other, more ruthless portrayals of Frankenstein (particularly the 1969 film Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed where he rapes a woman out of nowhere), Cushing is such a great actor that he manages to pull it off effortlessly. Due to a distribution deal Hammer had with Universal around this time, they were able to incorporate elements of the classic films from the 30's, with the most blatant being the design of the monster, which looks a lot like the iconic Jack Pierce makeup. Some people complain about that but I've never seen what was so bad about it, as is how I feel about everything else in the film: the rest of the cast is pretty good, with Peter Woodthorpe being deliciously slimy as the hypnotist, Kiwi Kingston makes for a good enough monster, the production design is great, the film has a lush look to it with the Technicolor, Don Banks creates a memorable score, and the film moves at a good pace throughout its 84-minute running time to a nice, explosive climax at Frankenstein's family estate. Some may consider it the worst of the lot but I think it's one of the best and deserves more respect.

7. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989). This was the Friday the 13th movie my cousins always told me about when were kids and since they always mentioned how cool it was, it was one of the ones I was very eager to see when I got into the series myself in my teens. I enjoyed it the first time I saw it and I still enjoy it, which puts me in a minority since so many people, both fans and casual moviegoers, often call this the worst of the series. They often complain about how 2/3 of it takes place on the cruise ship and only the last 40 or so minutes of it are actually set in New York, as well as that it's one of the most bloodless Friday the 13ths ever, and those are issues that I can't argue with but I think this flick has so much more that overrides those bad notes. I like the cast, with Jensen Daggett making for a good leading lady and Scott Reeves as a likable love interest for her, and Kane Hodder is great as always as Jason (this is my personal favorite of the four films he did). I enjoy the music by Fred Mollin, including the theme song, The Darkest Side of the Night. While it is a shame that more of the film doesn't take in New York, I think they got the most use out of the cruise ship that they could via some nice scenes like Jason smashing a girl's head in down in the engine room, a guy getting a hot rock shoved through his chest in a sauna, people getting chased on deck during a bad storm, and a girl getting the life choked out of her in a dance hall. Once they do get to New York (I know, most of it is Vancouver), you have some great stuff like Jason chasing the two leads through Times Square, killing a dope addict with his own needle in a dark alleyway, punching a guy's head off on a rooftop, and a nice scene in a diner where Jason throws Ken Kerzinger against a mirror ("Steal my role, will you?!"). Yeah, the ending with the sewers flooding out with toxic waste and Jason getting turned back into the little boy he once was when exposed to it makes no sense, and neither do the lead girl, Rennie's, childhood connection to him or the Nightmare on Elm Street-like visions she has of him, but I can deal with that a lot more than Jason suddenly developing the ability to jump from one person's body to another and such. Yes, to me, this is much more of a Friday the 13th movie than stuff like Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X (although that said, I don't hate those movies) and if given a choice, I'll stick with it every time.

6. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985). Now here's a truly underrated sequel that didn't get much respect even on the Never Sleep Again documentary and that's a shame because this is by far one of the darkest and most interesting of the franchise. In many ways, this is even darker than the original because of how utterly evil and sadistic Freddy is, never cracking a single joke, physically and psychologically tormenting the main lead, and killing people in very nasty ways (him going absolutely postal at the pool party near the end is pretty shocking if you're used to the funny Freddy from the later films). On top of one of the darkest performance Robert Englund has ever given in the role, you also have solid acting from Mark Patton as the tormented and absolutely terrified Jesse Walsh (people make fun of the way he screams, saying that he sounds like a girl, but I'd be screaming like that too if this stuff was happening to me), Kim Myers as his sympathetic girlfriend who ends up becoming the hero of the movie, and Robert Rusler as his buddy Grady who meets a nasty end at the hands of Freddy. Many hate the concept of Freddy possessing someone to try to enter the real world, saying that he should stay in the dream, but I've never thought it was that big of a deal and was a nice way of doing something different from the first film (besides, Freddy causes stuff to happen in the real world all the time in the other movies, so what's the issue with this story?) You've also got some really good makeup effects, with the scene where Freddy literally claws his way out of Jesse being the highlight, as well as a nasty, witch-like makeup design for Freddy himself courtesy of Kevin Yagher, a great opening nightmare involving a school bus ride into hell, an eerie score by Christopher Young, and an overall dark, freakish tone that was never recreated in the following films, despite how good they individually are. There are some things that don't make sense and are just peculiar, like the Walsh family's pet bird going crazy before bursting into flames and those random baby-faced dogs and monster mice and cats that show up during the climax at the factory that Freddy worked at when he was alive, as well as the much-discussed gay overtones of the film (which don't bug me but are hard to miss, nevertheless), but overall, this is a great, overlooked horror gem of the 1980's that deserves much more respect, including from those behind the Nightmare franchise (I'd watch this over The Dream Child and Freddy's Dead any day).

5. The Exorcist III (1990). It's understandable why, after the notoriously bad Exorcist II: The Heretic, nobody was too keen on giving a third film a chance but they should have because this, while not one of my absolute favorite horror films (as of now, anyway, since I haven't seen the movie that many times), is a very creepy supernatural thriller that's positively dripping with atmosphere and style. It's too bad that author William Peter Blatty never directed anything else apart from this and The Ninth Configuration because, while I can't speak for that film, he knows how to get good performances out of actors and to utterly creep you out. While it's hard for me to believe that he's the same character that Lee J. Cobb played in the original film, particularly given his much-emphasized friendship with Father Karras when the two of them only spoke once there (I know that they were closer in the book but I'm just talking about the movies), George C. Scott gives a good performance as the weary, bitter Lt. Kinderman, and he's supported nicely by other great actors like Ed Flanders, Grand L. Bush, Scott Wilson, and especially Jason Miller and Brad Dourif, who portray the possessed Father Karras and the spirit of the Gemini killer respectively (Dourif in particular is incredible in his scenes). In addition to great acting, you've got one of the creepiest atmospheres in any movie ever made. Not only are there hideous murders being committed around Georgetown (they're never seen in graphic detail but what you hear about them is enough to make your skin crawl), the whole film has a sense of pure evil hanging over it, particularly in the eerily quiet scene in the hospital room where Kinderman's friend Father Dyer has been murdered and in the scenes where Kinderman speaks to the possessed Karras, with the bizarre, random occurrences like the face of Jack Nicholson's Joker appearing in a blink and you'll miss it shot and a woman crawling around on the ceiling unnoticed by everyone in the room (that often looks stupid in other movies but here, it's freaky as all get-out) only adding to the sense of unease. And let's not forget what could be the greatest jump-scare ever, which I won't spoil except to say that it has an agonizingly-long buildup and scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it. And while Blatty himself may not have liked how the film's climax eventually turned out due to the studio forcing him to re-shoot some stuff, I think it works fine and leads to a satisfying ending. There is some stuff I don't particularly care for, like the random cameos by Fabio and Patrick Ewing as angels (I know Larry King is supposed to be in there too, as well as Samuel L. Jackson, but they're done in such a way that it's not distracting), but on the whole, this is a really creepy, well-made flick that will hopefully one day get the recognition by the general public that it deserves.

4. Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996). I know this is going to sound really silly but when I was a little kid, I was really scared of the original Tremors. Of course, when you're a kid, it's not that hard to be scared of much of anything but the bits of that movie that I saw when I was really young freaked me out and because of that, I always panicked when I saw Kevin Bacon in something because I thought it was going to be something scary (I reacted the same way whenever I saw Robert Stack in anything because of how scary Unsolved Mysteries was to me). And yet, despite that, I was actually able to watch this sequel, which played on cable a number of times when I was around nine to eleven years old, and not get scared. I don't know why but I always thought that this flick was just cool when I was young and looking at it today, I think it measures up to the original. If you've read my 101 Favorite Horror Films list, you'll know that I couldn't decide whether I liked this or the original Tremors more so I gave them a tie and I still stand by that decision. Both of these films are very similar in how successful they are with what they have to offer. While you don't have Kevin Bacon, whom I've heard doesn't think much of the original film, which is a shame, you've got Fred Ward returning and he handles himself really well, as does Christopher Gartin as his new partner Grady, with the two of them having great chemistry, and Helen Shaver as the geologist who's studying the new batch of graboids that are causing trouble down in Mexico. My favorite actor in the film, though, is Michael Gross returning as Burt Gummer who, while I liked him fair enough in the first movie, really comes into his own here and makes Burt even more of a paranoid, overly armed, but at the same time, confident and lovable survivalist who you definitely want on your team when dealing with monsters. Speaking of which, the creature effects by Amalgamated Dynamics are again top of the line, with both the graboids and their new form, the shriekers, looking absolutely like living, breathing animals rather than animatronics and puppets (there is some dodgy, early CGI involving the shriekers but it's used sparingly, which is nice). I also like the new setting of Mexico and the remote outpost the characters use as a base, the music score isn't too shabby, there are some nice, funny moments such as when a graboid swallows a radio that Grady leaves on the ground, the birth of the shriekers is a nice twist on things, and S.S. Wilson keeps everything moving at a brisk pace, making for a very quick, entertaining 100 minutes. I really love this flick and it's a shame that it didn't go to theaters because it doesn't look at all like a direct to video film (which it wasn't originally meant to be).

3. The Fly II (1989). When he agreed to make his directorial debut with this sequel to David Cronenberg's amazing re-imagining of The Fly, effects wizard Chris Walas knew that he would not be able to come close to matching the depth and intelligence that Cronenberg put into that film and so, he decided instead to go with what he knew he could deliver, which was a classic type of monster flick. As a result, many people utterly despise this flick but I've enjoyed it ever since the first time I saw it simply because I understood what it was trying to be and thought it succeeded very well in that regard. While it is a shame that John Getz is the only one from the previous film who briefly returns, I thought the cast worked well overall: Eric Stoltz is a nice, sympathetic lead who manages to make you feel compassion for as he changes,  much like how Jeff Goldblum was able to, Daphne Zuniga is just as lovable and compassionate as Geena Davis was as she desperately tries to help the man she loves, and Lee Richardson plays a very memorable, moral-less bad guy who pretends to be a father figure to Martin Brundle at first but actually intends to only use him and the telepods as a way to further his company. The production values of the interiors of Bartok Industries and Martin's laboratory are high, the music by Christopher Young is solid, focusing mainly on the tragedy of the story rather than the horror, and the creature effects by Walas' company are on the very same level as they were in Cronenberg's film. Not only do you have the various stages of Martin's metamorphosis, culminating in an ultimate form that's well executed by rod and cable-controlled puppets, there are also some hideously mutated animals, with the creature that Bartok himself is turned into by the end being a particularly nasty creation, and plenty of slime and goop as well as impressive gore, like a guy's face being melted off by the fly monster's acidic vomit and another guy's head getting crushed in an elevator. And even though the film is 105 minutes long, it moves at a very nice pace, with the final act being a very exciting climax with the transformed Martin rampaging through Bartok Industries and ultimately getting his revenge of Bartok himself. It might not be as classic as the 1958 original or as thought-provoking as Cronenberg's film, although it is smarter than people give it credit for, but if you're looking for a well-made, slimy, gory monster movie, you can't go wrong with The Fly II.

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). This was the film where I really learned how downright loathsome, overly picky, and ungrateful fans can be, especially when they're blinded by nostalgia. People had begged Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford for years and years to do another Indiana Jones movie and then, when they finally make it, the majority of the fanbase crap all over it. I can understand why the Star Wars prequels catch so much flack but I don't see any reason why fans of the original trilogy of movies shouldn't have absolutely loved this flick, except maybe some less than stellar CGI and some admittedly dumb stuff like monkeys with greaser haircuts and the like. The biggest problem that people always level towards this film is because it's revealed that we're dealing with aliens and to that, I ask, "So, you can buy spirits in the lost ark that can make people's heads melt, a cult that has the power to rip your heart out and yet keep you alive while it bursts into flames in the guy's hand, and a false holy grail that will cause you to age rapidly if you drink from it, among other supernatural stuff like an immortal knight, but aliens are too much?" People also complain about Indy surviving a nuclear explosion by taking cover in a refrigerator and yet they're fine with him sliding his way underneath a moving truck and falling from an airplane thousands of feet in the sky on a life-raft, as well as a bunch of other insane ways he escapes death, and coming out perfectly fine. It's a wonder why Spielberg and George Lucas didn't take out an ad in some newspaper or magazine and utterly blast all of these ungrateful, nitpicky fans who are stuck in their childhood. This film fits perfectly with the original trilogy: it's a fast-paced, exciting, two-hour thrill-ride full of great action scenes and stunts (that chase through the jungle and the sequence involving those man-eating ants are the best parts by far), Harrison Ford, despite his age, being as cool as ever in the role of Indy, a nice return by Karen Allen as Marion, fun humor, and an enthralling score by John Williams. Although he's got a serious attitude problem in real life and very stupidly bashed this film after its release, I didn't mind Shia LaBeouf as Mutt and I thought Ray Winstone, Cate Blanchett, and John Hurt were also good in their supporting roles. If you don't like it simply because it just wasn't your thing, that's fine, but if you're one of those fans who hate it for the reasons I stated above, I honestly don't know what to tell you and don't understand what you expect or want out of movies.

1. Predator 2 (1990). I knew from the get-go when I decided to do this list that this was going to be my number one and I think it's fitting, because I can't think of any other sequel that is more criminally under-appreciated than this awesome flick. Like Rambo III, it almost seems like a rule that you have to love the original Predator and hate this movie but here, I think it's even more unwarranted. Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of my favorite movies period and I do indeed like it more than Predator 2 but the distance I see between them would be less than a centimeter if it could be measured because it is almost equal to the original in terms of what it has to offer. I don't see how anybody who likes Predator wouldn't absolutely love this flick but, that said, let's look at the common complaints people have. First, they don't like that Arnold is not present and is instead replaced by Danny Glover, whom for some reason people have a hard time buying as an action lead. While it would have been great if Arnold had returned, Glover more than holds his own here, playing Mike Harrigan as a bad-ass cop who may be really hard-headed with a very short fuse but is actually a very loyal guy who cares about his team, feels that L.A. is his city, and wants to take care of the major crime problems his way and not roll over for his superiors or the feds. Speaking of which, people also say that they don't like the change of location from the jungle to the city, which I also don't understand since that felt like the logical next step for a sequel to Predator, much like how going from just one monster to dozens was the logical step from Alien to Aliens. The city is used just as effectively as the jungle was in the first film, being portrayed as absolute hell on Earth with rampant crime, a vicious war between Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels, and a searing heat wave, with the Predator himself arriving to make everything even worse. Going back to the cast, you've also got Gary Busey as a special agent out to capture the Predator, Ruben Blades as Harrigan's best buddy, Danny, Maria Conchita Alonso as the tough-as-nails Leona, and Bill Paxton as the funny, young transfer cop who ultimately goes out a hero. The Predator himself is just as awesome a monster as he was before, with Stan Winston's team going above and beyond to make him look as much like a living creature as they can and coming through with flying colors, as well as coming up with new, deadly weapons for him to use, and the special effects used to create his invisibility device are even more believable than before. Alan Silvestri manages to come up with another stirring score, adding some jungle, drum beats to many of his themes from the previous film as well as making them much bigger and more epic than they were before. And, most importantly of all, this film has one of the most relentless paces ever, doing what any good sequel should do, which is hit the ground running now that everything has been established, and then going at full-blast for 108 minutes without hardly stopping at all. Combine all of that with so many awesome, well-done action scenes and a third act that is nothing short of incredible and you've got simply one of the most fun movies ever. Why this film gets so much flack I will never know but I will take it over those AVP movies and Predators any time or day of the week. And that's why Predator 2 is my number one most underrated sequel. Bow down to it, damn it!