In an age where marketing is very important for any kind of media, it’s become easier to build on something rather than create something from scratch. The amount of reboots, remakes, and most prominently, sequels, that have been released in the past decade is quite significant. This is largely - if not completely - due to the nostalgia factor, something that so many filmmakers rely on these days, especially after the success of the IT movies and Netflix’s Stranger Things.
When consumers see a thing that mimics the thing they loved years ago, it makes that want to relive said thing, and there are becoming more and more outlets to do this. Because of this phenomenon, sequels and reboots seem to easily take priority over original creations. Even Blumhouse’s recently released Fantasy Island is a twist on an old classic.
With this being said, there are so many movies from the past decades that could have - and in some cases, were meant to be - their own movies if the sequel boom was not so significant. Let’s take a look at some of the most notorious stand-outs.
American Psycho 2 (2002)
American Psycho hit theatres in 2000 and since then, has left a significant legacy in the film world. Virtually everyone knows of the film, whether they’ve seen it or not because its unique, dark, humorous tone has become so famous since its initial release.
In 2002, a film originally titled, The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die, was being crafted, when the decision was made to transform this into a “standalone sequel” to American Psycho. So The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die became American Psycho 2, and this movie was predictably terrible, but as its own movie - as it was originally intended to be - maybe it could have been something more.
Bridget Jones’ Baby (2016)
The first movie in the Bridget Jones series, Bridget Jones’ Diary, was released in 2001, and later followed up with a sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, in 2004. These two films were fairly well-received by critics and viewers alike, but it still seems nonsensical for yet another sequel to be added to the franchise over a decade later.
When you consider the time-gap and the fact that none of the characters in Bridget Jones’ Baby - including Bridget Jones herself - really resemble who they were in the original films - this sequel definitely would have faired better as a standalone film, using original characters rather than the ones from the Bridget Jones movies.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
When it was in development, what would later become a member of the Cloverfield film franchise was simply a standalone thriller film originally titled The Cellar. Eventually, its first concept was tweaked in order for it to become a Cloverfield film, and it was retitled, 10 Cloverfield Lane.
This is not most fans’ favourite movie in the popular horror film franchise, and that’s probably because it was never meant to be a Cloverfield movie. To see The Cellar as a standalone film would have most likely been a much more fulfilling experience.
The Grudge (2020)
The original Grudge movies, both the Japanese and American versions, stemmed from a Japanese urban legend where a curse is created in the aftermath of sorrowful death. In Japan, the films are referred to as the Ju-on series, and the first film of said series was released in 2002. The first American adaptation of The Grudge was released in 2004, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as the protagonist.
The Grudge is a franchise that was put in the ground some time ago, with the last film in the American series being The Grudge 3 (2009). Now we have the newest addition, over ten years later; a reimagining of the original story. The thing is that this remake lacks the lore that made the original movies memorable, so the crew probably would have been better off just making their own movie about a different infamous urban legend.
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
After the worldwide success of James Wan’s Insidious (2011) and its sequel (2013), Saw director Leigh Whannell tried his hand in the mini-franchise with Insidious Chapter 3, which hit theatres in 2015. While the original two Insidious movies had the same cast and crew, Whannell’s version made some big changes.
For this reason, Insidious: Chapter 3 could have easily been its own movie, and with Whannell’s creative vision, it could have even been a decent movie, if it didn’t have to stick to the Insidious franchise.
S.Darko (2009)
The cult classic indie horror film, Donnie Darko, was released in 2001 at the Sundance Film Festival. It was director Richard Kelly’s film debut, and it is considered a sleeper hit since it was not promoted heavily and therefore did not achieve significant success until later years when it gained a cult following.
Nothing in Donnie Darko ever hinted at there being a sequel to the mind-bending, surrealist film, but in 2009, that’s exactly what director Chris Fisher created, much to Richard Kelly’s disapproval. S. Darko revolved around Donnie Darko’s little sister, Sam, as she comes to terms with having doomsday visions as her late brother did. S. Darko was panned by critics and audiences alike, but it had a unique enough story that, if it didn’t try to piggyback off of Donnie Darko (a perfectly fine standalone film), it might have had a chance.
Child’s Play (2019)
The first Child’s Play movie hit theatres in 1988 and has since grown into one of the most well-known slasher franchises to date, with multiple sequels. In 2019, the franchise got its first reboot, but the series’ creator, Don Mancini, chose not to have said reboot associated with the original films.
Child’s Play (2019) was directed by Lars Klevberg, who brought a very different vision to the table. Because it was such a different story than the original movie, this reboot/sequel could have so easily been given a unique concept, which could have made it a standalone movie. With just a few details changed, Child’s Play wouldn’t even bear any resemblance to the ’80s franchise, so Klevberg probably would have been better off just creating an original film.
47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)
47 Meters Down was directed by Johannes Roberts and hit theatres in 2017. It grossed roughly $62 million on a $5 million budget, and while it received tepid reviews from critics, the commercial success meant that it was worthy of a sequel.
47 Meters Down: Uncaged was released in 2019, and although Roberts returned to direct the film, this sequel had absolutely nothing to do with the first movie. Rather than being about people getting stuck in a diving cage and becoming shark bait, Uncaged followed the story of four teenagers who go shark hunting through ancient Mayan ruins. Without the words 47 Meters Down in the title, one would never even know that the two movies were connected.
Evan Almighty (2007)
Being released in 2003, Bruce Almighty is considered to be somewhat of a classic, largely due to its all-star cast that included Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, and Jennifer Aniston. It was a fantasy/comedy that bordered on ridiculous storylines at times, but it was memorable nonetheless. However, nothing about it made anyone want a follow-up.
A sequel to Bruce Almighty, titled Evan Almighty, came to theatres in 2007. Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman reprised their roles, but the film still managed to effectively ignore its predecessor, not even mentioning Carrey’s original titular character, Bruce.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
In the age of sequels, even master of horror, Stephen King himself, is not completely immune to the pressure to recreate the nostalgia-fuelled magic of something that was once successful. The Shining was published in 1977 and was adapted into a successful film by Stanley Kubrick in 1980. In 2013, King’s sequel to his classic novel was published.
Doctor Sleep was then adapted into a film by The Haunting Of Hill Housedirector, Mike Flanagan, who previously adapted King’s Gerald’s Game, to film. With this in mind,Doctor Sleepwas highly anticipated and should have been full of promise, but it largely disappointed, primarily due to its most major issue, the fact that it never should have been a Shining sequel. Revisiting visuals and characters from the classic film was cool and all, but Doctor Sleep could have so easily been a different story about different characters, without all the Shining stuff, that was fine on its own.
