Movie Debate: What makes a good sequel?

So what makes a good sequel? While I was looking at all of the Demoni/Demons films and talking about which was a real sequel and which was a sequel in name only I was also trying to review the sequels to a limited extent, I was talking about if they felt like sequels but also if they were in fact good films. This got me thinking that for my next blog post maybe I should talk about what makes a good sequel. Now all of my examples and such will be based around film sequels but a lot of the points made within could also relate to video games or books.

Well an easy place to start would be to name a few really good sequels and then maybe think about what I like about one or two of them. The following are films which for one reason or another I believe are some of the best sequels you can find, not all of them will have a 2 plastered on the end but they are definitely considered real proper official sequels. OK so here is my list Dawn of the dead, The Empire Strikes back, Aliens, Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. I am not saying that these are the only good sequels or that they are the best but they are all sequels I respect and feel don't disappoint fans of the original.

So taking Aliens as a starting point, what does it take from the original film? Well it takes the character of Riply and it takes the alien creature the Xenomorph, it takes everything you learned and know from the first film about both this woman and this type of monster and then applies them to a new situation. It is definitely a sequel and feels like a sequel because it is the continuing story/adventures of Riply. So what is different? Well the first film was very much a horror film, there was one Alien hence the films title Alien and it basically stalked the crew of a ship the ship was a commercial spacecraft so they were just regular working people with no military training, there were also no real weapons on board with which to defend themselves, where as the Alien with its claws, its large frame, predatory instincts and acid for blood was a born killer. In the sequel Riply becomes the civilian advisor to a team of Colonial Marines basically bad ass soldiers with all of the weapons you could dream of, hand guns, plasma rifles, assault rifles, grenades, body armour, helmet cameras, they are tooled up trained professionals, professionals who would have killed that one lone Alien with very little trouble. The problem is that in this case they are not set against a lone Alien, rather they end up facing a relentless hoard of Aliens, yes they shoot, kill and incinerate lots of Aliens but with everyone they kill more and more just keep coming. It would be hard to call this a horror film like the first one, I would be inclined to think of it more as a Science Fiction Action movie with Elements of horror in it, in fact it kind of feels like a War film at times sort of either a Vietnam movie or one of those old Western fort under siege flicks. Yet this is one of my favourite sequels and that is because it has a strong connection to the original film bringing back both the last survivor and using the same Monster but it also is not afraid to take these set pieces and do something new and interesting with them instead of being just a cash in rehash of what came before.

Star Trek 2 the Wrath of Kahn and The Empire Strikes back are even more obvious than this, they are set in the same world's and feature pretty much all of the main characters from there respective prequels. Yet if we look at Dawn of the Dead the sequel to Night of the living dead there is no central character from the first movie returning to feature in the sequel, all that is returning is the monster, the Zombies.and these guys look a lot different, a lot better really. The first film was in black and white yet this sequel was in colour. The same Director was at the helm of both films and they were both based on his vision which wasn't true in the case of Alien and Aliens, Aliens was more like someone new jumping in to the original guys toy box and playing with the toys in his own way. So you can argue that in one way Dawn is a truer sequel because its by the same Director yet Aliens has a returning lead character, which one matters more? Well that depends on your own personal view, I don't mind somebody new being at the helm, new people can bring new ideas and a fresh perspective but I also don't mind sequels that are set in the same world but don't directly follow a certain persons story, in some cases it can be the world itself which is the central character.

So I guess basically a sequel is a continuation, it can be a continuation of a world story or a persons story or a whole group of peoples stories, it can be any of these things and be a good sequel as long as its good. If its the continuation of a person or a groups story then they don't have to do the exact same thing in the exact same place, if its a continuation of a worlds story it doesn't have to even be set in the same part of that world as the last film. A sequel can even be a part of a slightly different genre, what it has to do though is feel somehow connected and deliver something which will interest those who were interested in the original. Often it is when a sequel is too similar or far too different that it is considered bad, people will moan if something is just a rehash but then they will also moan if it doesn't feel connected at all. I think the best formula would be to take elements of the past but to use them to do either a completely new story or a continuing story which offers your fans something of the old while not overly repeating yourself to the point people might as well just save themselves some cash and watch the original again.

The Vault of Horror: A horror film you need to see.

Every now and then I like for all of the dots to line up so that I can talk about a whole bunch of my favourite things in one go, be it talking about a Video game which happens to be about wrestling or a Horror film that happens to be based on a classic line of horror comics. Well today I have a real beauty to talk about because it involves a whole host of things I love a great deal. It is also a chance for me to persuade you that you need to watch this for Halloween this year.

Today I get to talk about a horror film, in fact it is what you would call a horror anthology film, which is one of my favourite types of movie, it is based on a wonderful series of comics which happens to feature a very well loved actor who is probably mostly thought of for his role as The Doctor in Doctor Who and it was made by a company I am also very fond of.

So what am I talking about? Well if you have read the title of this post or even looked at the picture which is across from this text then you will already know that I am referring to The Vault of Horror a horror anthology film made by Amicus Productions a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios here in England. It was Filmed from August to September in 1972. It is the only Amicus anthology movie which does not feature Peter Cushing (Most likely because he was busy filming another film for Amicus called ''And Now the Screaming Starts!'') I can forgive its lack of the amazing talents of Mr Cushing though largely because it features another marvellous actor the formerly mentioned future Doctor Who, Mr Tom Baker.

So here we have an Amicus produced film based on Stories from EC Comics horror comics staring The Doctor himself Tom Baker what is there not to love here? If you arnt aware what EC Comics are then the easiest way to explain is to say that they were an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in areas such as horror fiction, crime fiction, and science fiction from the 1940s through tothe mid-1950s, with there most well known title being the Tales from the Crypt series which of course would go on to give birth to the Film Version of Tales from the Crypt made by Amicus and the Latter HBO TV series Tales from the Crypt. This film was in fact a sequel to Tales from the Crypt and was referd to in some cases and released sometimes in some markets with names like Further Tales from the Crypt and Tales from the crypt,part II. In honesty these titles probably makes more sense really as none of the stories contained in this film actually come from the EC comic series "The Vault of Horror." The story "The Neat Job" originally appeared in one of EC's other titles "Shock SuspenStories," and the rest of the stories appeared in various issues of "Tales from the Crypt.". I guess they went with the Vault of Horror title for the film to keep the EC connection but to make it stand on its own and not give anyone the idea that they would be at any disadvantage if they hadn't seen Tales from the Crypt, and the truth is this film can stand on its own legs, you can enjoy it and the stories within it regardless of if you have seen the Tales from the Crypt or not.

Ok so the film as I have pointed out is an anthology story but it has a what I would call wrap around story which holds all of the short stories together. In this case the story is that five strangers all get in to a lift togther, a lift in what appears to be an office block. They end up in the sub-basement even though none of them pressed the button for that floor. In the sub-basement they find a fully furnished room. The lifts door closes and they are all stuck down there, so they make the best of it they settle down grab drinks and begin to talk to each other, they end up talking about dreams and it is then that each one of them takes it in turns to tell everyone about a recurring nightmare they think they have been having, these tales form the stories in this anthology.

Ok so despite this film having come from the 1970's my main reason for writing this is to convince you that you need to see this film. So to that end I intend to lay out a rough idea of the stories within the film, to sell it to you but I will also be trying to not give away too much.

First there is a tale called Midnight Mess taken from Tales from the Crypt issue 35. It is about a brother who tracks down his sister with the intention of killing her to claim her share of there inheritance. 

This is followed by The Neat Job from the first issue of Shock SuspenStories. Its the tale of an obsessively clean and tidy man who marries what can best be described as a young trophy wife who unfortunately for him doesn't live up to his ideals of domestic home maker this starts to drive him mad, and his reactions begin to do the same to her.

This Trick’ll Kill You taken from Tales from the Crypt issue 33. A magician on a working holiday in India, is searching for new tricks. Nothing gets his attention until he sees a girl charming a rope out of a basket with a flute. Unable to work out how the trick is done, he persuades her to come to his hotel room, so that he can gain this skill.

Bargain in Death taken from Tales from the Crypt issue 28. A man is buried alive as part of an insurance scam concocted with his friend. His friend double crosses him leaving him to suffocate. He is discovered when Two trainee doctors bribe a gravedigger to dig up a corpse to help with their studies.

Drawn and Quartered taken from Tales from the Crypt issue 26. An impoverished painter living on Haiti (Played by Tom Baker). Learns that his work has been sold for large profits by dealers and critics who told him that it was worthless, because of this he goes to a voodoo priest and his painting hand is given a strange power; whatever he paints or draws can be harmed by damaging its image. 

Maybe it is because of Tom Baker and my fondness for the man but Drawn and Quartered is definitely my favourite story and it actually makes me wish that he was involved in more horror films. The man is incredibly eccentric in his acting and this gave us the wonderful Alien 4th Doctor but this same quirk can help him come across as quiet terrifying in a very you have no idea what he could be capable of way. The whole of this film relies on little twists and turns and in all honesty if you are used to the sort of horror movie idea that the sinner must somehow pay for his sins then you will most likely to some extent see everything coming from a mile away yet it still manages to draw you in. It is quiet surprising that the HBO Tales from the Crypt Series never reused any of these stories, the opening story of that series was one of the ones used for the Tales From The Crypt Amicus film years earlier after all.

So I would recommend this film to people who love horror anthology films, people who loved the Tales from the Crypt TV show and want to see more of the EC comics stories on film and to fans of Tom Baker who want to see The Doctor in a less heroic role. This is not the last time I will focus on people from Doctor Who turning up in the world of horror.