Evil Dead is a low-budget horror classic. Its sequel, conveniently titled Evil Dead II, came out six years after the original and is also a classic—an amped-up version of the first film that adds more humor and gore with the help of a larger budget. However, not every “part 2” in the scary-movie realm manages to complement the first in its series so grandly, but turns out there are quite a few.
We’re not saying these first sequels are better than the original (though sometimes they are). We’re also not taking into account movies that aren’t specifically the second film in the series (though sometimes, you’ll get an outstandingly superior part three, four, or higher; the horror genre does love to reinvent itself). And we’re sticking to horror—so Aliens and Predator 2 fans, we are right there with you, but those lean a little more sci-fi so we’re leaving them off this particular list. You’ll also notice it heavily (but not exclusively!) favors titles with the actual numeral two in them. So today io9 is celebrating 17 part twos that bring us joy—blood-splattered, terrifying joy…starting with Sam Raimi’s 1987 Evil Dead II, starring Bruce Campbell, a chainsaw, some wildly malevolent trees, the Necronomicon, and a whole lot of cackling Deadites.
