The confusing world of film sequels

I'll begin with some fun.

Grindhouse double Planet Terror and Death Proof collectively advertise 'fake' trailers for Machete, Machete Kills and Hobo with a Shotgun.

All of which became real films of course.

Werewolf Women of the SS, Don't and Thanksgiving weren't so lucky.

Joke or not, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers promised Student Chainsaw Nurses, which sadly never materialised.

Similarly, clever Jaws parody Blades teased Hedges.

Spoofing anything from Top Gun to Mission: Impossible, 22 Jump Street is the undisputed fake poster king.

Okay.  Down to business.

Despite name and number, expect a wicked combination of fake sequels and erroneous nonsense drafted in to unnecessarily bamboozle.

To be fair, the finger of blame should be pointed at studios, rather than film-makers.

But whatever, enjoy.

Natura Contro (translated as Against Nature) was released in 1988, and today is best known as Green Inferno or Canniabl Holocaust 2.
It wasn't a sequel to Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust and just to make things more confusing, there was another film called Green Inferno in 1973, which 40 years later, would not be remade by Eli Roth in 2013 as The Green inferno.

America released Shock as Beyond the Door II, but had nothing to do with said series.

Similarly, Death Train or Amok Train, came out as Beyond the Door III.

Although The Church is also known as Demons 3, Michele Soavi's film has more in common wih my ass than the 'Demons' franchise.

Arrow Video released Demons and Demons 2 in 2012 with a a two-part comic included, called Demons 3.

Crazy shit.

Lamberto Bava's The Ogre was released on video in America as Demons III: The Ogre.

To capitalise on Grizzly's earlier success, Claws was re-released in 1978 in Canada and Mexico as Grizzly 2.
Interestingly, official sequel Grizzly II: The Concert was filmed and partially completed during the early 80's, but was never released.

1995 classic was updated in 2008 and titled Ghost of the Shell 2.0.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) is considered a loose sequel.

Titanic II is a mockbuster, not sequel to James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster.

The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare is based on original book, so obviously doesn't follow events of Howling III.

Universal Soliders wasn't a belated sequel to Van Damme/Lundgren action vehicle, but a Predator rip-off with Terminator-esque baddies thrown in for good measure.

Presumably because Sean Cunnigham produced it, The Horror Show was renamed House 3 for UK and Australian releases.
Because of this, House 4 is the real House 3.

Fright Night 2: New Blood takes chunks from Fright Night (1985), 2011 remake and Fright Night Part 2 (1988).

Showgirls 2: Penny's from Heaven is a remake, sequel and parody.

Troll 2 features goblins, not trolls.
HA HA HA!

The icky Xtro received two sequels, The Second Encounter and Watch the Skies.  Even though both were directed by Harry Bromley Davenport, neither had anything to do with original.

Stand-alone or remake?
I'm on either side, but whatever, Deep Blue Sea 2 doesn't deserve 'sequel' tag.

Randomly introducing witch cult, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation bore no relation to Better Watch Out! and although next entry returned to killer Santa theme, The Toy Maker followed another unrelated plot.

Silent Night served as a loose remake of 1984 original.

Much to the annoyance of Rene Perez, Playing with Dolls: Bloodlust was repackaged in the UK as Leatherface.
Tactic was no accident, as distributor knew about upcoming Texas Chainsaw prequel.

Okay, now volume is turned up beyond eleven.

Mario Bava's hugely influential 1971 masterpiece A Bay of Blood was re-released in America under several names, including The Last House on the Left - Part 2.

Dario Argento's Deep Red didn't hit Japan until 1978, and bizarrely marketed as Suspiria Part 2.

One of the alternative titles for Night Train Murders was Last House - Part II, which according to tagline, implies the 'First' was either Wes Craven's original or 'Last House', which to this day - doesn't exist.
Errr, WTF? 

Naked Exorcist, aka Return of the Exorcist, was at some point dubbed The Exorcist III: Cries and Shadows.
The Exorcist III didn't come out until 1990.

The power of Christ compels me to show you 1975 poster.

Please note mysterious figure.

For some reason, The Exorcist's poster springs instantly to mind.

Max von Sydow's Father Merrin made an unofficial appearance.

For the record, original eventually received two prequels.  Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist.

The Crawlers never received a sequel, but is also known as Troll 3¹, Creepers² and Contamination³.

¹Bears no connection to Troll or Troll 2.  Quest for the Mighty Sword (last in the Ator series) can also be called so.
²Dario Argento's Phenomena was released in America as Creepers.
³ntbcw 1980 film of same name, which was renamed Alien Contamination by North American distributor Cannon Films to capitalize on the success of Ridley Scott's Alien.

Now it's time for Italy to strut piss-taking stuff.

Alien 2: On Earth is the unofficial 1980 sequel to Alien.

Released only in Japan for MSX, Aliens: Alien 2 covered all bases.

Jaws 5: Cruel Jaws would have you believe series continued, but...
TV movie even had the cheek to recycle footage from Jaws, Jaws II, Deep Blood and The Last Shark.
For shits and giggles, it also pretty much lifted Mafia subplot from Peter Benchley's original 1974 Jaws novel.
Gotta love how tagline builds on Jaws: The Revenge.

The Evil Dead was called La Casa and similarly, Evil Dead II was dubbed La Casa II.

No prizes for guessing what happened next.

Before Army of Darkness, there was La Casa 3 (later released as Ghosthouse).

Two more 'sequels' followed, La Casa 4 (Witchery) and La Casa 5 (Beyond Darkness).

Peversely, House II: The Second Story and The Horror Show were also released under the La Casa label, as 'sixth' and 'seventh' films respectively.

Bonus round start.

Even though 1973 Spanish horror El ataque de los muertos sin ojos (Return of the Blind Dead) was renamed Return of the Evil Dead for English-speaking countries, it did not provide the basis for Sam Raimi's Evil Dead.

It was actually the second in Amando de Ossorio's 'Blind Dead' series.

Interesting, right?

Bruno Mattei remade Aliens and called it Terminator 2.
Unsurprisingly, Shocking Dark was never released in America.

Let's take a closer look.

Sara vs Ripley

Samantha vs Newt

Burke vs Burke

Main villain turns out to be Tubular Corporation's Perfect Android.

Marines gather to chew the fat.

We do at least get an alien.

Holy SHIT!

Grand finale is done ass about face on purpose.

Day of the Dead (1985) was loosely remade in 2008 and again in 2018, with the subtitle of Bloodline.

Before all that.

Day of the Dead 2: Contagium is the unofficial prequel to Romero's original.

Dawn of the Dead (1978) was remade in 2004.

During a legal battle with the MKR Group, Capcom famously added disclaimer for the European release of Dead Rising.

This game was not developed, approved or licensed by the owners or creators of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

1986 computer game Zombi was heavily influenced by DOTD and was followed by Zombi 2 (1979).

If only it were true...

(Laughs).

I wonder where Ubisoft lifted cover art from?

When ported from Wii U to PS4 etc, ZombiU was simply renamed Zombi.

Right, to serious business.

Dawn of the Dead was released in Italy as Zombi, so to cash in on its success, Lucio Fulci's gore-drenched classic was called Zombi 2 (without director's knowledge or permission).

So in the UK.

Zombie Flesh Eaters (Zombi 2)
Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 (Zombi 3)
Zombie Flesh Eaters 3 (Oltre la morte, aka After Death)

3 is unrelated to series and was called Zombie 4 in Japan.

Think that's bad, it gets much worse.

Germany

Zombie (Dawn of the Dead)
Zombie 2: Das Letzte Kapitel (Day of the Dead)
Zombie III (Zombi 3)

Zombi 2 was released separately as Woodoo.

Thailand

Zombie Flesh Eaters (Zombi 2)
Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 (Zombi 3)
Zombie Flesh Eaters 3 (Oltre la morte, aka After Death)
Zombie Flesh Eaters 4 (Uccelli assassini, aka Killing Birds)

3 and 4 are completely unrelated to series.

America

Zombie (Zombi 2)
Zombie 3 (Zombi 3)
Zombie 4: After Death (Oltre la morte, aka After Death)
Zombie 5: Killing Birds (Uccelli assassini, aka Killing Birds)
Zombie 6: Monster Hunter (Absurd)

So 'Zombie 2' doesn't exist.

Killing Birds (1987) was released before After Death (1988), and Absurd came out in 1981.

Err, logic?

So after all that shit, Germany was the only country to exploit Day of the Dead.

But what of Night of the Living Dead?

Special effects extraordinaire Tom Savini directed impressive remake of same name in 1990.

As the undead powers that be never copyrighted 1968 original, mayhem inevitably ensued.

Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)

Remake starred Sid Haig and was unbelievably bad.

Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated (2009)

Soundtrack, concept and dialogue is retained, but contributing artists (who didn't get paid a penny for their efforts), employed their own styles of stop-motion, claymation, sock puppets and comic book visuals.

Imaginative I suppose.

Night of the Living Dead: Reanimation (2012)

Prequel to NOTLD 3D.

Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012)

Third remake was shot in Wales.

Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015)

With graphics shoddier than a low-end PS1 game, CG movie swaps farmhouse setting for modern-day apartment block.

Tony Todd and Bill Moseley reprised roles as Ben and Johnny from first remake.

Bad cover art - Take 10

Inseminoid
Somewhere in the depths of space...
Constipated extraterrestrial is failing miserably to scare female astronaut.
Thank goodness nightmare isn't our reality.

Bomber Bob
In this shameless Bomb Jack clone, banana pants must defuse the Pentagon, outwit the evil Kleptov, thus saving the world from impending doom.
What does 'B' stand for? Bomber or Bob?
Who knows? And more importantly - who fucking cares?

Shanghai Warriors
Getting booted in the solar plexus always hurts, but living with the shame and ignomy of knowing you've being tagged by cardboard figure stiffer than a veteran porn star is enough to make anybody want to curl up and die.

Oriental Hero
Albino ninja exposing nipple, holding pointy stick aloft in triumph and clutching innocent serpent like grim death may appeal to weirdos, but leaves the rest of us feeling rather nauseous.

Black Lamp
Hey fat bastard. Yeah, I'm talking to you.
Guess who ate all the pies?
Yes, it was a rhetorical question.

Prince Clumsy
Muscular monster and blonde bimbo attempt to rip Prince Clumsy limb from limb for the right to violate knight in rusty armour.
In these dark times, beggars can't be choosers I suppose.

Sir Fred
As schnozzle is bigger than most continents, was artist inspired by Gerald Scarfe's caricatures used in title sequences of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister?
More importantly, is cover art an accurate representation of sprite?
To be generous, kinda.

Zeus
Is game called Hera?
No. So why the fuck is hubby nowhere to be seen?
Also, what's with S literally pointing out area above chesticles?

Death Mask
Terror through the eye of the...
Wait a minute, is this a strange play on 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder?'
I see claret trickling from left eye and right corner of mouth.
Considering mask is apparently a 'death' sentence, piece of shit is doing a piss poor job of living up to its reputation.

The Paranoia Complex
So there I was minding my own business, and this crazy motherfucker appears from nowhere, forces some green shit into my veins, leaving me pissing diarrhoea through every orifice until I expire.
Happy days.

Gemstone Warrior
Hands up if we feel sorry for cyclops getting strangled by heroic pensioner?
Nobody? Fair enough.

Major League Manager
(Conversation plays out from left to right).
Did you just shag our lass in the back?
Yeah, so what?
You lousy bastard, it was my turn to hit a home run.
But it's alright for you to pound my old lady's drums?
That's not the goddamn point.
Anyway, fuck those bitches. Fancy getting alcohol poisoning in the bar?
(Suddenly moans in extreme pain).
What's up yer' fanny?
Ugh, it's my arm. It's just been violently twisted.
Ha ha ha! Good one.

World Championship Boxing Manager
If boxing minger can't bear to watch, how can Goliath Games expect anybody to take piece of shit further than shop shelf?
Cue aggressive head scratching.

Outback
Kangaroo poachers?
What a marvellous advert for Australia.
Wait a minute, cork hats using balloons as transport?
Even a flaming gallah wouldn't appreciate such logic.

Buddy Bubble
After guzzling diesel and confusing vodka for petrol, powers that be insisted on using infantile masterpiece to market their game.
Sales figures were shall we say 'interesting'.

Freak Factory
Albert Einstein is seen as a genius.
Now I see E=mc² in a whole different, and very demented light.

Catch 'Em
Not content with one perverted human, apes snorted identical halluciogen.
Look at their eyes. Like fucking dinner plates
Creature tucking into monkey brunch (how original) with exclamation mark curiously placed above head pretty much confirms nobody knows what the fuck's going on. 

Boxing
How do you spice up something so incredibly drab?
Add rainbow trails of course.

Davy: King of the Wild Frontier, and his Quest to Save the Gal He Loves
Desperate Dan knock-off isn't so Dandy.
So I have a more appropriate title.
Davy: King of the Crumpled Penis Nose, and the Tag of Forever Virgin.

Embodiment of Evil
Third in Coffin Joe trilogy had fingernails turn rapper who made ill-advised decision of selling soul to record label Burnt Down Bollocks.
Shit didn't go according to plan, and black hat spent the rest of his days soiling pants and sucking meals through a straw. 

Killer Kong
To whoever was responsible, thank you for genuinely making me cry with laughter.
With such an impressive pair of tits, no wonder ape is wearing a grin more famous than the Mona Lisa.
For the record, game itself was one of many Donkey Kong clones. 

Pac-Man
In this bizarre iteration, Pac-Man is a buck-toothed scrawny freak, doomed to munching on plastic discs (or whatever the fuck they're supposed to be).
Oh, you've got to admire Middle Ages setting too.
WAKA WAKA WAKA!

The Peace Keepers
I'd rather wallow in the fires of pixel hell then share a world with this quartet of dickheads.

Psycho Hopper
Go on pal, hop like the bastard wind and don't stop until cliff precipice is breached.
As t-shirt states 'Why Not?'

Street Warrior
Semi-naked freaks of nature accompanied by neutered mutt less ferocious than disadvantaged earthworm is just the hard core image this street really needed.

Who Dares Wins II
Budget king Alternative Software did a splendid job of misleading everybody into believing 'their' version of Alligata's Commando had ninjas surreptitiously kill.
Of course, that was bullshit - rather like trio of tossers standing in front of building they wired to go boom, tic-tic-tic-titty boom!

X-Man
Along with Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em and the infamous Custer's Revenge, porn was rife on the Atari 2600.
Anyway, we have X-Man (note how font is suspiciously similar to a certain Marvel comic and how M is amusingly adapted into a crotch).
Scissors on legs, nervous crab and twizzler teeth are hell-bent on warning hormonal teenager contracting chlamydia is just a shag away.
Life's a whore and then you die.

Joker - The scoop and digest

Basing premise on Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke, the first in DC Black label (from a cinematic POV at least), explores how the most famous comic book villain of all time came to be.

Oh, title is also an unrelated 2008 graphic novel.

Joaquin Phoenix - Arthur Fleck/Joker
Robert De Niro - Murray Franklin
Zazie Beetz - Sophie Dumond
Frances Conroy - Penny Fleck
Brett Cullen - Thomas Wayne

Summary

In 1981, a mentally ill Arthur Fleck makes ends meet as a clown-for-hire and cares for his sick mother Penny.

Plagued with crime, unemployment and super rats, Gotham City is on the brink of collapse.

After suffering a brutal beating at the hands of Thomas Wayne's drunken employees, wannabe stand-up comedian suddenly snaps, spelling trouble for those around him.

Don't smile!

Seriously, you won't, because fascinating character study is definitely no laughing matter.

But having said that, quality will have you grinning from ear to ear.

From dark setting to iconic gun to the head hand gesture, Todd Phillips blatantly copies Taxi Driver; but there's more than enough originality to ensure phenomenal effort is not just a cheap imitation.

Rather ironically, You Were Never Really Here (also starring Phoenix), is also compared to Scorsese's classic.

And there's the brilliant Falling Down was of course.

Impressive screenplay by Phillips and Scott Silver features no terrible one-liners or cheesy comebacks.

Phew.

Gorgeous cinematography expertly captures grim atmosphere and Hildur Guðnadóttir's incredible score blew me away.

In an ironic role reversal from The King of Comedy, De Niro enjoys himself as odious talk show host, but this is all about Joaquin Phoenix.

Bold, daring, fierce, scary, enigmatic, mesmeric and 52 pounds lighter, performance ranks as one of the best I've ever seen.

The guy is a fucking genius.

When presented with inevitable Oscar, I wonder if he'll be brought out as Joker?

It's revealed Arthur was adopted and Penny's former boyfriend used them both as a punching bag.

Penny offered no protection, leading to severe head trauma, hence Arthur's condition.

Slap may have been based on Pogo the Clown, stage name of real life serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

To add further weight, Arthur performs at Pogo's Comedy Club.

Violence is entirely justified and painted with a realistic brush.

So, do we sympathise and root for Arthur?

Yes.

After all, society creates its own monsters, right?

Just before shooting Franklin dead live on TV, Arthur states "What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you fucking deserve!"

Poetry.

Homages

The Dark Knight

Before getting rescued by rioters, Arthur is driven by the carnage he inspired.

Shot resembles Heath Ledger popping head out of police car.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

An enraged Arthur murders Penny in hospital by smothering her with pillow.  Chief uses identical tool to put Jack Nicholson's now vegetable McMurphy out of his misery.

Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus suffocates Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000).

Batman (1989)

Slightly dodgy, but whatever.

While Arthur is backstage waiting to murder Franklin, 'Put on a happy face' is written on dressing room mirror.

At the end of Smylex commercial, Joker says 'So remember, put on a happy face!'

Ready or Not - The scoop and digest

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett direct, with Chad Villella and Daniel Bekerman serving as executive producers.

Samara Weaving - Grace
Adam Brody - Daniel
Mark O'Brien - Alex
Henry Czerny - Tony
Andie MacDowell - Becky
Nicky Guadagni - Helene
Melanie Scrofano - Emile
Elyse Levesque - Charity
Kristian Bruun - Fitch

Summary

Grace marries Alex at the wealthy Le Domas estate.

Ahead of clock striking midnight, Alex explains it's 'game time', as to officially become part of the family, Grace must honor tradition of pulling card from a mysterious wooden box and play game shown.

Alex's father Tony reveals his great-grandfather Victor made a deal with a guy called Mr. Le Bail, who upon solving 'his' box, agreed to help fund family fortune, providing tradition is upheld.

Not quite Hellraiser, but whatever.

Hide and seek soon becomes a fight for survival, as crazy family have until dawn to murder Grace - as they believe something really bad will happen.

The rich are different

Although quality of horror satire deteriorates towards the end, running time is loaded with jet-black humour, visceral gore and great peformances.

While obviously different, context is similar to Adam Wingard's You're Next.

Grace escaping from 'goat pit' inside barn (where corpses of previous victims are stored), and blindly slamming hand on exposed nail is nearly as cringing as Kelly Reilly stepping on wood shard in Eden Lake.

There's a great moment when Emile accidentally hits maid in mouth with crossbow.

Ironic reaction from onlookers ensures sequence is pretty hilarious.

Le Domas and Le Bail (anagrams of demons Asmodel and Belial respectively), are taken from the Ars Goetia.

Blood sacrifice ultimately fails and surviving family members suddenly explode.

Alex briefly escapes, but goes the same way when Grace divorces him.

Soon after, Le Bial's ghost briefly appears and nods in approval.

Okay, climax was predictable, but fun.

A blood-soaked Grace sparks up a fag while mansion burns down, and when asked about what happened, she cooly replies 'in-laws'.

I'll let that one slide.

Rambo: Last Blood - The scoop and digest

Adrian Grunberg made his feature debut with the impressive Get the Gringo.

Now he faces the task of ensuring one of Hollywood's most iconic action stars goes out with a bang.

Sylvester Stallone - Rambo
Paz Vega - Carmen Delgado
Yvette Monreal - Gabrielle
Óscar Jaenada - Victor Martinez
Sergio Peris-Mnecheta - Hugo Martinez

Summary

Eleven years after Burma, Rambo inherits his late father's horse ranch.

When his niece Gabrielle visits Mexico to get closure on why father left (who's a complete asshole by the way), she's kidnapped by a local drug cartel who plan to sell her as a sex slave.

Despite a few hiccoughs, father figure manages to rescue her, murdering one of the Martinez brothers in the process.

Surviving sibling isn't best pleased and seeks vengeance.

In preparation, Rambo organises a picnic intruders will never forget.

Oh yes, there will be blood

Creator David Morrell is 'embarrassed' to have his name associated with it.

Fair enough, but words may have been influenced by bad reviews.

While not great by any stretch, I don't think hate is really deserved.

Critics are calling it racist and xenophobic, making out this is the first time cinema has given Mexico a bad rap.

Sicario 2: Soldado anybody?

But whatever, the reality of Mexican drug cartels is far more horrific than any film.

Plot is sterile, villains are cartoonish and running time can be rather dumb.

Security at border patrol is hilariously lax and considering Rambo is a living legend, I find it amazing that criminal empire have never heard of him.

Stallone mumbles too much, but evergreen superstar still puts in a tidy performance.

On driving the doomed Gabrielle back home, I found Rambo pouring his heart out quite sad.

It may only last about 10 minutes, but bloodthirsty climax (primarily set inside Viet Cong-esque tunnels), makes most slasher flicks seem tame.

Bravo.

While sequence is basically an 18 rated version of Home Alone, it's worth remembering that Skyfall (albeit obviously goreless) did the same.

To those appalled by violence, I make the following comments.

Rambo (fourth movie) wasn't rated U and more importantly, what did you expect?

John J. resolving disputes over a cup of Darjeeling and biscuits?

Yeah...

The eagle-eyed will recognise spiked planks are identical to forest trap laid in First Blood.

Hugo is lured to barn, hit with several well placed arrows and gets heart cut out.

Now that's how you take out a motherfucker.

Before that, Rambo informs 'I want you to feel my rage'.

Coincidentally, player can unleash 'rage' in Sega's Rambo arcade.

End credits play montage of Rambo's greatest moments with present day geezer riding off on horseback into the sunset.

While Sly will apparently not return to reprise title role, noises suggest prequel will explore early life.

Goof

At some point, Rambo's driving license states date of birth is 4 December 1950.

Not wishing to be a smart ass or anything, but Vietnam was born on 6 July 1947.

Just... WHAT?

F'd up film timelines and alternative sequels

The film industry is a complicated and confusing beast, as new instalments can create different timelines, often rendering others meaningless.

I previously covered Haddonfield last year, but as two more films have since been confirmed, let's do it again (albeit on a more basic level).

1978 - 1995

Halloween
Halloween II
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

1982

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

1978 - 2002

Halloween
Halloween II
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Halloween: Resurrection

2007 - 2009

Halloween
Halloween II

1978 - 2021

Halloween
Halloween
Halloween Kills
Halloween Ends

Just WOW!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Over the years, petrol powered mayhem has experienced highs and many lows.

The awkwardly titled Texas Chainsaw is the 'second' sequel to 1974 original, so in this timeline, wipes out Texas 2, Leatherface: Texas III and The Next Generation.

Heather is revealed to be a long lost member of Leatherface's cannibal clan, having been adopted shortly after original's events in 1973.

Piece of shit then jumps to 2012, making Heather at least 39, but hourglass body is clearly in her early 20s.

Ha ha ha!

Adam Marcus, who co-wrote script and directed Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, offered this explanation.

"Our draft took place in the early 1990s, but the finished film took place now, which makes no sense.  The original film was in the 1970s and the main character is in her twenties, which is why the script took place in the '90s."

He also wanted the date of the script to coincide with the release of JGTH.

Bollocks.

So if it 'wasn't' screenwriters' fault, who green-lit one of the worst continuity errors in cinematic history?

We'll probably never know.

In 2017, the lamentable Leatherface led up to 1974 original.

Amidst all that, original was remade in 2003, which got its own prequel The Beginning in 2006.

Paranormal Activity

We go here, there and everywhere.

For example, number 3 is a prequel to original and 4 follows 2.

2 is both a prequel and sequel to original.

Spin-off The Marked Ones (set up by 4's post-credits scene) is standard found footage fare, but is the first to not document days on-screen.

Latest entry The Ghost Dimension left door wide open for another, and sure enough, a seventh is currently in development.

But the way it's gone so far, who knows if it'll be a straight sequel.

Despite having number in title, Japanese effort Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night is a sidequel, not another sequel to Oren Peli's original.

However, events aren't ignored.

When searching San Diego Katie on internet, article's headline reads:

"Woman said to be possessed by the Devil kills boyfriend."

Ring

History of cursed videotape isn't ideal.

Contrary to popular belief, Kōji Suzuki's original novel was first adapted in 1995 as TV movie Ring: Kanzenban.

So Hideo Nakata's infinitely more famous Ring is a remake.

12 episode mini-series Ring: The Final Chapter was based on book, but not connected to any film.

Rasen (based on second book Spiral) and Ring were released in Japan simultaneously, but as 'first' sequel bombed, Ring 2 effectively replaced it.

Separate to obviously film, Rasen got its own mini-series, serving as a sequel to The Final Chapter.

South Korea got in on the action with The Ring Virus.  Many scenes were copied from 1998 remake and baddie's name was changed from Sadako Yamamura to Park Eun-Suh.

Based on Lemonheart from book anthology Birthday, prequel Ring 0 came in 2000.

Gore Verbinski brought The Ring in 2002 and was surprisingly an impressive remake of Nakata's film.

Villain's name was changed again.  This time to Samara Morgan.

FFS!

Jonathan Liebsman's Rings introduced the subculture of seeing how long people could last before copy of tape is made and passed on.

Horror short is named so because groups who upload their experiences are dubbed 'Rings'.

The Ring Two picks up 6 months after American original and immediately after Rings.

Nakata's terrible sequel is unrelated to Ring 2.

Rasen unexpectedly continued in 2012, with Suzuki's follow up novel S providing the basis for both Sadako 3D Sadako 3D 2.

Sadako vs. Kayako did a Freddy vs. Jason, also serving as a sequel to Ju-on: The Final Curse.

Just to grind our gears, F. Javier Gutiérrez brought another Rings, practically ignoring events in The Ring Two and beginning 13 years after Verbinski's original.

Sadako brings us bang up to date, with Nakata apparently recycling old ground.

Wrong Turn

Chronologically speaking, gory cannibal shag fest goes like this:

Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings
Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines
Wrong Turn
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead

4 is a prequel and 5 serves as a sequel, leading up to events of original.

Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort is stand-alone with plot perversely cloning Texas Chainsaw.

The Foundation will reboot series and scheduled for 2020.

Puppet Master

FUBAR.

And that's putting it nicely.

Chronologically, seventh film Retro Puppet Master became the first.

Original and sequel (taking place in 1989 and 1990 respectively) follow each other, but PM III: Toulon's Revenge prequels original.

So although released years before, prequel becomes a 'sequel' to Retro.

Retro's prologue and epilogue scenes immediately follow III.

Original states Toulon committed suicide in 1939, but yet in prequel (set in 1941), he's still alive.

WHAT?

A flashback scene in PM II takes place after Retro and 4 follows II.

After PM 5: The Final Chapter, standalone sequel Curse of the Puppet Master revived series and numbering system was ditched ever since.

PM: The Legacy tried to fix continuity shit storm as 30 minutes of new material features two individuals discussing Toulon's history and his creations.

The rest is archived from previous films.

The Littlest Reich rebooted franchise and upcoming solo spin-off Blade: The Iron Cross takes place in 1942, the same year as Axis Termination.

ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!

Miscellany

Jaws 3 is independent and only carries over Michael Brody's character.  But Jaws: The Revenge ignores 3 and states Martin Brody died of a heart attack, although Ellen cites 'fear' killed him.

I thought Logan was great, but doesn't make any sense.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is standalone and The Wolverine takes places after The Last Stand.

Time-travelling exploits in Days of Future Past erased everything that happened between 1973 and 2023.

Yep, fifty years flushed down the fucking toilet.

Goretastic film is set in 2029, six years after timeline established by DOFP, so we assume at some point, Charles killed several of the original X-Men while having one of his seizures.

Verbal and physical references are made to X-Men, Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine.

As this is both a sequel to DOFP and Apocalypse, how can Charles and Logan recall events from a timeline that no longer exists?

Hmmm.

Meir Zarchi must have been inspired by David Gordon Green's Halloween, as 40 years later, he returned to direct I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu.

Original was remade in 2010 and spawned two sequels.

ISOYG 2 is standalone, and because Sarah Butler reprises her role as Jennifer, ISOYG III: Vengeance Is Mine is best described as pseudo sequel to said remake.

Savage Vengeance is said to be an unofficial sequel to 1978 original, and set to be rebooted in 2020.

Not a SINGLE film in the Amityville series directly connects another.

And considering there's over twenty of the bastards (not including the opening of The Conjuring 2), that's some effort.

Amityville 3-D (sequel to 1979 original) was the nearest we got, and Amityville II: The Possession is set one year prior to the Lutz family moving into 112 Ocean Avenue and focuses on the fictional Montelli family, who are loosely based on the DeFeo family.

The Howling's first sequel, brilliantly subbed Your Sister is a Werewolf followed original.

But The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare is a more faithful adaptation of original novel and 2011 reboot The Howling: Reborn credits its story to Gary Brandner's second novel The Howling II.

Not along after American Pie: The Wedding, spin-off series American Pie Presents reared ugly straight-to-video head.

However, Reunion flashed the sex digit at those.

We all remember how good Superman Returns was, right?

Didn't think so.

Anyway, Brandon Routh's only appearance as the Man of Steel disregards III and smashing turd IV: The Quest for Peace, using II as backstory.

Terminator: Genisys rebooted franchise, so T2, T3: Rise of the Machines and Salvation never happened.

Similarly, the upcoming Terminator: Dark Fate follows Judgment Day, cancelling out Genisys and all that went before.

Jurassic World is considered both a reboot and sequel to Jurassic Park, making The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III extinct.

So in this timeline, Fallen Kingdom is third film.

The Exorcist III exorcises the demons of Exorcist II: The Heretic.

Return to Sleepaway Camp ignores Unhappy Campers and Teenage Wasteland, picking up years after classic original.

Shark Attack 3: Megalodon ignores first two movies entirely and acts as a stand-alone sequel.

Leprachaun Returns follows original and ignores continuity of all sequels.

Highlander III: The Sorcerer beheads The Quickening.

And rightly so.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors deems Freddy's Revenge as a bad dream.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare is not part of series continuity and focuses on a 'fictional' reality.

Blair Witch takes place 20 years after footage was found in 1999 original (so in 2014) and ignores cash grab Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.

Lake Placid: Legacy is standalone, so eliminates entire franchise.

Psycho IV: The Beginning saw Anthony Perkins returning as Norman Bates (for the final time before his death), and is presented as being the first sequel to seminal original, as events in II and III are not acknowledged.

Bates Motel (not be confused with TV series of same name) is a spin-off movie.

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm follows Mortal Kombat (1995) and events of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

Trancers 6 doesn't mention Jack of Swords or Sudden Deth (fourth and fifth film respectively), but mentions events of third entry Deth Lives.

Last, but by no means least.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration deleted first theatrical sequel The Return, and also TV movies Brothers in Arms and Unfinished Business.