As soon as any horror film has a modicum of success, fans start clamoring for a sequel. This isn’t a new trend as many of the most famous horror icons got that way due to having multiple films, in some cases like Saw or Friday the 13th, having a film nearly every year for a decade.
With how many horror sequels that make it out, it may come as a shock that plenty of sequels have been planned or even written only to be canceled before they could see the light of day (or dark of night). Here are ten horror sequels that would have been interesting if they had not been canceled.
Van Helsing Chronicles
The best film version of Dracula is often credited to be Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 adaptation. After the critical success of the film, the studio was interested in doing more in the same universe.
This spin-off sequel would have followed Anthony Hopkins’s character of Dracula hunter Abraham Van Helsing as he embarks to hunt a different gothic beast. While Coppola was not slated to direct, he was on board as a producer, so he wasn’t against the idea.
Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian
While Beetlejuice isn’t strictly a horror film, it certainly exists within the dark genre and this writer will not miss out on an opportunity to mention a movie called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. This one sounds like a bad idea that probably got mentioned once and shot down, but no, it was closer to production than many of the films on this list.
A full script was written and is still out there for anyone that has to know what’s going on here. It follows the family from the first film as they move to Hawaii to develop a resort. Bad luck strikes when they learn they are building on top of an Indian burial ground and their site is now haunted. Not to worry, Beetlejuice comes to the rescue.
Monster Squad Vs. Godzilla
While this one likely has a million reasons it was likely canceled before making it very far into pre-production, it can be assumed that at least one was that audiences wouldn’t enjoy a 5-minute movie where their favorite team of teen monster hunters is killed in an instant when a giant reptile steps on them.
Okay, so maybe they could have made this sequel work. I guess it is possible that the squad could have managed to scale Godzilla and hit him in the nards.
Nick Antosca’s Friday The 13th 3D
Since 2009’s remake, Friday the 13th has floundered from canceled project to canceled project. The famous slasher franchise did almost make it back to screens twice. Once, with a semi-prequel reboot that followed Jason Voorhees’ father as he came to Camp Crystal Lake with murder on his mind. The other script that was written, but scrapped, came from Hannibal and Channel Zero writer Nick Antosca.
Antosca’s script is a brutally simple return to form for the hockey-masked killer. Set in the eighties and at a summer camp, the build-up is like most other camp slashers. Then, obviously, Jason shows up. The script had everything needed to make the series fun again in brutal kills, horny teenagers, and a chaotic finale that showcased Jason’s supernatural power.
Hellraiser Vs. Halloween
Another major crossover that the world may never see was the face-off between iconic slasher Michael Myers and the cenobites of Hellraiser, led by the iconic Pinhead. Apparently, when the project was pitched, both Hellraiser creator Clive Barker and Halloween creator John Carpenter were both fully on board, due to a desire to work together.
While a script was apparently being actively written, studio executive Bob Weinstein got cold feet, believing that fans would dislike seeing Myers involved in a film that isn’t a slasher, as the movie was being written as a surreal psychological horror. He pulled the plug on the film completely and no script has ever been leaked or released.
An American Werewolf In London 2
With the quality of An American Werewolf in Paris, any different sequel to the classic horror/comedy would have been baseline interesting to see. The original idea was for Landis to write and direct a straight follow-up in which a friend of the two main characters of the first film heads to London to investigate the disappearance of her friends and meets survivors of David Kessler’s werewolf rampage.
The plot would take a dangerous turn when it is revealed that Alex Price, David’s lover in the first film has now been turned into a werewolf as well, and is after our new protagonist.
Army Of Darkness 2
After the premiere of 2012’s Evil Dead remake, Producer Sam Raimi announced he was working on a sequel to the remake that would also pick up after Army of Darkness, mixing the protagonist and survivor of the 2012 film with Bruce Campbell’s Ash from the original films.
While it is unclear what killed the idea, the likelihood of it ever happening disappeared when Army of Darkness got a sequel in the form of the Starz original series Ash Versus the Evil Dead.
Neill Blomkamp’s Alien
Blomkamp’s career has been fascinating since his incredible breakout film District 9 made waves back in 2009. He has been announced as the filmmaker behind a Halo film, a Robocop sequel, and an Alien film, all of which have either disappeared or continued without him.
Blomkamp’s film didn’t make it far before being scrapped, but the idea was to take the series back to the Aliens timeline, retconning the later sequels. The idea got many fans excited at the thought of seeing the franchise picked back up following the events of its most popular entry.
Peter Jackson’s Nightmare On Elm Street 6
At one point, the sixth installment of the Elm Street franchise was penned by Peter Jackson as a script titled The Dream Lover. The script was going to build upon the defeats Freddy had suffered in the previous films, and have him be incredibly weak at its start. There was even an idea that teens would enter the dream world on purpose just to torture Freddy more.
Although it is unclear why this film was canned, the script was claimed to have been written. The premise was a comeback underdog movie for the sadistic killer, having him regain his strength and infamy one kill at a time as the movie plays out. It’s an interesting idea and it would have been a nice way to boost Freddy back to his original power level.
Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash
Coming off the success of Freddy Vs. Jason, the studio apparently passed around a pile of ideas for a follow-up genre mash-up. While the director first pitched adding Halloween icon Michael Myers, contracts and copyrights immediately killed any chance of that happening.
The idea that went the furthest was one that every horror fan is still weeping over missing out on. The plan was to add Ash, from the Evil Dead films to battle the other two horror icons. The plot was centered around Freddy uses the Necronomicon to control Jason, and Ash setting out to get it back. Luckily, not all was lost, as this story has since been told twice over in comic book form.
