Most memorable horror sequels

Horror movies are hard to make, and even harder to follow through.

Over the years, horror sequels have almost always been disappointments. Which is why the scariest thing about Ram Gopal Varma's upcoming Phoonk 2 is the fact that it exists.

Here's a look at ten of the most memorable horror sequels, for good reason or bad:

Officially a sequel to his first Evil Dead film, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn is more of an extension of the themes explored in the first film.

The film shows us Bruce Campbell's hapless, half-witted hero Ash continuing to spend a night in a haunted, cursed cabin and faces scarier foes.

It's like the first film's plot, just executed better -- a sentiment Ash might not agree with as his own hand is possessed and becomes an enemy.

The first time was only a warning, said the posters for Damien: Omen II.

Set seven years after the first film, Omen 2 was directed by Don Taylor because Richard Donner, who made the original, was busy working on the Superman films.

The film starred William Holden as Damien's 'father,' interesting since it was only because Holden passed on the role that Gregory Peck got it in the original, which became an iconic smash hit.

The first Americanised version of Ring was directed by Pirates Of The Caribbean helmer Gore Verbinski, but studios decided to turn to Hideo Nakata, the man who made the original Ring and Ring 2 in Japanese, to make this sequel.

The film was much less successful than the first Ring, and heavily criticized by reviewers, even though Naomi Watts won praise for her performance in the lead role.

Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later is widely considered one of the finest, darkest zombie movies, and he produced this sequel directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.

The premise is the same, about the outbreak of a virus called Rage that turns its victims into zombies, and here the film just takes the outbreak across England and ends on the tantalizing, sequel-spawning possibility that Rage has travelled all the way to France.

Made and set four years after the classic Exorcist, Exorcist II: The Heretic took a more surreal, visually symbolic route to tell its story.

Director John Boorman's film met with a massive failure at the box office, though, with most critics slamming it completely.

Yet Pauline Kael and Martin Scorsese were greatly impressed by both the film's visual flair and its use of symbolic themes. The all-star cast included Linda Blair and Max Von Sydow.

Slasher movies are bankrolled while the money the first film made is still fresh, which is why this movie popped up just about a year after the original.

Steve Miner directed the now-typical tale of youngsters coming to a camp, scaring each other and going skinny-dipping till the joke is on them.

The film didn't do well with critics (Roger Ebert gave it half a star) but was a moderate success with audiences.

A couple of generations later, this slasher film was churned out exactly a year after a very successful first film, I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Directed by Danny Cannon, the new film used all the old tropes, that of a group of youngsters doing something vile and a stranger sending them notes threatening them that their secret is out.

The film starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr but failed to click with audiences, which is why the third film, I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, went straight to video.

Produced by Sam Raimi and directed by Takashi Shimizu, director of the original Ju-On movies, this film follows a different storyline from Ju-On: The Grudge 2.

The film was heavily panned by critics for both the poor plot and universally weak performances from the actors, headlined here by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The film, about a curse attacking three families across three storylines, doesn't quite go anywhere.

Deathmetal musician Rob Zombie directed this sequel to his own 2007 remake of the horror classic Halloween, and it must be said that it's an effective follow-up.

The film was more violent and more photo-realistic than the 2007 remake, and featured Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane and Sheri Moon Zombie in the main roles.

The film got poor reviews, but Zombie reportedly considers it his most nuanced work.

Robert Englund returned as the iconic Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.

Krueger creator Wes Craven refused to have anything to do with this film considering he never wanted the Nightmare story to be turned into a franchise, but the Jack Sholder film made for $3 million took in almost $30 million domestically, making it a highly profitable horror movie.

The gay subtext in the film is the stuff of legend, however, inadvertent or not.