Ok, to avoid that nasty business of the last time I posted magazine outtakes (Kristen Bell’s specifically), I want to state very clearly that if you want to see the original photoshoot from ARENA MAGAZINE (click!) that you need to head back to you Arena 2007 back-issues.
As far as I can tell, these outtakes are not on their site, but that doesn’t mean you should click my properly-sourced link to ARENA MAGAZINE. That means that I didn’t head out with my friend Heidi Klum and snap these pictures. Because if I was friends with Hedi Klum, let’s be honest, Seal would have murdered me by now.
Gallery One:
Gallery Two:
Heidi-Klum-Arena-Outttakes
Let's Plan Your Horror Sequel Marathon!
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The Duh
The ultimate example of a horror sequel is really the film everyone refers to when they say Evil Dead. This is where Sam Raimi really brought the slapstick humor into the grueling horror, and Bruce Campbell gives a tour de force performance that would make Charlie Chaplin give up and go home. Incidentally, this is also the first movie that made me aware of what filmmaking could do. You mean you can tilt the camera that way? You can edit those pieces together? It’s probably unlikely that anyone at your party hasn’t seen Evil Dead 2, but it’s the strongest way to start off a night of sequels.
Alternates:
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Army of Darkness (1992) -
The Unknown Classic
Considering the popularity of Gremlins, I am shocked how few people have seen Gremlins 2. In 1990 it was my most anticipated movie of the year, but I later learned that it actually did poorly that year. It was clearly ahead of its time, with meta moments like Leonard Maltin reviewing Gremlins 1 on VHS, and the Gremlins stopping the film projection and Hulk Hogan forcing them to turn it back on. It’s insane Gremlins fun that I can’t believe Warner Bros. allowed in a summer movie. Fortunately, DVD versions now have the Hulk Hogan scene, instead of a hastily assembled “John Wayne” VHS version. Both are now outdated as movies are no longer projected on film reels, but Hulk Hogan could still set digital projection right.
Alternatives:
Psycho 2 (1983)
Jaws 3-D (1983)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
The Fly II (1989)
Leprechaun 2 (1994) -
The Background Noise
Halloween: Resurrection is a sequel you can definitely play in the background, as it is mostly generic kids getting picked off by Michael Myers, with an already out of date webcam motif. However, there are a couple scenes for which you’ll want to pause the conversation. Not enough is ever said about Busta Rhymes kickboxing Michael Myers. That needs to be seen. And Jamie Lee Curtis’s final cameo, while a slap in the face to her victorious Halloween H20, is still a valiant sendoff.
Alternates:
Friday the 13th VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Bride of Re-Animator (1990)
Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) -
The Jumpstarter
By now, everyone thinks of the Final Destination series as the one with all the crazy, elaborate deaths. It was really David R. Ellis’s sequel that took the franchise to the next level. The original was an intimate, moody creeper, but the second Destination gave us chain reactions galore, chain link fences projectiled as razor wire, artificial limbs snagging in an elevator and airbags that proved not the least bit safe. If your guests are waning, Final Destination II is a movie that will get them back on their toes anticipating the unexpected deaths around every frame.
Alternates:
Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Halloween H20 (1998)
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) -
The Oddball
Bride of Chucky could have easily been an Unknown Classic or a Jumpstarter (or a Duh in my book) but perhaps its place in the franchise best qualifies it for the Oddball. I mean, Chucky was always a wisecracking killer doll. There’s no way around that, but after the success of Scream and self-reflexive horror comedy, the fourth Chucky movie came back with a comic vengeance. It’s even more self-reflexive than Scream because it’s self-reflexive within its own franchise. It introduced wacky concepts that the fans embraced for subsequent entries, like the very idea of a second killer doll, full frontal plastic on plastic love, Martha Stewart and legitimate gender politics. It’s also great to see John Ritter as a corrupt cop/overprotective stepdad. My favorite remains Howard Fitzwater though.
Alternates:
Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Return of the Fly (1959)
Psycho III (1986)
Alien: Resurrection (1997)
Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood (2003)
Seed of Chucky (2004) -
The Stinker
Everybody knows Freddy’s Revenge is the worst of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. It has little to do with the Elm St. story as a new family moves into Nancy’s house and introduces an idea that Freddy can possess Jesse (Mark Patton) and enter the real world. Perhaps the mistake was replacing a final girl with a hormonal boy. While ahead of its time, the gay subtext of Freddy’s Revenge would never be mistaken for subtle. It can be a hilarious misfire, if perhaps an easy target to end the marathon.
Alternates:
The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1984)
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
The Hills Have Eyes II (2007)
Saw 3D (2010)
Any of the Hellraiser Sequels
Scream 4 (2011) -
Alternate Marathons: Final Chapters That Were Not Final Chapters
One famous trope of horror sequels is the “final chapter” that is not, in fact, the last film in the series. There are enough of these that you could do an entire marathon of erroneous “final chapters,” bookended by the two Friday the 13th finales, neither of which were the last of the series. This alternate marathon would include: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Final Destination, Children of the Corn: The Final Sacrifice, Saw: The Final Chapter (because it’s only a matter of time), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
