Quentin Tarantino explains what makes “a good horror sequel”
There are some names that have become forever immortalised in the very artistic medium of cinema, and it would be remiss to say or even think that Quentin Tarantino is not one of those names, having delivered some of the most fascinating movies ever since his debut, Reservoir Dogs, arrived on the big screen back in 1992.
Tarantino’s visions are undoubtedly influenced by his directing heroes, most notably Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa and Brian De Palma, and we can see all the shades of their works throughout his filmography, from the fast zooms of Django Unchained and Kill Bill to the crime narratives of Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown.
Regarding Tarantino and genre, there’s no doubt about the types of movies he enjoys most, notably westerns, crime thrillers and horror. Of that latter category, Tarantino has gone on the record on several occasions to state his favourite horror movies, and when talking of A Nightmare on Elm Street, he discussed what it is that makes a good horror sequel.
The director said: “A good horror sequel is like any good genre film sequel, where you enjoyed what you saw the last time, and it has characters in the case of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop II or a monster like the shark in Jaws, and it has some iconic characters, an iconic set up that you want to experience again.”
Tarantino went on to explain that audiences want to re-experience all the pleasure of the first film before turning his attention to Wes Craven’s horror series in particular. The director feels that the first sequel, 1985’s Freddy’s Revenge, was lacking somewhat in quality, but the third film, 1987’s Dream Warrior, was much better fare.
“Dream Warriors managed to click into the mythology of the first one that was exciting for audiences, but it also seemed on a slightly bigger canvas, it had slightly better actors in it, and the cast was a little bit more prestigious,” Tarantino said. “Because of part two, you were surprised by the bigness and the sense of fun.”
He continued: “I remember halfway through seeing Nightmare on Elm Street 3, thinking, ‘Wow, they’re doing a really good job of this. This is a better movie than I thought it was going to be. It was neat. Everything worked for the characters, for the monster, for the mythology. But you still want it to be better, even when it’s okay.”
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