8 Failed Sequels that Prove Devil Wears Prada Part 2 Will Be a Fashion Disaster

We recently learned that the cult movie The Devil Wears Prada will be getting a sequel, which makes us wonder: is there a problem with sequels today? Is it true that they, along with remakes, are killing cinema and leaving no room for original ideas?

Judging by the eight sequels listed here, the answer to both questions is yes.

1. American Psycho II: All American Girl, 2002

The first American Psycho directed by Mary Harron, acquired a cult status, and a few years later, in 2002, the Lionsgate studio rushed to make a sequel.

The sequel was based on a script called The Girl Who Wouldn't Die, which initially had nothing to do with Patrick Bateman. But it didn't take long to connect the plot to the original movie – the explanation was that the main character's nanny was once killed by Bateman.

This led her to become a serial killer herself. Today, Rachael is a college student who dreams of becoming Professor Starkman's assistant and getting into the FBI Academy.

Morgan J. Freeman's movie about Rachael eliminating her competitors for a vacant position would not have been so bad if it had not been for the attempt to tie it to Mary Harron's movie.

2. Son of the Mask, 2005

After Jim Carrey, who generally disliked sequels, refused to star in the second The Mask, New Line Cinema decided to do it without him: the plot was reworked, and the film, titled Son of the Mask, was released in 2005 to fail at the box office and cause rage among fans of the original.

Where the $84 million budget went is still anyone's guess: the sequel features neither the original director, Chuck Russell, nor expensive stars (Jamie Kennedy replaced Carrey), and the special effects look unrealistically cheap for the mid-2000s. And all this is dominated by an inconsistent plot with unfunny jokes.

This story proves that the success of movies starring Jim Carrey is largely due to the actor's personal charisma.

3. Grease 2, 1982

What is Grease? The movie version of the Broadway musical, crowned with a pack of Golden Globes and an Oscar for Best Song; a springboard to Hollywood for John Travolta; one of the greatest musical films of all time.

After Grease earned $396 million on a budget of $6 million, Paramount Pictures decided to repeat the success, but did not invite Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. What could go wrong?

Now the plot of high school students in search of entertainment jumped from the 50s to the 60s, and the lead role was played by a young Michelle Pfeiffer.

The sequel, which looked like a good opportunity to make easy money, did not work out from the very beginning: it was shot in a hurry and with an unfinished script.

The sequel, which cost $11 million, did not live up to anyone's expectations, squeezing a measly $15 million out of audiences upset by the absence of John Travolta. The studio was so discouraged that it canceled its far-reaching plans – two more sequels and a TV series were planned.

4. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, 2000

Undoubtedly, The Blair Witch Project is a cult event in the horror genre. The movie, shot in the most realistic way, was not overly spectacular, did not have a clear plot, could not boast of at least one star – in general, had everything necessary for the viewer to believe that the events narrated in the movie were true.

Of course, the directors, Daniel Myrick Eduardo Sánchez, would hardly have been able to turn their movie into a cultural phenomenon on their own – they had a lot of help from the film company Artisan Entertainment.

But the studio did not hesitate to throw the creators overboard when it became clear that they were not ready to immediately embark on a sequel. The studio hired documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger, who released the sequel the following year.

The main problem of Book of Shadows was the loss of the pseudo-documentary in favor of a standard Hollywood plot: a group of tourists follows in the footsteps of the missing students, and, of course, run into a witch.

5. The X Files: I Want to Believe, 2008

The X-Files sequel, titled I Want to Believe, gave many fans hope that it would provide answers to questions that the series never bothered to answer. But Chris Carter, who was in the director's chair, used an independent story as the basis for the plot, which had nothing to do with the alien threat, and even on the eve of the premiere it was completely unclear what the movie would be about.

This raised bad suspicions among the viewers, which were later fully confirmed: the hunt for organ dealers with the help of a clairvoyant criminal priest was clearly not the recipe for a triumphant return.

The movie, which ends with Scully and Mulder sailing away on a boat to no one knows where, grossed a meager sum at the box office and discouraged the studio from pursuing a next full-length sequel.

6. The Hidden II, 1993

In 1987, director Jack Sholder made one of the best space monster movies ever, mixing sci-fi with a police action and casting a young Kyle MacLachlan as the hunter of the alien villain.

The ending of the movie, which still looks more than decent today, did not imply a sequel, but in the early 90s New Line Cinema decided that it was necessary to repeat the success and ordered a sequel from debut director Seth Pinsker.

The best part of this film is the first 15 minutes, which are completely stolen from the finale of the first movie. In the following action, which takes place 15 years later, the main villain has changed so much that it is impossible to recognize him.

Having studied the result, the studio did not even bother with distribution and released Hidden II directly on DVD.

7. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, 2007

Despite its flaws, Alien vs. Predator did a great job of pitting two legendary monsters against each other in the Antarctic ice. Director Paul W. S. Anderson did not use CGI because the technology was advancing by leaps and bounds and he didn't want the special effects to look dated in a few years.

Fans of both franchises responded favorably to the movie, and the studio, encouraged by the box office, began work on a sequel that moved the action from Antarctica to a small town.

This time it was decided that the sequel would be made by Colin and Greg Strause, music video directors who owned their own special effects company. The studio decided that they could do all the necessary CGI on the cheap by working in their own facilities.

The end result was atrocious: dark imagery, shaky camerawork, choppy editing, a deafening soundtrack, a clumsy plot, flat characters, and an outrageous amount of violence. Upon release, the film was rightly panned by critics and grossed less than anyone expected, forcing 20th Century Fox to scrap plans for a next sequel.

8. Speed 2: Cruise Control, 1997

Jan de Bont's Speed was good – the duo of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, who save a bus full of people from a bomb, captured the hearts not only of ordinary viewers, but also of Quentin Tarantino, who included the film in his top 20 best films of 1992. The $350 million box office gross left the Fox studio in no doubt about the need for a sequel.

Keanu Reeves did not like the script of the sequel and decided to do The Devil's Advocate. As a result, Jason Patric was cast as Sandra Bullock's boyfriend; together they went on a cruise, only to discover that the liner's computer system had been hacked by a terrorist who intended to crash the ship into an oil tanker at full speed.

Although the final scene of the liner ramming its nose into a coastal town alone cost more than the entire first Speed, it wasn't enough to make the movie good. Disappointed viewers were baffled by the lack of suspense that the first movie had kept everyone in. The movie immediately entered the lists of the worst sequels of all time and won a Golden Raspberry Award.