Even the biggest horror fan can acknowledge that the genre doesn’t have many critical darlings. Horror’s reputation for crass exploitation derived from stock plots isn’t wholly fair or unique – every stripe of movie has its turkeys and clichés. But with horror being particularly marketable and affordable, there’s a lot of it out there, and perhaps it does have more than its fair share of uninspired offerings. And perhaps there are a few too many sequels to good horror movies that can only offer more of the same thing.

But it needn’t be that way. Some of the greatest horror films in history have had some of the most bizarre sequels. A number of these follow-ups have become classics in their own right, while others are cinematic trainwrecks. But none could be accused of playing it safe. Here’s a quick primer on the strangest horror sequels around.

(An important caveat: we are only looking at direct sequels here. Abbott and Costello meeting the monsters is fun and strange – and the same goes for Alvin and the Chipmunks – but those films were several leagues removed from the original).

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Son of Kong (1933)

The fact that this movie came out the same year as the original King Kong is strange in and of itself. Even in the days of the studio system, sequels and follow-ups didn’t often get produced that quickly. Perhaps the haste with which it was made explains some of Son of Kong's other peculiarities. On the one hand, it’s Carl Denham’s (Robert Armstrong) contrition and redemption, and on the other hand, it’s a comedic treasure hunt. The titular gorilla comes and goes from the plot before meeting a fate that, without the grandeur of his father’s film, seems cruel and anticlimactic at the same time. And along the way, there are plenty of Willis O’Brien’s stop-motion dinosaurs, which make anything worth watching at least once.

The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: An unorthodox film project proves a surprise hit, and the studio, oblivious to the appeal of singularity, demands a sequel that the original creator has no interest in making. Sounds like a surefire way to get a lifeless, derivative flop. But if producer Val Lewton couldn’t stop RKO from ordering a sequel to his 1942 classic, Cat People, he could subvert their expectations. The Curse of the Cat People isn’t even a horror movie. It’s a fairy tale about fathers, daughters, and imagination, with the werecat of the last film acting as little Amy’s (Ann Carter) imaginary friend and guardian angel. Lewton’s autobiographical and rather gentle fantasy didn’t have many fans at RKO ... or in the movie theaters of 1944. But if you go in forewarned that it isn’t a horror film, its sweetness may well charm you.

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

The kaiju film was still in its infancy when Toho rushed this follow-up to Godzilla through production in under a year, and it does come off as an effort by filmmakers struggling to find a clear path forward. Godzilla Raids Again has the monster vs. monster battles that would become standard, but that element is through by the halfway point; Godzilla’s final battle is with airplanes in the snow. There’s a tepid buddy-comedy story between two pilots, with a lifeless romance thrown in. There’s an extended cops and robbers sequence running concurrently with the monster fight. Strangest of all is its Americanization as Gigantis the Fire Monster, where every effort was made to convince audiences who loved and recognized Godzilla that he wasn’t the same monster. Your guess is as good as mine as to why, but Gigantis does take material that’s forgettably strange and make it hilariously so.

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

I’m not sure I believe the legends about Exorcist II: The Heretic causing riots during preview screenings. But I can well believe that any audience who had this thing sprung on them would be upset. Directed by a man who didn’t like the original, The Heretic has some wonderfully nightmarish visuals, a strong and very different performance by Linda Blair as an older Regan MacNeil, and it tries to play with the metaphysical writings of one of Catholicism’s most fascinating modern personalities. But none of these good traits are sustained throughout the entire film, nor do they salvage a choppy narrative that was rewritten on the fly. The movie is like a half-remembered dream, the most striking bits swimming amidst a sea of disjointed nonsense.

Psycho II (1983)

Attempting a sequel to an Alfred Hitchcock movie decades after the fact is daring enough. To have the protagonist be the psychotic murderer of the first movie seems downright foolhardy. But Psycho II makes the effort, bringing Anthony Perkins back as Norman Bates. Seemingly rehabilitated, his efforts to lead an ordinary life are stymied, first by run-of-the-mill pricks, then by a series of murders and appearances that make Bates doubt his sanity and the audience doubt the film’s internal reality. The transformation of Verna Miles’s Lila Crane into a hostile force of vengeance can rub fans of the original the wrong way, a surprise reveal at the end amounts to one complication too many, and a color sequel to a black-and-white film is inevitably visually incongruous. But for sheer hutzpah in the way it handles its two holdovers from Psycho, the film is worth a look.

Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985)

In Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf, the titular monsters pass through a “monkey phase,” a plot point cooked up on the fly to explain the terrible costumes sent by mistake. That story alone should tell you something about Howling II’s quality, and its eccentricities. The original Howling had wit, great effects, and a loving respect for werewolf films past. Howling II has confused lore, B-movie action, and gratuitous shots of Sybil Danning. It also has Christopher Lee in the most unconvincing undercover get-up as a nightclub raver you’ll ever see. That might not make the movie worth watching, but it’s worth a Google search for the laugh.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

It’s not always the case that a horror series will drift into comedy, and when that does happen, it’s usually a few films down the line. But writer L. M. Kit Carson and director Tobe Hooper didn’t waste any time with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. This direct sequel to a raw and brutal horror film has a babbling cannibalistic hippie with a metal plate in his head, a poster that apes The Breakfast Club, and a climax featuring Leatherface and a deranged but righteous Texas ranger (Dennis Hopper) dueling with chainsaws. Strangest of all, Hooper directed the original!

Evil Dead II (1987)

Just because it’s famous doesn’t mean it’s conventional. The fact that Evil Dead II opens with an abridged and heavily modified retelling of the first film is strange enough. From there, Sam Raimi’s wild camera work and slapstick instincts run amok. Evil Dead II isn’t as overtly wacky as its successor, Army of Darkness, and the balance between comedy and black chills makes the more cartoony elements all the funnier for the contrast. Striking the same balance is Bruce Campbell, who hasn’t quite moved Ash into the irascible, lovable ham he’s known as yet, but still goes about killing deadites with a twinkle in the eye that wasn’t there in The Evil Dead.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Yes, Gremlins is a horror film. It’s a family-friendly one with a happy ending and a heavy debt to It’s a Wonderful Life, but it’s still a horror film. Gremlins 2: The New Batch is ... well, that’s the question, isn’t it? Except for Batman Returns, I don’t think there’s another example from the age of conglomerates where a major studio gave a director so much freedom with a series considered a bankable franchise. For Batman, that meant going through a Felliniesque nightmare. For Billy and Gizmo, it meant going through a live-action Warner Bros. cartoon on acid that let Joe Dante gleefully take the mickey out of the original film. Along for the ride are the Looney Tunes, Christopher Lee, and a sporting Leonard Maltin, made to answer for his review of Gremlins. (And doesn’t every artist wish they could do that to a critic, at least once?)

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

You know what the low-budget, independent movie that popularized the found footage concept needed? A multimillion dollar sequel shot and edited the conventional way. But that’s about the only thing conventional about Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, a movie that isn’t anywhere near good but deserves some credit for trying. A film about the reaction to the original Blair Witch Project, in which the first movie was both a surprise hit in theaters and a real series of events, isn’t a bad concept. But studio interference, a few too many ideas competing for attention, and a certain disdain for the original all collude against Book of Shadows being more than weird for weirdness’ sake.