By Sean Kelly
Reading the recent review for The Cell 2 got me thinking about the industry of making low-budget sequels to (semi-)popular films and releasing them straight to video (or DVD as now is the case). It is pretty obvious that the whole purpose of these films is to leech more profit out of the success of their predecessors, without having to bother with the costs of releasing such a film in theatres.
The first direct-to-video sequel I recall encountering was Disney’s sequel to Aladdin, 1994’s The Return of Jafar. This film began a trend where Disney would release direct-to-video sequels of all their popular animated films — a habit that they just recently ended. Universal would begin doing the same by releasing yearly sequels to their 1988 hit The Land Before Time; by the time they stopped in 2007, the series had reached a whopping thirteen films.
However, it’s not just animated kiddie films that get the direct-to-video sequel treatment. The list of films with direct-to-video sequels seems to be never ending — if I just try to list them all, I’ll probably be here until sometime next year. Instead, I will just glance at the most prominent titles in the landscape of direct-to-video sequels.
No discussion on direct-to-video sequels would be complete without talking about the multiple sequels Universal has released for their films Bring it On and American Pie. Both series have three direct-to-video sequels, each with a fourth scheduled to be released later this year. Only time will tell to see if either of these franchises will equal the number of sequels Universal released for The Land Before Time.
Some direct-to-video sequels have a small connection to the original. The American Pie sequels kept Eugene Levy, even though his on-screen son (Jason Biggs) was nowhere to be seen. In addition, last year’s The Lost Boys: The Tribe brought back Corey Feldman with a cameo by Corey Haim. In what can be seen as both the biggest connection to the original, as well as a sign of as the current state of the actor’s career, Wesley Snipes returned last year to star in The Art of War II: Betrayal.
One of the most interesting direct-to-video sequel stunts last year was Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control, since it was released only about a week and half into the theatrical release of Get Smart. I guess that would make it more of a spin-off than a sequel, but you get what I mean.
One direct-to-video sequel that I was actually personally upset about was the release of S. Darko, a sequel to Donnie Darko — my favourite film. After one look at the trailer, I decided that S. Darko really missed the point of the original and I opted to boycott the film.
So, what‘s the history behind this glut of direct-to-video titles? A good hypothesis is that if you look back twenty years, horror and comedy franchises such as Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Police Academy were sequelled to death, all generating six or more films. The direct-to-video market allows for studios to continue this gratuitous habit of making sequels, without having to risk losing major money by releasing them theatrically. It’s no secret that the true profit for a film usually comes from DVD sales, so these cash-in sequels are a good way to ensure a steady influx of revenue.
I should say that while doing research for this piece, I kept running into articles saying that so-and-so studio has up to eighteen direct-to-video sequels scheduled for release. So, regardless of broad public interest, studios are going to continue releasing these sequels to make money off a hit film long after the general public has forgotten about them. And, like them or not, these cash-in sequels usually make a mint.
