Summer blockbuster season is officially over, and Halloween candy is already popping up on every store's shelves. You know what that means (other than the fact that you're going to eat too many pumpkin-shaped Reese's cups): it's time for a new batch of films, especially of the horror genre. Kicking off the season of screams and jump scenes is The Perfect Guy, starring Sanaa Lathan and Michael Ealy. Lathan plays a powerful career woman named Leah who is still recovering from a bad breakup when a new Prince Charming, Carter, comes along and sweeps her off her feet. But we quickly learn that Carter has a dark side, and so begins a downward spiral of jealousy, obsession, possessiveness, and violence. It's a classic movie formula, and it feels like it could be the setup for the beginning of a saga to be played out through an endless stream of follow-up movies. So will The Perfect Guy have a sequel?
As of now, there hasn't been any talk of a second film. This is likely because the studio doesn't yet know what kind of revenue the first film will produce, and the probability of a sequel is largely determined by the original's success. That being said, Scott Mendelson of Forbes is predicting big numbers for the film's opening weekend. In addition, the "seemingly perfect boyfriend gone bad" is a device that has led to huge cinematic popularity in past films like Heathers and Fear. So there could be hope for a The Perfect Guy sequel, which would make it approximately the 80,000th horror movie to spark a franchise. Here are some other noteworthy scary movies that spawned killer sequels:
Scream
The 1996 movie led to Scream 2, 3, and 4, as well as a new television series that premiered this summer on MTV. It was also the basis for the first Scary Movie, which then became its own parody franchise.
A Nightmare On Elm Street
The Freddie Krueger franchise includes nine films, a TV show, comic books, novels, and enough paraphernalia to finance Wes Craven's descendants for generations, including Freddie Krueger bobbleheads. Bobbleheads, you guys.
Child's Play
After the success of the 1988 movie about a murderous doll, Chucky became a cultural icon. Six films have been made so far, and it's confirmed that a seventh Chucky movie is in the works. As if gingers needed a worse rep.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
This creepy '90s movie had an equally-scary sequel called I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. A third movie was made called I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, but it featured none of the original cast and has the (honestly impressive) distinction of a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Halloween
This long-standing franchise has been going strong since our initial introduction to Michael Myers in 1978. Production has commenced on the 11th film in the series, called Halloween Returns .
So basically, horror films that have an attention-grabbing plot have the potential to create huge franchises. This could possibly mean good things for the prospect of a The Perfect Guy sequel. That being said, there are plenty of scary movies that were critical and commercial successes but never had follow-up films. So you'll have to wait and see how the new movie does in theaters before you start planning to buy tickets for The Perfect Guy 2.
Images: Giphy (5); Screen Gems
