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Changing
a film's title for different markets is the norm, but occasionally
for reasons legal, greedy, or just plain weird, some interesting
title or content changes are made that results in sequels that
are... but aren't.
The Forest Pt II (Don't Go In The Woods Alone)
While The Forest had a terrific airbrushed
cover art, this fake sequel recycled it in cut and paste fashion.
It's actually Don't Go In The Woods Alone, another forest
bound slasher and was only released in Australia this way -
further pushing the limits of good faith by using the complete
Forest credits sequence, with added number
2, in place of all cast & crew credits for the actual film
underneath! A slap dash effort, sure. But highly collectible!
Friday The 13th Part 25 (Unmasked Part 25)
In Japan, there exists Friday The 13th Part 25 which
is really the British slasher spoof Unmasked Part 25
(1988). In it, a deformed Jason-style killer in hockey mask
named Jackson gives up his slashing ways for the responsibilities
we all eventually face, such as employment and romance.
Horror High (Twisted Brain)
1986 wrought upon us the fun slasher spoof Return
to Horror High, and almost immediately the Aussies were
at it again, releasing this, a completely unrelated teen monster/revenge
pic from 1974 filmed as Twisted Brain that had been retitled Horror High well prior.
House 3 (The Horror Show)
 
The Sean Cunningham-produced The Horror Show
(1989) was a Freddy-style dream-based slasher film but was purposely
renamed House III for the non-US market, a plan that
was in place from the start. As it's unrelated to the House
franchise of purely supernatural homestead horrors, it doesn't
quite fit in. But legally, because of the existence of this
title, the owners of the House franchise had to rename
their third film House IV (1992).
Maniac 2: Love To Kill (The Last Horror Film)
William
Lustig's Maniac was later to be almost sequelized in
the unfinished Maniac 2: Mr. Robbie due to
death of star Joe Spinell. But it received its own sequel release
in Europe anyway. Spinell and co-star Caroline Munro starred
in The Last Horror Film which was funded based on the
stars' chemistry and storyline in Maniac, so the change
seems justified.
Night Of The Alien (Future-Kill)
Poor Future Kill (1985) can't catch a break. First, HR Giger
of Alien fame designed poster art so good, there was
no way the movie could live up to it. But to add insult to injury,
pesky British distributors went one step further and renamed
the movie Night Of The Alien so it seemed like an Alien
sequel! What makes it so ridiculous is that the movie has no
interplanetary goings on of any sort to justify it! I suppose
the case could be made that to the heroes of the film, the armoured
human villian appears alien-like... but, oh dear.
Slaughter High 2 (Cutting Class)
 
In Germany, for DVD at least, Slaughter High
was released as (translated) The Death Party: Slaughter High.
Then Cutting Class, an early Brad Pitt high school-set slasher,
was made a sequel - The Death Party 2: Cutting Class.
The original USA cover art for Slaughter High was now
used. It's an interesting move, because Cutting Class
has always shared similarities in tone with Slaughter High,
and this cements their inter-relationship.
Slaughter High 3 (Terror Train)
Now the Germans have gone overboard, and have released Die
Todesparty 3, essentially Slaughter High 3, which
is really - Terror Train. If you're reading this page,
you must realize I'm a fan of these retitlings, but this is
the first time a retitled sequel uses a movie made chronologically
earlier then previous entries! Plus although containing both
high-schoolers and a party, it's a stretch to connect it like
Cutting Class can boast. For shame!
Slumber Party Massacre 4 (Cheerleader Massacre)
Many have waited for the day when Slumber
Party Massacre would finaly get a new sequel. And in the
millennium, it happened. Sorta. Jim Wynorski, director of the
Sorority House Massacre sequel hyped this as the long
awaited SPM4, and to feature the Orville Ketchum character as
a way of uniting the two Massacre franchises. That part never
happened, but Brinke Stevens returned from the first film to
reprise her character. But for whatever reason, and baffling
from a marketing standpoint, things soon changed and the title
was redubbed the less-excitable Cheerleader Massacre.
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