If a film comes out, makes money or sometimes simply finds an audience, you can be rather certain that there is going to be a sequel. However, for various reasons (e.g lack of interest from the star(s), producer or director; no script; lead characters die) no sequel is forthcoming. So, what do the film studios do to make a few more bucks off of the film to cash-in before the popularity dies down? They invent a sequel.
The films C.H.U.D., Dirty Dancing and 8MM were successful films that failed to produce an heir for the inheritance a sequel can generate, thus a sequel was thrust upon them.
C.H.U.D. (1984) was a cult-hit that did well at the box office (compared to its budget). The plotline involves humans transformed via radiation exposure into "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers" (CHUDs) now coming above ground to fest on the general population. I haven’t see the movie in years, but I remember it being a movie that took itself seriously, was somewhat scary, but because of the ridiculous name and nature of the titular creatures, quickly worked its way into a cult favorite.
The sequel, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. takes about a 180 degree turn stylistically away from the more serious horror monster aspects of the first film to a horror/comedy realm. That being said, this film is light on horror and attempts to be heavy on the comedy. Right from the outset this film plays up the camp in what seems like a desperate attempt to become another cult-classic-even hiring Gerrit Graham (star of several previous cult films) as Bud himself. Of many wrong turns, the star of the film is Brian Robbins, from television’s ‘Head of the Class’. As for the plot, the US Military has tested turning soldiers in C.H.U.D.s as to be the ideal soldier. The program is abandoned and the last C.H.U.D., Bud, is stolen by some teens and hilarity ensues (or at least is supposed to). Basically, if the idea of C.H.U.D.s wasn’t so ingrained in this film, I would doubt that this was actually planned as a sequel. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was comedy zombie film in the works and they incorporated elements from C.H.U.D. to profit off of the camp appeal.
Second, 8MM follows the story of a private detective, played by Nicolas Cage, who is trying to find the identity of the now-dead star/victim in a snuff film. Cage’s character is lured into the world of extreme pornography and basically duels with evil incarnate. Despite a plot that sounds horrible (not to mention mirrors that of 1979’s Hardcore, starring George C. Scott), I like this film (and, in my own defense, so did Robert Ebert according to his review). The film didn’t do great at the box office, it came close to breaking even with US ticket sales, but surely broke even in the international and video markets.
8MM 2 was not planned as a sequel. It was originally titled The Velvet Side of Hell and only renamed after Sony bought the rights to distribute it. The film doesn’t involve snuff (nor 8mm film for that matter), instead involving a couple being blackmailed over a videotape of them having sex. I think the primary reason there was a sequel to 8MM was not because of the immense success of the film, but more to cash in on the titillation of the subject matter and public awareness of the original film to cause some buzz about this straight-to-video release.
Or at least they are attempting some video store confusion-the kind of chicanery where earlier works by newly christened stars are re-titled and pretend the star had more than a bit-part (a la Satisfaction rebranded as Girls of Summer after Julia Roberts’ success in Pretty Woman) or how Kevin Costner’s first movie Chasing Dreams was given a new look post-Field of Dreams success to feature Costner and baseball prominently on the video box. Given that Costner is in the movie, is about baseball and the word ‘dream’ is in the title (I believe this was the original title and not changed), I can only imagine this was watched all the time by unsuspecting renters who ended up seeing about 5 minutes of Costner.
Lastly, my favorite example is the sequel to Dirty Dancing. Dirty Dancing was such a hit it needed to have a sequel. The movie was a hit, the songs were hits, the soundtrack album sold in the millions, the film spawned a dance craze and brought the public tons of knock-off films. Possibly because of the knock-offs themselves an actual sequel was not forthcoming, so one needed to be invented. (Well, technically it’s a prequel, but you get the point).
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights starts its life not as a sequel, but as a story about the Cuban revolution (which has dance as a minor part) that was written by Peter Segal, who would later host NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Well. However, through multiple rewrites the movie reduces the Cuban revolution to one line of dialogue and dancing (like its namesake) becomes the focal point. And true to the original there’s dancing, songs by big names, a soundtrack that was bound to sell in the millions and (as not to disappoint the fans of the original) Patrick Swayze has a cameo. Except, of course, that, like all the other forced sequels, it bombed. Had 16 years been too long? Were they trying too hard to recapture the magic? Or is the public fickle enough to suss out when film studios try to cash-in on the success of previous hit films with B-grade material that only vaguely resembles the original.
