[ferretchucker]

I rarely prefer sequels to the original, but I occasionally find myself enjoying them as much - often because they tried something different whilst also retaining links to the original. I think this is because these sorts of sequels feel more like a continuation of the story rather than a rehashing in a different location. For example;

Aliens - rather than simply having another crew come across another Alien in a similar ship, they took the terrifying creatures and moved them from a claustrophobic-horror setting and put them in a war film. This also worked in terms of Ripley's character development - the horrors she faced hardened her and essentially turned her from a victim to a soldier.

T2: Judgement Day - Yes, the essential theme of a cat and mouse chase is there, except (much like Ripley) the Mouse (Sarah Connor) has been hardened by the events of the original.

I guess for me it comes down to consequences. So many sequels - particularly horror sequels - ignore consequences. The survivor from the first film is gone and the antagonist now faces a similar set of potential bodies. Back to square one, "Here's the same film with a bigger body count - can I have some money now?" A true sequel is connected by more than just a single character who serves the same purpose (i.e. iconic masked killer).