Jamie Kennedy in "Son of the Mask."

It’s been 11 years since Jim Carrey transformed mild-mannered bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss into a face-contorting superhero in "The Mask."

The movie grossed nearly $120 million, when a $100 million-plus film still meant something. And because Hollywood has never met a sequel it didn’t like, coming to theaters Friday is "Son of the Mask."

But "Son of the Mask" is from a special corner of sequel hell. It’s the corner opposite that one that produced "Rocky II," "Rocky III," "Rocky IV" and "Rocky V" and "Police Academy" 2 through 7, where actors take a good (or at least entertaining) original and beat it to death. The corner "Son of the Mask" comes from is the one where producers don’t pay the original stars and basically remake the film with unknowns or down-on-their-luck actors.

It’s a trend that’s becoming more prevalent. Here’s a look at some recent perpetrators:

"The Mask" and "Son of the Mask" - The original starred Carrey and featured Cameron Diaz in her first credited film role; the sequel stars Jamie Kennedy ("Malibu’s Most Wanted") as the cartoonist father of a baby boy who gets a hold of the mask.

"Dumb and Dumber" and "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd" - The 1994 original, which featured Carrey and Jeff Daniels as two good-hearted but incredibly stupid friends, grossed $127 million; the 2003 sequel with Derek Richardson (who?) and Eric Christian Olsen (who?) assuming the title roles was actually a prequel about when the less-than-dynamic duo met in high school. The box office also was less than dynamic, a mere $26 million.

"Anaconda" and "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid" - The 1997 original had Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Luke Wilson and Jon Voight in pursuit of the giant killer snake and grossed $65 million; before becoming "The O.C.’s" pool boy, Nicholas Gonzalez and a cast of no-names battled really big snakes last year. Unfortunately, not too many people saw it; the flick grossed $31 million.

"Wild Things" and "Wild Things 2" - The 1998 cult classic is best known for the three-way scene involving Neve Campbell, Denise Richards and Matt Dillon. It also starred Kevin Bacon and Bill Murray and pulled in $29 million in theaters and a lot more on DVD; last year’s sequel went direct to video, and this time the three-way involved Susan Ward, Leila Arcieri and Joe Michael Burke.

"Cruel Intentions, "Cruel Intentions 2" and "Cruel Intentions 3" - The 1999 original featured a who’s who of young Hollywood, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair and Ryan Phillippe; the 2000 direct-to-video sequel was a prequel and featured Robin Dunne as a younger version of Phillippe’s Sebastian Valmont. Dunne is a king of direct-to-video sequels, having also appeared in "The Skulls," "American Psycho II: All American Girl" and "Species III." The "Cruel" trilogy continued last year with another direct-to-video release. The only connection to the first two is that it occurs at the same school. Kerr Smith ("Dawson’s Creek") headed the cast.