You know what's better than one horror movie prequel? How about two? Esther’s back in the recently released Orphan: First Kill. It brings the talented Isabelle Fuhrman back as (SPOILER) Leena, the woman with a growth disorder who plays herself off as a child, Esther. The film picks up prior to the events of the first film, opening on Leena’s escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility. The second, Pearl, is a surprise sequel filmed back-to-back with the critically acclaimed slasher X, released earlier this year. First Kill has been well-received, and given the kudos X received, it's not a stretch to assume Pearl will as well, which is no small feat given the number of God-awful horror prequels, and lands among a small but mighty group of surprisingly good efforts (including Prey, another recent effort).
Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
2014's Ouija was not a critical success, but it was a financial one, making $103.6 million against it's $8 million budget (as is the case with most horror movies, practically a license to print money). Ouija: Origin of Evil was far better received, with the story of how Paulina Zander (Annalise Basso, played by Lin Shaye in the original) ended up in the psychiatric ward. In her defense, she was possessed via the Ouija board when she killed her mother and sister, but try telling that to the doc and not sound cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Ouija was a horribly dull, rote film, while Origin of Evil enlisted the genius of Mike Flanagan, so you knew it had to be better.
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
Annabelle, the breakout star from The Conjuring and Annabelle, who we hope never actually breaks out, gets her own origin story. Twelve years after the tragic death of their daughter, doll-maker Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife Esther (Miranda Otto) welcome a nun and six orphans into their home. One stipulation: do not try and enter the locked room that belonged to their daughter. But one girl is led into the room where she finds... guess who? Turns out the Mullins' thought they had called their daughter's spirit back, but instead beckoned a demon who's now in the doll. Damn demons - can't trust 'em at all.
Bates Motel (2013-2017)
A contemporary prequel to the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho, Bates Motel tells the story of young Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his wildly unhealthy relationship with "Mother," Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga). The series picks up after the death of Norma's husband, where Norma buys a motel in an Oregon town in order to start a new life for her and Norman. Norman's psyche increasingly unravels as the series progresses, with the fifth season introducing a new take on the events of the film and its aftermath. Highmore is brilliant at playing off-kilter roles, and Farmiga is fantastic in pretty much everything.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
The prequel to the first two Paranormal Activity films (and arguably the last before the found footage trope of the franchise started stretching believability) introduces us to Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) as children, seen in footage from VHS tapes. It's where we are also introduced to Kristi's imaginary friend "Tobi," the same friend that follows them into adulthood in the first two films, and grandma Lois (Hallie Foote), who takes care of the girls after killing mama and her boyfriend. Oh, and granny's coven. Good times.
Amityville II: The Possession (1982)
The prequel to The Amityville Horror is loosely based on the real story of the DeFeo family murders of 1974, where 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family in the infamous Amityville house. Loosely may be generous, but nevertheless the story follows the Montelli family - mom, pop, and four children, including Sonny (Jack Magner), who becomes possessed, has sex with his sister, and, as the evil spirit in him demands, kills them all ("hearing voices" was part of DeFeo's insanity defense in reality).
Leatherface (2017)
Leatherface is a prequel to a prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Only it's not really (it's complicated). Regardless, Leatherface is a decent origin story for the flesh-masked madman. Jed Sawyer (Sam Strike) is removed from his home and placed in a mental institution after the murder of a lawman's daughter, only to escape with some other inmates ten years later. Jed returns home, leaving a bloody trail behind him, is given his first chainsaw, makes his first chainsaw kill and crafts his first flesh mask. Touching, really.
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
The prequel to the innovative Insidious is an introduction to Elise (Lin Shaye), the psychic protagonist of the first two films. She is highly reluctant to use her gifts thanks to childhood events and "The Bride in Black" (Tom Fitzpatrick), the evil entity that wants to kill her (and (SPOILER) succeeds at the end the first film). But when a young girl, Quinn (Stefanie Scott), invites evil into her home inadvertently, Elise becomes the bold heroine we know and enters the Further to help her.
Red Dragon (2002)
Red Dragon is a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs and a pseudo-remake of 1986's Manhunter, with more screen time for everyone's favorite dinner host, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Retired and still haunted after apprehending Lecter, FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) is called back for the hunt of "The Tooth Fairy," a Baltimore-based serial killer. The killer is elusive, forcing Graham to petition help from Hannibal the Cannibal. Both Hopkins and Norton are excellent, but Ralph Fiennes' portrayal of the Red Dragon is hauntingly memorable.
Final Destination 5 (2011)
Final Destination 5 doesn't really bring anything new to the table. Sam Lawton (Nicholas D'Agosto) has a premonition that a suspension bridge will collapse and persuades others in his group not to cross. Bridge collapses, but Death must collect what should have been his and starts offing them one by one. The film has some wildly inventive kills, bolstered by its 3-D effects which help elevate it slightly over the first four. It ends with a great segue into the events of the first film.
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)
It's 1889 in Rejection, Nevada, where four eggs hatch in a silver mine releasing Dirt Dragons (aka Graboids). The mine gets closed but it doesn't matter - the Dragons are en route to Rejection, forcing the townspeople to protect their town. Luckily, Hiram Gummer (Michael Gross), the mine owner, comes to town with a huge amount of weaponry (like his descendant, Burt Gummer (also Gross)). The prequel keeps the action-adventure/comedy aesthetic of the franchise alive while creating a history for the creatures that reappear 100 years later.
Prey (2022)
Prey, otherwise known as "the poster child for a movie that should have been released theatrically", is a prequel set 300 years before the events of Predator. Naru (Amber Midthunder), a skilled Comanche warrior, learns that a being that can turn invisible, a Predator (Dane DeLiegro), has invaded their land, and it becomes her mission to somehow take it down. Prey brings back the tension that made the first film so memorable, and Midthunder is an exceptional find.
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
Dominion is actually the second of two prequels to the horror classic, and arguably better than the first, Exorcist: The Beginning, released in 2004. It details Father Lankester Merrin's (Stellan Skarsgård) first encounter with the demon Pazuzu, years before he would meet him again in The Exorcist. Merrin has abandoned his faith and the priesthood, returning to his vocation as an archeologist. But when our friend Pazuzu possesses a young boy in the camp, Merrin has to find where he put his faith PDQ.