Creating a horror prequel is trickier business than a sequel. The rules are far less rigid in sequels, with expanded body count and lore most often being the primary goals. But a horror movie prequel has the tougher needle to thread in ensuring all of its pieces nestle neatly within the previously established framework without contradicting any details.
This week brings the arrival of The Omen prequel, The First Omen, charting the events leading up to Antichrist Damien Thorn’s adoption. It makes for the perfect excuse to revisit horror prequels that successfully earned their spot in their franchises through unique shifts in setting, tone, and style without veering too far off the beaten path.
This week’s streaming picks highlight horror movie prequels that get weird or dial up the horror in intense ways while further fleshing out familiar characters and storylines.
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Amityville II: The Possession – Starz
The first direct sequel to 1979’s The Amityville Horror isn’t actually a sequel but a prequel exploring the gruesome murders that took place in the iconic haunted home before the Lutz family. Halloween III: Season of the Witch screenwriter Tommy Lee Wallace and director Damiano Damiani aim for shock value and a sleazy, discomforting atmosphere with the introduction of the Montelli family (fictional adaptations of the DeFeo family). An abusive dad creates turbulence before the horror kicks in, but once it does, expect incest and supernatural shenanigans that culminate into a wild, practical effects-driven finale.
Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning – Plex, The Roku Channel, Tubi, Vudu
Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning takes the ancestors of the Fitzgerald sisters to the settling days of Canada, where they’re forced to take refuge in Fort Bailey, a place consistently under siege by werewolves. The 1815 setting lends a Gothic tone to a plot that largely adheres to the same beats as the original, with some significant shifts in the back half. This prequel forgoes any comic relief or witty commentary on adolescence in favor of a higher body count, more werewolf mayhem, and expanded werewolf lore.
Insidious: Chapter 3 – Max
Writer/Director Leigh Whannell’s directorial feature debut occurs before the first two Insidious films, putting psychic Elise (Lin Shaye) in the lead. Set several years before Elise meets the Lambert family, teen Quinn (Stefanie Scott) seeks her out to contact the spirit of her deceased mother. Quinn quickly finds herself in danger, subjected to terrifying encounters with a malevolent entity, and only Elise can help her. Chapter 3 goes darker and harder on the scares. The Further may not play as prominent a role, but if you want something that’ll send shivers down your spine, Whannell more than succeeds with this one.
Pearl – Paramount+, Showtime
Ti West rewinds the clock much further than X’s ‘70s setting to pay tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood in this prequel. Mia Goth reprises her role as the repressed killer Pearl, this time exploring a much different, younger side. Pearl makes for a vastly different viewing experience thanks to its drastic shifts in style, tone, and cinematic influences, but with enough connective tissue to enrich its predecessor. West and Goth play by their rules here, stylistically and narratively. West uses his cinematic influences to create something unique and audacious, and Goth cuts loose with an unrestrained performance.
Prometheus – Hulu
Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel follows an ill-fated crew as they travel to the distant moon LV-223 in the hopes of discovering humanity’s origins. Instead, they awaken humanity’s greatest threat. Noomi Rapace leads the all-star cast in this bonkers sci-fi horror movie that sees scientists paying the ultimate price for their mistakes. While this prequel does give an early iteration of the iconic xenomorph, it’s the introduction of Michael Fassbender’s inquisitive android character, David, that makes this one worth the watch. That another entry in the franchise is on the way this summer makes now a good time to catch up, even if the films won’t overlap in narrative.
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