Editorials
Six Underrated Horror Prequels to Watch Ahead of ‘The First Omen’
Even outside of Star Wars, prequels tend to get a bad rap. From answering questions that didn’t need answering (and destroying the mysteries of the original in the process) to repeating established formulas ad nauseum, it’s deceptively easy for these blasts from the past to trip over their previously established lore. After all, it’s kind of hard to tell an engaging story when audiences already know what happens next.
Thankfully, the horror genre seems to be especially blessed with filmmakers that see prequels as an opportunity to tell original stories within an established world. I mean, some folks even thought that last year’s Pearl was even better than X, and the trailer for Arkasha Stevenson’s upcoming The First Omen looks like it kicks all kinds of ass – and that’s precisely why we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six underrated horror prequels for your viewing pleasure!
While we’ll be shying away from acclaimed prequels like Prey and Orphan: First Kill in order to focus on films that deserve a bit more love, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorites if you think we missed a particularly fun one.
Now, onto the list…
6. Cube Zero (2004)
While none of its follow-ups could quite match the quality of the original, I’d still argue that there are no bad Cube movies. Finding creative ways to get around their limited budgets and extract tension from what basically amounts to a single location, all four of these movies have their unique merits – which is why Cube Zero makes it onto the list.
Sure, it’s guilty of the cardinal sin of explaining things that were better left unknown in the original, but dividing our focus between the victims of the titular cube and its voyeuristic operators makes this a refreshingly unique experience. Zero may lack some of the mystery of its predecessors, but I love how the ending ties in with the original film, and you can still enjoy this one even if you haven’t seen the others.
5. Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
A&E’s Bates Motel is now known as the definitive Psycho prequel (which makes sense, given the show’s iconic performances by both Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore), but it wasn’t the first attempt at fleshing out Norman Bates’ twisted backstory. Back in 1990, genre filmmaker Mick Garris teamed up with the original screenwriter of Hitchcock’s horror classic (Joseph Stefano) to bring us an extremely underappreciated made-for-TV movie concerning the origins of one of cinema’s most iconic killers.
Told through a series of flashbacks as Anthony Perkins reprises his role as a seemingly rehabilitated killer and calls into a radio show in order to share his life story, Psycho IV dives into the disturbing details of Norman’s upbringing and his eventual homicidal tendencies. It doesn’t quite live up to the original (and how could it?), but there’s no denying that this is one hell of a fun time despite its network limitations.
4. Leatherface (2017)
I’ve stated numerous times that I think every single Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel is worth watching for one reason or another, and that’s why I’ve always found it surprising how many people dislike the 2016 prequel Leatherface. From the family secretly working for the illuminati to Alexandra Daddario adopting her flesh-eating cousin like an elderly guard-dog, this franchise is versatile enough to tell nearly any kind of story – so I don’t understand why so many fans draw the line at a down-to-earth tale about troubled youths fleeing a mental institution.
Yes, the film borrows freely from The Devil’s Rejects and could have used some more genuine scares (which were present in the original script but ended up being toned down during production), but I really appreciate the flick’s character work and how it gets around the predictable prequel issue by playing with our expectations regarding which one of these runaways will grow up to be the titular Leatherface. It may not be a masterpiece, but it’s a guaranteed good time for fans of neo-exploitation.
3. Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004)
Shot back-to-back with Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, Grant Harvey’s Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning is a curious case of a prequel set so far into the past that it only tangentially relates to the original. Telling a peculiar story about the 19th century incarnations of the Fitzgerald sisters who find themselves trapped in Fort Bailey while being hunted by werewolves, you really don’t need to have seen the other films in order to enjoy this low-budget period piece.
And while you could spend hours debating about how exactly Ginger Snaps 3 ties into the modern-day timeline of the series (I mean, are Brigitte and Ginger destined to reincarnate indefinitely due to the Werewolf curse or is this meant to be a “what if” situation?), I enjoy this schlocky prequel due to its impeccable atmosphere and practical werewolf effects.
2. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
Multiple different versions of films have existed since the dawn of cinema (especially when producers began to meddle in the affairs of directors in order to appeal to broader audiences), but there are very few cases of conflicting versions of the same project being released as completely different movies. Case in point, the heavily reworked Exorcist: The Beginning may have been a messy schlock-fest that cheapened an iconic franchise, but its restored counterpart is a much better experience that even managed to impress William Peter Blatty.
This 2005 release still isn’t quite Paul Shrader’s original vision, as the studio refused to give him enough money to properly finalize post-production, but it’s much better than what they put out in 2004 and worth a watch if you’re a fan of slow-burn faith-based terror.
1. Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
The idea of a found footage prequel sounds silly on paper, but Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman knocked it out of the park when it came time to bring Paranormal Activity into the 1980s with their unexpectedly fun threequel.
Sure, the flick doesn’t re-invent the wheel when it comes to found footage frights and it’s a lot harder to justify the excessive amount of recordings (and high-definition widescreen video) in the days of VHS, but this lo-fi prequel boasts some of the most memorable scares in the franchise – not to mention an ending that ties up the original trilogy’s mythology with a neat little bow.
Found footage movies rely on immersion and a particular kind of suspension of disbelief in order to scare viewers, so it stands to reason that playing along with the “kayfabe” of it all is necessary for these movies to be effective. However, despite being something of a purist when it comes to in-universe recordings, I’ve come to accept that traditional productions can benefit from the occasional injection of found footage thrills.
For instance, Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation makes genius use of the analog gimmick in order to trap us in the titular rooms alongside our main characters before effortlessly switching back to a more cinematic language. In honor of these dynamic films that manage to combine the best of both worlds, today I’d like to share six other hybrid horror movies that successfully incorporate found footage into their scares!
For the purposes of this list, “hybrid” horror movies are defined as any flick that shifts between diegetic recordings and traditional filming techniques for a significant amount of time (or at least for pivotal scenes).
As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own hybrid favorites if you think a particularly freaky one was missed.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
5. The Last Broadcast (1998)
Internet critics may have overstated the influence that Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler’s The Last Broadcast had on The Blair Witch Project, but the found footage subgenre still owes a huge debt to this underrated piece of avant-garde filmmaking. However, while the movie sets itself up as a documentary about the disappearance of a group of cryptid-hunters attempting to track down the Jersey Devil, things take a darker and much more grounded turn towards the final act.
I won’t get into details in order to avoid spoilers, but suffice to say that the jarring shift in perspective actually helps to sell the idea that everything we’ve seen before the finale was an attempt at using filmmaking to manipulate the public perception of a “real” incident.
Not bad for a movie with a $900 budget!
4. Cam (2018)
When you consider just how much the internet affects our daily lives, it’s strange that we don’t see Screenlife elements pop up in more movies these days. For instance, Isa Mazzei & Daniel Goldhaber’s highly underrated Cam only works as a freaky parable about online sex-work because it masterfully balances Madeline Brewer’s intimate moments with highly immersive segments within cyberspace.
While one might argue that the entire film could have been produced as a Screenlife experience, the hybrid approach allows the filmmakers to explore our main character’s life beyond the screens – with the duality of modern human existence actually becoming a recurring theme in the story.
3. Banshee Chapter (2013)
Most of H.P. Lovecraft’s popular stories were told in the epistolary format (where the text is presented as an in-universe compilation of letters or personal notes), so it makes sense that a spiritually faithful adaptation of his work would incorporate elements from the modern-day equivalent to epistolary fiction – found footage!
That’s why Blair Erickson’s Banshee Chapter is such an effective scare-fest, as this hybrid adaptation of From Beyond -retold through a conspiratorial lens as it references MK-Ultra and even secretive numbers stations- immerses viewers in a mind-bending tapestry of Cosmic Horror that blurs the line between fiction and reality.
2. The Deep House (2019)
The underwater setting does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s The Deep House, with the film being especially uncomfortable if you’re already scared of tight spaces and being deprived of oxygen. However, even the universally unsettling elements of the flick only work because the POV often shifts into claustrophobic footage courtesy of our main characters’ GoPro cameras.
Telling the story of a couple of YouTubers who encounter a haunted house at the bottom of an artificial lake while vacationing in France, The Deep House’s first-person exploration sequences contain some of the film’s scariest moments. In fact, I’d argue that the movie didn’t even need ghosts, as becoming trapped in the titular House already sounds like a fate worse than death.
1. Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
My personal favorite instance of filmmakers successfully managing to combine traditional cinematography with POV filmmaking, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, is proof that the two formats can co-exist if the right story comes along.
After all, what better way to conclude a mockumentary all about reality getting increasingly more cinematic than by ditching the found footage gimmick altogether during the finale? Not only does this shift in presentation work on a conceptual level, but it also elevates Behind The Mask into a proper Slasher, which is probably why we’re so excited for that long-overdue sequel!
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