10 Best Horror Movie Prequels Of All Time, Ranked

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There's a 90% chance your favorite horror movie will eventually become a franchise whether you want it to or not. This isn't inherently a bad thing, considering it can give audiences the chance to revisit returning characters, witness a bunch of new kills, or even pick up with a running plot thread across a familiar formula. With sequels, the story usually moves forward in some way. Prequels, however, are playing a much different game, as they often hit the rewind button to see how a certain aspect of the series' identity came into being in the first place.

The danger with doing prequels is demystifying what made a horror villain or scary scenario so memorable to begin with. Warner Bros. commissioned two "Exorcist" prequels, yet neither of them could stand on their own, let alone share any kind of footing with the William Friedkin classic. But among the wreckage of prequels that drop the ball, there are at least 10 of them that either make a great companion piece to their predecessors or, in the rare case, surpass them. 

Before we get to the 10 best horror prequels of all time, let's give a shout-out to those that just barely made the cut. "Insidious: Chapter 3" gave Lin Shaye the opportunity shine in a leading role, "The First Purge" leaned into the darker shades of how the legal murder angle came to be, and "Prometheus" is much more interesting than a typical "Alien" prequel. With all that out of the way, let's go back to the days of horror past and uncover some of the genre's best origin stories.

• Cast: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra
• Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 92 minutes
• Where to Watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

The biggest dilemma with Len Wiseman's "Underworld," a gothic action-horror romp about the war between vampires and Lycans, is that it gets so bogged down in its overarching mythology that the film's pacing suffers as a result. 2009's "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans," the third film in the series, succeeds because it expands on the first film's most shocking twists, while providing a greater emotional context behind how this centuries-spanning strife came to be.

Taking place in the 15th century, the film shows how Lucian (Sheen) went from an enslaved being to the head of the Lycan clan after a lifetime of abuse from his vampire tormentor Viktor (Nighy). We also learn about the extent of his secret relationship with Sonja (Rhona Mitra), Viktor's daughter, and how that informed the events that led the malevolent vampire to Kate Beckinsale's Selene.

Director Patrick Tatopoulos presents a very entertaining monster mash of blood and ice that gives Sheen and Nighy the room to flesh out their character's potent disdain for one another. In spite of already knowing where these two will eventually end up, the further clarification of an injustice within the "Underworld" timeline allows Lucian to have a much deserved victory lap in death, as well as cheekily sealing Viktor's fate in the end. As much fun as the first "Underworld" is, "Rise of the Lycans" is by far the better film and an example of this series' potential.

• Cast: Isabelle Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland
• Director: William Brent Bell
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 99 minutes
• Where to Watch: Paramount+, Fandango at Home

Jaume Collet-Serra's "Orphan" has held up surprisingly well, with a large part of its psychological menace coming down to Isabelle Fuhrman giving a performance well beyond her years as Esther. You would think there's nowhere to go after the shocking revelation that the 10-year-old Estonian girl was actually an escaped psychiatric patient in her 30s, but you'd be wrong.

2022's "Orphan: First Kill" chronicles how Leena Klammer eventually became the vintage dress-wearing Esther by donning the appearance of a missing child from the United States and taking her place. Just when you think the film is only going to repeat the motions of a typical "bad seed" movie, it somehow pulls an even crazier fast one regarding the family that takes her in.

Director William Brent Bell understands that Esther has become something of a horror mainstay in the 13 years since the first film, so he wisely decides to fully immerse us in her perspective this time around. It helps the dodgier moments of Fuhrman's insane return to the role that we don't have to fall for the illusion of an adult pretending to be a child, giving her performance a comedic edge if anything. You can tell Fuhrman is having loads of fun acting opposite Julia Stiles, who gives her so much to work with once the rug is pulled.

• Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund
• Director: Kevin Greutert
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 118 minutes
• Where to Watch: Netflix, Apple TV

In the years following "Saw 3D: The Final Chapter," the "Saw" series kept trying to find new ways to revitalize itself, albeit with mixed results. At the heart of it was a common grievance that killing off Tobin Bell's John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) at the end of "Saw III" was a mistake. It wasn't, but given the series' penchant for its convoluted timeline shenanigans, 2023's "Saw X" made the wise decision to go with a full-blown prequel that takes place between the bloody events of the first two films. 

Once depicted as a morally dubious horror villain in the previous entries, this puts John firmly in the driver's seat as he searches for a treatment that could cure his brain cancer. He comes across an experimental medical group doing procedures in Mexico, only to get swindled by their phony operation.

Having received his own "Saw" twist, John gathers all of the guilty parties and does what he does best — tests their will to live through a series of sadistic contraptions. "Saw X" is less a movie about the more malicious John we knew in the previous films and more a celebration of Bell embodying one of the best horror villains of the 21st century. Director Kevin Greutert largely tells one last standalone story, giving Jigsaw a surprisingly warm ending that would have been impossible otherwise. It feels like a miracle that this even got made.

• Cast: Jordana Brewster, Matt Bomer, R. Lee Ermey
• Director: Jonathan Liebesman
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 91 minutes
• Where to Watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

Among the slew of horror remakes that dominated the 2000s, Marcus Nispel's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is undoubtedly one of the best. It reconfigures Tobe Hooper's 1974 classic through a more conventionally paced slasher film that's a bit more gratuitous, yet no less effective with its violence. It got the prequel treatment three years in 2006 with "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," which received widespread negative reviews from critics and audiences. Over two decades later, however, Jonathan Liebesman's gory prequel has proven to be a seriously underrated slasher with yet another impressive turn from R. Lee Ermey as the sadistic "Sheriff" Hoyt.

"The Beginning" falls into a bunch of cliched origin story trappings, such as the birth of Thomas Hewitt (aka Leatherface) and how he got his chainsaw, in addition to how all of the other Hewitts got their designated roles and injuries. But all of it informs a disturbing story that turns the meatgrinder subtext of the '74 film into text, with the throughline of young folk being tormented by the looming American slaughterhouse that is the Vietnam War draft. Stumbling upon Leatherface on a bad day is no less harrowing than what's waiting in store for them outside of this small town. "The Beginning" is truly a much bleaker and boldly introspective horror film than it's often given credit for.

• Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
• Director: Michael Sarnoski
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 99 minutes
• Where to Watch: Paramount+

In the opening sequence in "A Quiet Place: Part II," we witness the Abbott family experiencing the first wave of attacks from the extraterrestrial death angels. If this is what's happening in a little town, then what does this invasion look like in the kind of metropolitan cities where noise never takes a vacation? It would have been so easy for director Michael Sarnoski to follow the same blueprint of John Krasinski's two films, but he instead turned a monster movie prequel into a shockingly touching drama about getting a slice of pizza at the end of the world.

2024's "A Quiet Place: Day One" is mostly a two-hander between Lupita Nyong'o's Sam and Joseph Quinn's Eric (as well as a very lovely kitty named Frodo) as they traverse the fresh wreckage of New York City. It's not the smartest thing to do when sound-sensing monsters can hear every mistake you make, but it is an achingly human sentiment about retaining glimmers of normalcy in uncertain times.

It's a fitting follow-up for Sarnoski in that it takes the "we don't get a lot of things to care about" line from his previous film, "Pig," and expands that on a much bigger scale. "Day One" implores us to celebrate the trivialities that we take for granted because a day will come where it will be the last time we partake in them.

• Cast: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro
• Director: Dan Trachtenberg
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 100 minutes
• Where to Watch: Hulu

Shane Black's "The Predator" was so uniquely awful that it seemingly killed any interest in continuing the series, only for Dan Trachtenberg to come in and fix many of its problems with "Prey." Rather than following another group of contemporary commandos being hunted by a Predator (otherwise known as a Yautja), the 2022 reboot instead goes back in time to the 18th century.

It's here where we're introduced to Amber Midthunder's Naru, a young Comanche woman who dreams of being a hunter like her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers). But alas, her abilities to make a makeshift rope axe weapon still doesn't make anyone see her as anything other than the healer they want her to be. When a Predator shows up, however, Naru finds herself fighting for her life among a sea of other dangerous hunters colliding with one another.

To this day, it's such an enormous shame that the "Predator" series was in such turmoil that "Prey" became a Hulu-exclusive streaming title, because this is a movie that was made for theaters. It's no wonder Trachtenberg was given the keys to the Yautja kingdom afterward. "Prey" succeeds because it brings everything back to literal basics, presenting a tense game of cat-and-mouse between technology and nature. Midthunder's determined performance is the glue that binds it all together, as she proves herself more than worthy of the warrior label she's been fighting so hard to earn.

• Cast: Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga
• Director: Arkasha Stevenson
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 119 minutes
• Where to Watch: Hulu

Just like "Orphan," the mystery behind what's going on is integral to the tension of Richard Donner's "The Omen." The 1976 religious horror film creates an overwhelming sense of dread as the parents at the heart of the story seal their doom by discovering that their son Damien is actually the Antichrist. Everything leading up to this moment is found in rumors, old files, and gravesites, so what could a prequel add? 

As it turns out, actually quite a bit. Director Arkasha Stevenson revives a long dormant horror franchise with "The First Omen," a tremendous '70s throwback that chronicles the events of the weeks leading up to Damien's birth. An American novice nun named Margaret (Free) is sent to Rome to work in an orphanage, only to discover that there's a sinister conspiracy at work that directly involves her.

"The First Omen" stands out via its thematic horrors about the perpetrators of the Antichrist's arrival. It implicates this film's version of the Catholic Church as actively trying to bring out an unholy force by violating women's bodies through a series of gruesome procedures. Nell Tiger Free does excellent work here as a woman torn between her desires and her devotion to a broken system. The only real knock against the film is a dramatically embarrassing ending that feels out of place. Otherwise, you can watch 2024's "The First Omen" without having seen any of the other "Omen" movies.

• Cast: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright
• Director: Ti West
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 103 minutes
• Where to Watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

Ti West's "X" combines the outsider killing spree of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" with the smutty allure of '70s pornos, with Mia Goth as one of its greatest elements. She gives the kind of dual role performance that turns actors into horror royalty, especially as Pearl, an elderly woman who kills because of her jealousy toward the visitors' blatant promiscuity.

West and Goth knew they had a goldmine on their hands with this character and just decided to immediately get to work on a prequel that showed how she became trapped in that state of resentment. The result is 2022's "Pearl," a darkly funny character study about the titular farmgirl who wants to be a star by any means necessary. If only she could control some of her impulses, like making love to a scarecrow or stabbing people in the chest with a pitchfork.

"Pearl" lives and breathes on Goth's captivating lead performance as a troubled woman who goes to such extreme lengths on account of feeling trapped on the family farm. Her eight-minute monologue imbues so much depth, pity, and horror into a character that could be presented as a one-note failure. Once you've seen "X" and "Pearl" in release order, watching them chronologically makes the former an infinitely sadder experience. The colorful "Wizard of Oz" dreamscape of the farm becomes a deteriorating phantom of its former glory, warded by a woman who failed an audition so hard it literally ruined her life. 

• Cast: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher
• Director: Steven Quale
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 92 minutes
• Where to Watch: HBO Max

The "Final Destination" series has been entertaining horror audiences for over 25 years with a series of gruesome fatalities that seem like they're about to go one way, only to subvert expectations at the last minute. They gleefully play on the tension of waiting to see what happens next, and 2011's "Final Destination 5" is no exception. The inciting premonition here is an impressively staged bridge collapse that shows all of Sam's (D'Agosto) friends and other office colleagues being taken out. When they get off the bus in time, however, Death comes for them all.

It's a great "Final Destination" movie that has the climax revolve around the violence of individuals rather than this invisible force. But then the ending pulls the series' greatest hat trick yet by revealing that not only was the film a secret prequel, but one in which the "survivors" are on the notorious Flight 180. It's even crazier considering most of the clues indicating that we're back in the early 2000s are cleverly hidden in plain sight. Before last year's "Final Destination: Bloodlines," this felt like the most natural conclusion to the series, especially with a countdown montage of every single death in 3D and set to AC/DC's "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)." Very few horror franchises have ever gone out (albeit temporarily) on a note this strong.

• Cast: Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Moira Kelly
• Director: David Lynch
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 134 minutes
• Where to Watch: HBO Max, Apple TV

When "Twin Peaks" first aired on television in 1990, people went crazy over this bizarre yet quirky surrealistic crime drama oddity. It was a full-blown phenomenon, with Kyle MacLachlan's Special Agent Dale Cooper investigating the goings-on in a strange town in the Pacific Northwest that harbored all sorts of dark secrets. At the center was the water cooler mystery of who killed homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Lee), who acted more as a lure to expose everyone else's lives. But after finding so much empathy in Sheryl Lee's performance, series co-creator David Lynch followed the show's cancellation with 1992's "Fire Walk With Me," one of the best horror films ever made.

Taking place over the course of a week, "Fire Walk With Me" is a horrifying, achingly sad portrait of a teenager spiraling as the result of realizing she's being sexually abused by her father (Wise), who's also dealing with his own demons. If "Twin Peaks" was a warm cup of tea, then "Fire Walk With Me" is a cold splash of water that reminds you of the toll this cursed town took on a girl who's practically begging for help. Knowing that she will succumb to her plastic-wrapped fate makes every scene leading up to it that much more harrowing to watch. It's one of the defining American horror movies, revealing the layers upon layers of rot that go unnoticed within our communities every day.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).