By Dr.LoveGore
Prequels seem to have an odd reputation. On the one hand, they're not remakes, but they're not sequels, either. I for one love the idea of prequels. Whenever I hear there's gonna be one made I get pretty excited. With that thought swishing around in my brain, I've come up with a list of 9 of my favorite Horror prequels.
Spoilers Ahoy!
9. Psycho 4: The Beginning (1990)
There's a death scene in this movie that I saw as a little kid. It stuck in my memory and I didn't know the name of this flick till I finally watched all the 'Psycho' movies. There's some moments that may be a little boring in this one, though, it does have scenes that shine. Mick Garris directs and Anthony Perkins stars.
8. Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
Like some prequels, this movie also jumps to present time, and even the future. It could be better, yeah, I just think people are a little too harsh on this entry. It's pretty interesting for a Horror movie. It has good gore moments, Doug Bradley has less cringe-worthy dialog than in the previous 'Hellraiser' movie and Kim Myers from 'A Nightmare On Elm St. 2' is in it. WTF?! This is a decent, little Horror movie with some directing work from Special FX artist Kevin Yagher.
7. From Dusk Till Dawn: The Hangman's Daughter (1999)
Michael Parks owned this movie as with most of his roles. He kills it and the rest of the acting isn't bad either, especially for a direct to video prequel. It doubles as a Western, too. There's gore, action-packed fight scenes, and vampires doing what they do best in the this series. A little extra fact, this movie was screened in late 1999 and released on home video in January, 2000 and it made big, big bucks on the home video market.
6. Amityville 2: The Possession (1982)
A lot of people find the original 'Amityville Horror' to be somewhat boring. Now, I can see the point; it's a slow movie, slow movies only work if you're interested in the story and characters. I just find that film to be quite creepy and mind crippling. If you like the tone of the original, but want more meat and gore to the visuals then look no further than its prequel; 'Amityville 2: The Possession. There's some fucked up shit that goes on in this movie and you see what happened before the Lutz' moved in to that dusty, creepy, old house.
5. Red Dragon (2002)
'Hannibal Rising' is obviously a prequel, too, but this one's better. It has a lot of great actors. It's not really a remake of Michael Mann's 1985 film 'Manhunter' just another adaptation of the same book by Thomas Harris titled 'Red Dragon.' Both films are good, but this one in particular is a prequel to 'The Silence Of The Lambs' film. It works really well. Even the ending is satisfying as you could watch 'TSOTL' right after and boogie to the same story.
4. The Thing (2011)
Points taken away for cgi when the effects were supposed to be practical, however, this film is worthy of watching before John Carpenter's 1982 movie 'The Thing.' It can get under my skin when a film calls itself a prequel and doesn't connect to the film before it. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.'s prequel does connect to Carpenter's film, though. It also does a lot of things right and ends perfectly as far as pairing with its older and wiser step-brother.
3. Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2009)
Two words: Very underrated. I love kickin' back and letting the 'Underworld' movies "wow" me. It's always pleasing to see the special fx in these stylistic films. The cinematography is beautiful and the swell acting is a bonus I appreciate. The actress Rhona Mitra who plays the daughter of the character Victor, (Bill Nighy) even looks similar to Kate Beckinsale which works perfectly for the story. If you follow these movies like I do...you know what I mean.
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
Yes, it's a prequel to a remake, but it's so fuckin good! Also, now that time has passed, I can spot a mid 2000's Horror movie in an instant; ‘TCM: The Beginning’ does not suffer from dated style, though. This movie got it right! I've said it before, the remake in 2003 should have been as hardcore as this film. Even R. Lee Ermey puts on a better show than he did in the remake, and he was the best thing about it! I love this movie! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!
1. Final Destination 5 (2011)
I went in knowing nothing about the story. It was one of the best surprises I've had to this day watching a movie . And, I saw it at the theater in 3D which added more to my experience. This film is such an upgrade from parts 3 and 4. The acting is alright, some shine more than others...but everything else is on fuckin point! There's even little Easter eggs to the other films in the series. 'Final Destination 5' may be the best prequel ever....but that's just my opinion.
Honorable Mentions
Prometheus - (2012)
I like it as a 3D film. That being said, as a prequel, it didn't really do much for me.
Scream 3 (2000)
I know what you're thinking: "Scream 3 isn't a prequel." Well, you're right, but the ending has some prequel footage in a screening room as Sidney watches.
Halloween (2007)
Yup, not a big fan of Zombie's film, but gotta give credit where credit is do, the first half of the movie is much better, even if it is a prequel to its own second half.
I'm Dr.LoveGore signing off. What are some of your favorite prequels?
Dr.LoveGore is all about the gore, and quality in anything related to Horror. Movies, soundtracks, comic books, novels, you name it, he loves it!
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