In recent years, the horror genre has been dominated by new additions to existing franchises. From prequels and sequels to reboots and remakes, some franchises like Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre are constantly growing.
Many horror movies have received the prequel treatment over the years, often delving into the pasts of iconic villains like Michael Myers and Leatherface. That being said, there are still many horror movies which deserve a prequel to add further context and dive deeper into the original stories.
The Cabin In The Woods
The Cabin In The Woods is one of the most obvious options for a prequel, considering the history of the facility in the movie. Also, as a sequel probably isn't possible, a prequel would be a great way to expand on the story of the original.
The teenagers in the original movie summon the deadly zombie torture family but the ending of the movie shows a range of more exciting and unique monsters which could have been chosen. As it's insinuated, the ritual takes place every year with the sacrifices choosing their fate, so a closer look at a previous year would be an interesting angle for a prequel to take. Also, even though the mystery of the facility is key to the original, many fans would love to see how it was first set up.
The Descent
The Descent is one of the best Neil Marshall movies and brilliantly blends the brutality of the Crawlers, the claustrophobia brought on by the caves, and the main character's psychological trauma. The inferior sequel continues the story, with most of the psychological aspects of the previous installment stripped away (which is disappointing for fans of the original).
While exploring The Crawlers' true origins would ruin their mysterious nature, the abandoned climbing equipment in the original suggests that others had stumbled upon the cave system prior to Sarah and co. A potential prequel could follow a previous group of explorers who stumble on an earlier group of the vicious Crawlers. Showing an earlier group of the creatures would allow for some tweaks to the design and a movie set decades earlier would help the story feel fresh.
It Follows
Not much is known about the unusual curse from It Follows or its origins. The movie centers on a sexually transmitted curse, which sees the afflicted followed by a shape-shifting supernatural entity. The entity takes many forms during the original movie but it only scratches the surface with what it can do and how powerful it really is.
While fans would certainly enjoy a follow-up story continuing Jay's story, a prequel about the origins of the curse might be a more interesting angle to take. A prequel could delve deeper into the entity's history and add further to the mythos set up in the original movie.
Final Destination 5
While it wasn't marketed as a prequel, the shock ending of Final Destination 5 circles back around to the iconic Flight 180 crash and reveals the movie actually predates the original. As the movie's timeline is part of a twist ending, there's still room to add a proper prequel to the franchise.
The mysterious William Bludworth appears in several of the Final Destination movies to bestow cryptic advice and is highly knowledgeable about Death and its design. However, it's still unknown as to how or why he knows so much; it's possible that he previously survived Death or due to his differing advice in each movie, has more sinister or even supernatural origins. A prequel could explore Bludworth's past and how he came to be so knowledgeable about Death.
The Strangers
The Strangers is one of the most underrated horror movies and its simplicity is what makes it so terrifying. The sequel gives quite a conclusive ending to the masked intruders' story but their history still remains a mystery.
One of the most effective elements of the original movie is the intruders' lack of motive so it would be a mistake for a prequel to explore this further. That being said, seeing some of the intruders' first kills would be an intriguing angle to take. As the masked killers can't be revisited in more sequels, a prequel would be the most obvious route to take to give fans more of the deadly trio.
Sinister
Sinister is one of the scariest horror films according to science and the tapes are truly chilling. The Oswalt family are the latest family in a long line to be targeted by Baghuul, which opens up several options for a prequel.
Firstly, the tapes show the demise of several other families who could be the focus of a prequel movie. As very little is known about Baghuul, it would be interesting to learn more about the demonic entity by going back to the past. A period setting would also allow the prequel to feel fresh and ensure it doesn't repeat any story beats.
Wolf Creek
Wolf Creek is a brutal slasher set in the Australian outback and has spawned a sequel and a television series. The main antagonist of the series, Mick has become more sinister with each installment and has racked up a long list of victims. While elements of his past have been lightly touched upon, there is still a lot to explore in regards to the character.
The first Wolf Creek movie makes it clear that Mick has been killing for some time when he is first introduced. A prequel could look back at the killer's past or simply explore when he first began killing tourists.
The Witch
The Witch is often considered one of the best modern horror movies and is a slow-burn chiller. Some of the imagery from the movie is highly disturbing and lingers with the viewer long after the credits roll.
Although it would be interesting to continue Thomasin's journey in a sequel, the main highlights of the movie involve the titular witch. Fans would certainly love to find out more about her and her origins which could be done in a prequel. Seeing more of the witch's past would solidify her as a memorable horror villain and give more context to the original movie.