2022 has been an incredibly satisfying year for cinema. Ti West recently surprised audiences when he learned that his 2022 horror film X has already secretly filmed a prequel, Pearl, which is expected to hit theaters the same year. It’s such an exciting time to be a horror fan and there are more homes for niche projects than ever before.
Cinema has recently embraced the idea of prequels and sequels across genres as part of a concentrated effort to create interconnected universes. Ti West’s recent approach with X and pearl begs the question of what other horror movies are a natural fit for additional stories that travel back in time and fill in the missing perils.
ten Event Horizon lays the groundwork for a maiden voyage massacre
Paul W.S. Anderson Event horizon is easily his most evocative piece of horror and it’s only found a wider audience over time. The star-studded film, which is a disturbing hybrid of horror and sci-fi, follows the failed efforts of a rescue team who respond to a distress signal from a grounded spacecraft.
The crew of Lewis and Clark salvage ship are subjected to the same horrors as the Event horizon team, who inadvertently access an opening to hell. A prequel film that chronicles this original carnage, in a similar approach to what was done in 2011 The thing, would be an easy winner.
9 Hellraiser’s Lament setup has been inflicting pain for ages
The Visceral by Clive Barker hellraiser The franchise is set for a major comeback with a Hulu reboot underway. There is such a rich tradition in hellraiserThe Cenobites and the Lament Configuration puzzle box that summons them and which allowed the series to leap forward centuries to futuristic stories set in outer space as well as period pieces that look at the creation of the puzzle box by Philip LeMarchand in the 1700s.
A hellraiser The prequel wouldn’t need to go back to Lament Configuration’s roots, but rather tell another story of hedonism that takes place before the original film. Greed is such a universal concept that it doesn’t limit the franchise.
8 A Black Phone Prequel May Flesh Out The Horrible Grabber
by Scott Derrickson The black phone has become one of the most polarizing horror films of 2022. The chilling hostage story with supernatural undertones features a disturbingly nuanced performance from Ethan Hake as the Masked Grabber. The film intentionally avoids a crucial backstory for its villain, and audiences have to come to their own conclusions about how the Grabber got to that level.
The black phone reveals that he has had many casualties over the years. A prequel could focus on one of those earlier murders, while delving deeper into his own childhood and his relationship with his brother.
seven The Original Woodsboro Murders Make A Satisfying Scream Prequel
After a long period of dormancy, Scream came back strong with a sixth entry currently in production. These movies continue to push the franchise forward, but they’re still beholden to the characters’ pasts. ScreamThe sequels work because they continue to comment on the evolving tropes of the horror genre, but a natural story awaits them if they ever decide to take a prequel approach.
The death of Maureen Prescott, Sidney’s mother, is a catalyst for the original films. A film that actually depicts the murder of Maureen by Stu and Billy, and the subsequent framing of Cotton, could be a unique pivot for the series.
6 Cabin In The Woods needs decades of data to make its crazy premise work
cabin in the woods is a brilliant deconstruction of the horror genre. cabin in the woods focuses its story on a centralized attack on its teenage protagonists, but literally hundreds of ideas are briefly teased during spinoff moments. The shady individuals pulling the strings behind this cabin incident have been around for years and on a global scale.
A cabin in the woods prequel might explore the same concept, but through an entirely different set of horror ciphers in a whole new place. It’s not a prequel that’s necessary, but sometimes great ideas can spring from unexpected places.
5 Martyrs establishes a secret society that has been around for decades
Martyrs is a terribly nihilistic French horror film. The film features gruesome acts of prolonged torture as a secret society observes the pain of young women as a way to transcend humanity and gain answers about the afterlife. Martyrs is a tough watch with a dark conclusion, but a prequel movie could explore some compelling ideas.
Evil Miss and her secret society have been experimenting with this “martyrdom” process for decades. A prequel could go back to 1971 and look into the original incarceration and torture of a young Lucie, or it could go back even further and highlight what initially set Mademoiselle on this path to enlightenment.
4 The Blair Witch Project may look into the story of Rustin Parr and the roots of the evil spirit
The Blair Witch Project is an iconic horror film that helped popularize the low-budget found footage subgenre that remains a mainstay of horror. There have been attempts to flesh out Blair Witch universes, but none have managed to capture the magic of the original.
The Blair Witch Project states that the deranged hermit Rustin Parr is commanded by the spirit of the evil witch to abduct a number of children from Burkittsville, Maryland. A prequel that focuses on Rustin’s entanglement with the Blair Witch, or the origins of the spirit, would be a satisfying direction for the franchise.
3 The Outsiders First Strike Could Make A Messy Home Invasion Prequel
The home invasion horror subgenre has exploded over the past two decades, and 2008 The foreigners is one of the most chilling forays into random domestic turmoil caused by masked murderers.
It was recently revealed that three foreigners the sequels are simultaneously in production, but it’s also an easily emulated concept for a prequel project. The three attackers in the original film are not amateurs. In many ways, it’s even scarier to watch their early attacks as they get a taste for terror.
2 Wolf Creek’s Mick Taylor committed decades of serial killer carnage
The wolf creek the films are loosely based on real serial murders that plagued the Australian Outback. Greg McLean’s violent horror imagery has supported a pair of films, a two-season TV series, and another cinematic sequel along the way.
Each of these efforts basically cover the same idea of some unsuspecting travelers becoming the latest targets of ruthless serial killer, Mick Taylor. There is no reason for another wolf creek the story couldn’t take on a prequel perspective that strips Taylor’s mythic legend away instead of pushing it into more over-the-top places.
1 A Midsommar prequel could detail the previous generation of Harga
Ari Aster has become one of the most exciting names in horror to watch after the intense punch of Hereditary and Midsommar. Both films are methodical exercises in tone and tension, but Midsommar has the richer mythology of the two films. The Harga community explains that they go through this sacrificial process once every 90 years.
It could be incredibly rewarding to watch the previous generation of Harga and how their version of this ceremony unfolded. It is even possible that some elderly people sacrifice themselves in Midsommar could appear in this prequel as scared young children.
