10 Best Horror Movie Prequels

by Andrew Pollard

1. Ring 0: Birthday

Ring 0 Birthday
Toho

Like many other horror franchises, the Ring series is one full of more misses than hits. With Norio Tsuruta's 2000 prequel Ring 0: Birthday, though, horror hounds thankfully got one of the better entries of a franchise that currently encompasses a whopping 13 movies - including remakes and even a crossover with the Ju-on series.

Ring 0: Birthday serves as a solid prequel that sets up the infamous Sadako (Yukie Nakama) as a sympathetic, tragic figure ahead of the terrors we had already seen from her in, at that point, five films.

Here, we see Sadako's journey from 19-year-old shy, aspiring actress to becoming the chilling figure who forever torments our TV sets and beyond. Like any good prequel, you know how this is going to end, but Tsuruta does a marvellous job of taking you on a terrifying roller coaster ride that involves a literal split personality and a solid dose of Carrie White influences.

Not just does Birthday serve as the perfect set-up for 1998's iconic Ring, it also has a few further nods and winks for those familiar with the 1995 TV movie version of Ring; a '95 offering that has since become known as Ring: Kanzenban.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.