10 Best Horror Movie Prequels

2. Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

Ouija Origin of Evil
Paramount Pictures

The Indiana Jones franchise is clearly one that's every inch an action-adventure series, but 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is very much a movie steeped in horror.

Dripping in so many of the elements that made EC Comics so special, Temple of Doom is visually framed like a horror picture in terms of its lighting or lack thereof. Throw in cults, sacrifices, hearts ripped out, chambers full of creepy-crawlies, the ominous presence of Mola Ram, and Steven Spielberg's '84 effort absolutely ticks so many of the relevant boxes to classify it as a horror offering.

Each and every Indiana Jones picture has at least one or two scenes that drum up the dread, yet none of the other three have anywhere close to as many such moments as Temple of Doom.

Those other flicks feel like adventure movies with an occasional sequence of horror, whilst Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom feels very much like a horror movie that finds itself in an action movie landscape.

This prequel outing for Harrison Ford's Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. absolutely deserves a spot here on this list.

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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, 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 the 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, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.