By Sethan Yohananthan
Edited by Anika Garg
This article contains MAJOR spoilers for the following films: The Omen, The First Omen, The Exorcist, The Exorcist III, The Exorcist: Believer.
Horror movies are one of the most popular genres in film and television, a survey conducted showed that ‘just under half of the respondents [to the survey] … watched horror content at least occasionally.’ Furthermore, from the same survey, it was decided that the horror genre has the “fifth-highest share of viewers in the U.S.” Yet, there seems to be a public dilemma on the cultural phenomenon: sequels and prequels. It should be reminded that sequels and prequels are not anything new to films, and still, Hollywood’s recent ‘obsession’ over sequels seem to suffocate the freshness and uniqueness from filmmaking. This, supported with Jerry Seinfeld’s recent proclamation that the film business is “over” and that they do not “occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy,” has brought fear and concern to many filmgoers and horror media fans.
What happened to the satisfaction and simplicity of watching a movie without the need to prepare yourself by rewatching previously released movies? What about creativity?
Sequels and Prequels in the Film Industry
Over the past few years, we have had many sequels and remakes released, on different platforms with a wide range of response. Sequels being made for movies that were widely popular with the audience (at the time of release) is common. However, an issue that the film-going audiences have with the movie premieres is the sheer number of sequels, prequels, and remakes that are being released.
Of the top 10 highest grossing movies worldwide of 2023, four movies were sequels to either popular movies or part of a popular franchise: Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fast X, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. To properly look at the influence of sequels in the world, just look at the number of sequels and remakes in the highest grossing movies of all time. Of the top 10 highest grossing movies of all time, seven were related to an already existing film: Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Jurassic World, The Avengers. Although the number of films in this list can be surprising, it also goes on to show how the public and society are still willing to watch these movies, despite the criticisms raised towards the making of a sequel, through social media platforms. If the public had followed their opinions from social media and ignored these sequels in cinemas, it begs the question of these movies still grossing such profits for the production companies.
Effect on the Horror Genre
The trend of production companies announcing sequels and prequels to movies from the pop culture seems to have a high saturation in the horror genre. Although this serves as an opportunity for horror fanatics to indulge on projects based on films that they are fans of, this also raises the question on the necessity for such sequels.
Was there a necessity for a sequel for the 1973 horror classic “The Exorcist” , 50 years after its release? Not really. Yet, in the years following the release of the original “The Exorcist,” some sequels and prequels were released, to polarising reviews. The 2023 sequel “The Exorcist: Believer” was heavily criticised for its mismanagement of the original novel (of the same name ) and the film’s core themes, characters and lack of originality. This further fuelled the public’s opinion on sequels and prequels: always unnecessary and focused on only making profits rather than high quality products.
Similarly, another film that was recently released, based on another popular film from the 1970s, is “The First Omen” . However, in a change to “The Exorcist: Believer,” this movie is a prequel to the 1976 film “The Omen” , which is not a new prospect to the horror industry. Popular franchises, such as “Saw” , “The Final Destination” and “Paranormal Activity” , have had prequels – made years after the original films were released – depending on the popularity of the movies and the commercial successes at the box office (with “Saw X” , “Final Destination 5” and “Paranormal Activity 3” , respectively.) When “The First Omen” was announced and promoted with trailers and clips, a small section of the audiences was concerned about the necessity for this prequel, as many believed that the original film was already perfect and self-sufficient in storytelling and themes. However, when it was released in 2024, many of the initial attitudes changed for the better, with praises for its style and thematic references to modern attitudes, such as the American Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and the controversies against the Catholic Church about its coverup on sexual abuse allegations, which was woven into the narrative as a retcon of the original film’s story detail .
The positive response to “The First Omen” can be seen as an indication that having sequels and prequels to a popular franchise is not necessarily a terrible thing. It allows fans of the original films to express their appreciation and love through their projects as well. This can become an issue when many story points from the original film are used again in the follow-up film or if there is no necessity for such a film due to the contained nature of the original films. At this point, audiences, and the public start to become wary and fatigued by such projects.
However, this does not mean that the future of horror films is just going to be sequels and prequels. There are many horror films with original concepts and ideas that have been released and reached critical acclaim such as: “Get Out” , “Hereditary” , “The Babadook” and “Saint Maud” . In the sheer number of movies that are released every year (not just in Hollywood) but all over the world, there are going to be some sequels that are made along with original films that are produced as well. It just depends on the viewers’ decision of what they want to watch.
The beauty of cinema is the wide range of options that are given to the public to allow them to make their own decision on what they want to watch.
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