It seems like the new trend in horror television is to take great horror films and turn them into TV shows.
The Omen, Ash vs. Evil Dead, The Exorcist, Psycho, The Mist and Hannibal have all recently been put into production, with varying degrees of success. Not only that, but the list of horror movies set to hit the small screen is getting pretty long.
Here is the lineup of the Top 5 horror movies turned into TV shows I’d like to see this fall.
5. WaxWork II: Lost in Time
A few of you reading this might not know the slightly obscure ’80s film I’m talking about. Waxwork is a movie about some college students who spend the night in a wax museum, where the wax figures come to life. Waxwork II is about the two students who lived, going to another world and battling their way through various horror films and scenarios. They find out they are now part of “God’s Nintendo game against the devil.” What happens in the game has consequences in the real world. When they win and move on to the next scenario, good things happen. Then they lose and bad things happen. It’s funny without being completely stupid. A TV version would let each season spoof current horror films and TV shows… perhaps allowing for guest stars and guest appearances. I’m pretty sure it would quickly become a fan favorite for horror fanatics everywhere.
4. Demon Knight
Demon Knight is technically a Tales from the Crypt movie. While I won’t get into too many details, if you have yet to see the 1995 film, this may spoil it for you a bit. The film version revolves around demons trying to get a key that will unlock the universe and let them take over the Earth. Heavy on religious symbolism, Jeryline, our heroine, is a recently released inmate who was incarcerated for theft. By the end of the movie, she has redeemed herself and has become a warrior for God, a so-called… Demon Knight. A TV show centered on Jeryline the “Demon Knight” and her quest to figure out how to save the world from being reclaimed by the darkness would be quite the watch. Surprise demons popping up all over the place is definitely must-see TV.
3. The Skeleton Key
There really aren’t enough movies or TV shows about voodoo, and none that really showcase it. This would be a nice change from the typical horror we see on television. In The Skeleton Key, a young hospice nurse goes to work for an aging couple on a sprawling plantation in New Orleans. The nurse quickly feels she is the target of voodoo. Set in hot and creepy New Orleans, the series could focus on the many myths surrounding the area and the practice of voodoo. Perhaps we get to see what happened to the nurse after the credits rolled, maybe her story didn’t just end there. The ideas you could come up with involving a voodoo-controlled New Orleans is endless.
2. Creepshow
Apparently, all hope for a Tales From the Crypt revival have been squashed. So, why not a Creepshow TV series? Similar in tone and theme to Tales From the Crypt… except the screenplay was written by Stephen King, while it was directed by Romero. I’m not saying those two facts make the anthology series better, but I am saying it doesn’t hurt it, either. Creepshow is both funny and very traditional horror. Currently, the trend in television storytelling is a slow, agonizing burn. A series like Creepshow would appeal to people who need a change from the current television atmosphere. Quickly getting to the point with a short horror story each week, it would probably be a huge hit with our got-to-have-it-now society. Honestly, I don’t know why this hasn’t already been put on the schedule for this fall.
1. Hotel California
Yeah, I know it’s technically a song, but how amazing would a TV show based on the song Hotel California be? OK, the song is really about selling out, the music industry and excess, but that doesn’t mean the song taken literally wouldn’t make great television. Yeah, I get that American Horror Story kinda went there already. Catch this, though: A posh hotel out somewhere in the desert of California (or maybe it’s just a piece past that border, and the cops there are easily bought off) that caters to the very wealthy and powerful members of satanic cult. It’s not on a map anywhere, but if you end up lost on a dark, desert highway and see a strange hotel in the distance, definitely just keep driving. I really think of all the films I’d like to see turned into shows, this SONG would actually be my favorite.