The ten Greatest Horror Films That Are Primarily based on Books

October is outlined in Webster’s Dictionary as “31 days of horror.” Don’t hassle wanting it up; it’s true. Most individuals take that to imply highlighting one horror film a day, however right here at FSR, we’ve taken that up a spooky notch or 9 by celebrating every day with a prime ten listing. This text about the very best horror motion pictures primarily based on books is a part of our ongoing sequence 31 Days of Horror Lists.

They are saying the e-book is at all times higher, however who has time to learn nowadays? With all due respect to the Edgar Allan Poes and Mary Shelleys of the world, the horror style actually began to achieve its full potential with the arrival of movie, when generations of campfire tales, shadow performs, and, sure, novels might be remodeled into terrifying visible works that scald an imprint of their pictures into our brains. Loads of nice horror books have been tailored for the display, however not all variations are created equal. Listed here are ten of our favorites.

For the e-book purists on the market, it’s value noting that whereas a few of these entries do examine the on-screen variations to their supply materials, we’re not judging these movies solely primarily based on how they dealt with the fabric filmmakers and screenwriters have been working with. Somewhat, it is a listing of nice horror motion pictures primarily based on books, no matter how a lot could or could not have modified in translation through the adaptation.

10. The Haunting (1963)

I’m not within the film adaptation biz, but when I have been, I don’t suppose I’d ever try and sort out Shirley Jackson’s works. The horror creator’s creepy, largely inside works of fiction appear deeply immune to on-screen translation, and whereas nice variations of her work exist, every one leaves its personal distinct mark on the supply materials whereas leaving a few of it behind. The 1963 traditional The Haunting isn’t any totally different. As retold by director Robert Sensible and screenwriter Nelson Gidding, the story of a bunch of disparate souls who come collectively to research a doubtlessly haunted home is much less about actual ghosts and extra in regards to the ones we create for ourselves. A surprisingly considerate portrait of psychological sickness with an incredible efficiency from Julie Harris, The Haunting is a detour from its origin story that’s nonetheless trendy, chilling, and supremely entertaining. (Valerie Ettenhofer)

9. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Whereas Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 horror movie didn’t prime the listing, you would make a robust case that it’s essentially the most vivid movie on the listing. Actually. Watching Dracula will make you understand that despite the fact that most movies made in the present day aren’t in black and white, they aren’t precisely in shade both. Stoker’s epistolary novel is — and that is truly not hyperbolic — some of the necessary and influential books ever written. It’s a cornerstone of horror narratives and has been tailored (ha!) fewer instances. For many filmmakers, this might make one other adaptation daunting. However then once more, Coppola shouldn’t be most filmmakers. He stays true to the fabric whereas invigorating the movie with cinematic opulence. The result’s one thing directly devoted and fully distinctive. Throughout, that is one adaptation we like to drink in. (Anna Swanson)

8. Of Unknown Origin (1983)

Right here’s the factor about George P. Cosmatos’ rat horror opus, Of Unknown Origin. It might be the one movie on this listing that really surpasses its supply materials in each which approach. The unique paperback horror novel, The Customer by Chauncey G. Parker III, is a scattershot of post-Vietnam, offended younger man stereotypes – or perhaps ‘offended younger yuppie’ is a greater descriptor – that takes its time moving into the battle of wits between our protagonist and the larger-than-average rat that plagues his New York Metropolis condominium. In a approach, the novel and the movie are in and of themselves riffs on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” the place an animal burrows itself deep into the psyche of our viewers surrogate, driving him to insanity. However the place the novel is over 200 pages of Nineteen Eighties male chauvinism and trite tropes in regards to the risks of the Large Apple, Cosmatos’ movie leans into the ridiculous winds of the movie’s underlying “rat horror mayhem,” culminating in Peter Weller donning armor like a DIY RoboCop to go to battle with the rodent. In different phrases, this movie provides us what the novel did not ship: pure, unadulterated leisure. (Jacob Trussell)

7. Invasion of the Physique Snatchers (1978)

Jack Finney’s pod individuals story “The Physique Snatcher” is so compelling that it’s impressed not only one nice adaptation however two (plus extra less-than-great ones and imitators). The most effective of the bunch might be 1978’s Invasion of the Physique Snatchers, a bleak and freaky dystopian saga directed by Philip Kaufman. The film stars Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams as scientist colleagues whose lives are disrupted without end when an alien species begins changing the individuals round them with impassive doppelgangers.

As unbelievable as Kaufman and screenwriter W.D. Richter’s tackle the fabric is, there’s one main distinction between their story and Finney’s: on the finish of the novel, the apocalypse is averted when the aliens resolve Earth shouldn’t be well worth the struggle they’d should put up in the event that they caught round. Invasion of the Physique Snatchers makes a daring transfer altering the ending, because the ensuing remaining scene, that includes one final twist that just about extinguishes all hope for our heroes, is an unforgettably haunting horror film second. (Valerie Ettenhofer)

6. Hellraiser (1987)

Hellraiser has the distinct pleasure of being the one film on this listing tailored to the display by its creator. Clive Barker each writes and directs the movie primarily based on his novella, The Hellbound Coronary heart. He stays devoted to the bones of his story whereas increasing on the concepts and characters. Within the course of, he provides start to one in every of cinema’s most grotesque monsters, Pinhead. The Cenobite, initially performed by Doug Bradley, would seem in 9 sequels and one remake (and counting). He’s a proud beastie, who confuses ache for pleasure, and delights in difficult his victims to see the universe by means of his perspective. Barker’s authentic film withholds its leather-clad monsters for less than tiny bursts of horror, preferring to experience human monstrosity by means of the resurrected Frank and his kill-happy lover, Julia. These are the nastiest of bastards, permitting us to thrill of their Cenobite torment, inserting our cheers on the hell-born. Therefore all of the Cenobite-focused sequels. (Brad Gullickson)

This listing of the ten greatest horror motion pictures primarily based on books concludes on the subsequent web page…

Associated Matters: 31 Days of Horror Lists

Valerie Ettenhofer is a Los Angeles-based freelance author, TV-lover, and mac and cheese fanatic. As a Senior Contributor at Movie Faculty Rejects, she covers tv by means of common evaluations and her recurring column, Episodes. She can also be a voting member of the Critics Selection Affiliation’s tv and documentary branches. Twitter: @aandeandval (She/her)

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