10 Horror Movies That Could Be Great TV Shows

In the last few decades, the habit of adapting films into television shows has become more common, with critically acclaimed examples such as Cobra Kai and Westworld expanding upon the mythology and universe. A popular genre for this is horror, whether bringing Bruce Campbell back in Ash vs. Evil Dead, giving Psycho’s Norman Bates a prequel story in Bates Motel, or even the sequel to The Exorcist.

They can often turn out to be an improvement, such as Joss Whedon’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer being much better than the movie, creating the franchise as we know it today – most notably the spin-off TV show, but also comic books and even video games. Inspired by this, here are ten more horror franchises that could and should become television shows.

 

1. Captain Kronos -Vampire Hunter (1974)

Captain Kronos is a Hammer horror cult classic that focuses on a swashbuckling vampire hunter called Captain Kronos. The original intent of the movie was to become a film franchise, but unfortunately Hammer Productions closed in the 1970s due to financial issues. With its combination of horror and action, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter could combine the sword fights of Game Of Thrones with the horror-focus of Supernatural.

The film introduces former soldier Captain Kronos and his hunchback companion, the Professor Hieronymus Grost, riding town to town during possibly the 19th century. Over the course of the movie, it’s revealed that there are “as many species of vampire as there are beasts of prey”. With two main characters who offer separate strengths in the scientist and the warrior, Professor Grost often doing the required research to best prepare Kronos for battle, and the potential of multiple different iterations of vampires, the possibilities could be fantastic, especially on a HBO-esque show.

 

2. Vampire Hunter D (1985)

An anime film franchise that is based on a series of Japanese novels, with Vampire Hunter D having featured in two anime movies and over forty volumes of the books. Set in the far-future with a post-nuclear Earth that has vampires, demons and mutants, with half-breed D possibly over 5,000 years old, there are enough volumes to create as many seasons of material as they want. There is even an option of portraying the characters in the style of Spawn, another popular animated show based on a manga/comic book.

There have been reports of a new animated version since 2015 but it hasn’t developed since the supposed first draft in 2018. Netflix has previously introduced a dark anime with vampires as the main focus to audiences, with Castlevania gaining a substantial loyal audience, including a confirmed fourth season. With Castlevania likely to end in the next few years, they could have a ready-made and thematically similar replacement with the adventures of D as he hunts down the vampires, mutants, and demons of the forces of darkness. With a focus on stylistic and gory horror as well as action, the television show allows an opportunity to add character substance and develop what’s currently only hinted at about D’s mysterious backstory.

 

3. Death Becomes Her (1988)

Death Becomes Her was a comedic horror with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn whose black comedic approach has expanded into a musical adaptation. Though an unlikely choice, Ryan Murphy’s recent anthology show Feud, that focused on the rivalry between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, has similar elements. Specifically, the movie and the show both have two older ladies dealing with their mortality and battling over their relevance in a world that is leaving them behind. With the growth of popularity in horror movies such as Get Out using horror to examine social concepts, the body horror of age, broken bones and ghastly injuries can replicate the issues of age and independence for older generations.

With FX representing the home of Ryan Murphy, including his American Horror Story anthology, Death Becomes Her as a Feud/AHS Frankenstein-combo has untapped potential as a TV show. In particular, Murphy can focus on the slightly cartoonish body horror with a subtextual battle in the underlying animosity between Streep and Hawn’s characters, very akin to both Feud and several seasons of American Horror Story .

 

4. The Faculty (1998)

Robert Rodriguez has previously adapted his films into expansive television shows with From Dusk Till Dawn, so it wouldn’t be impossible for this to occur. However, whereas From Dusk Till Dawn was gory and over-the-top, The Faculty focuses on tension and an unnerving paranoia. Specifically, there’s the growing realisation by the protagonists that they’re surrounded by dangerous aliens masquerading as people they know. Because of this reveal, it creates an underlying uncertainty between our heroes, their different social standings only exacerbating their suspicion of one another.

By expanding the 100 minute film into, for instance, an 8-10 episode season, the greater characterisation and relationships between the students and teachers can intensify the horror and fear, especially if a favourite teacher were to suffer. A mixture of an X-Files tone and build-up with an inclusion of subtext such as class, race, and teenage ostracization can help modernise the concept and add a section of depth to the characters. This especially works if the faculty teachers were played by actors who portrayed students in the original. Because of the Rodriguez connection, he’d likely incorporate it onto his own El Rey Network, allowing his vision to go unhindered.

 

5. 28 Days Later (2002)

A horror franchise following the outbreak of a ‘rage’ virus that decimates England within a month, the films have grown in scope, with the sequel expanding from days to weeks and incorporating an American inclusion, there’s been discussion of a third movie for years. In 2019, director Danny Boyle admitted that he and writer Alex Garland had been discussing the third movie, 28 Months Later, although Boyle admitted only sparsely that they were likely to focus on 28 months as opposed to 28 years. However, with Garland having transitioned into television with his 2020 show Devs, the scope of 28 Months Later may be better suited to a television show.

With the first film set a month after the outbreak and the second seven months after, 28 Months Later allows the narrative to be set three years after the outbreak. With the franchise based in England with American forces involved and the virus now expanding to Europe, a television show offers an opportunity for the widespread impact to get the required focus. This also allows the creators to capitalise on the popularity of zombie shows. Because of that, AMC might be a suitable home – looking as they are for something to replace The Walking Dead.

 

6. Saw (2004)

In 2004, a horror revelation occurred when James Wan and Leigh Whannell created a new icon in John Kramer, known as Jigsaw. Over the next six years, the franchise combined imaginative but horrifying setpieces with a complex story arc that incorporated multiple killers and revelatory relationships. Unfortunately, this gradually deteriorated into convoluted shock reveals and tying back to previous movies, creating a messy collection of characters and cliffhangers. During the same period, the TV show Dexter became successful as it focused on a serial killer who only killed criminals, utilising kills-of-the-week with an overall story arc per season.

The fact that Dexter also gradually deteriorated due to a lack of long term planning is unfortunate, however one positive is that Saw has already seen what elements worked well in the movie franchise. Because of this, Saw could be offered a second opportunity to minimise any flaws, being rebooted for television and beginning again with John Kramer as the main character. This would allow for kills-of-the-week that utilise different traps, satisfying those who enjoyed Saw for the setpieces, while spreading out the broader narratives over a season and creating a stronger mythology. Considering the popularity of the franchise, there’s already a huge audience for it.

 

7. Trollhunter (2010)

Trollhunter, or its Norwegian title, Trolljegeren, is a ‘found footage’ mockumentary that was planned for an American remake, but was cancelled a few years ago. However, with the recent popularity of gloomy Nordic television shows, such as The Killing, The Bridge, and Wallander, and the immense popularity of mockumentary horror comedy What We Do In The Shadows, a television show might offer more opportunity to depict the possible story.

The original film featured three students following a troll hunter, with hints of a Troll Security Service that keeps them secret. During an interview, the troll hunter Hans reveals that the trolls have been leaving their territories more than usual, making the possibility of discovery from unsuspecting humans a terrifying prospect. This could allow the show to expand upon these details, possibly through the depiction of a Fox Mulder-esque character wanting to reveal the truth. This also means they can incorporate more fantasy elements of the troll mythology, some of the different forms of trolls, why they turn into sun, and how they’ve been hidden for so long.

 

8. The Conjuring (2013)

In 2013, James Wan’s The Conjuring introduced the world to Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators who helped families suffering from ghosts and demonic entities. This transitioned into two main films with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens, five current spin-offs of varying quality, and five short films entered into a competition. The strength of the franchise has always been the depictions of Ed and Lorraine, with the recent spin-off Annabelle Comes Home actually based in the Warrens’ home.

A television adaptation that tells anthology stories of the Warrens’ cases by introducing a different item in their haunted room offers a simplistic framing device for fans to understand. The most important element is the two main stars due to their immense chemistry, and with Wilson and Farmiga both having appeared on television previously (Fargo and Bates Motel respectively), their fondness for the characters might convince them to move into television.

 

9. World War Z (2013)

The recent news that David Fincher and Brad Pitt’s attempt at a sequel had been shelved was unsurprising considering the issues with the first movie. The more successful franchise was the original books, World War Z and its faux-realistic predecessor The Zombie Survival Guide. What helped the books stand out more were their looks at the social and political impact of a zombie uprising, even incorporating the economic and environmental changes that occurred. The lack of preparation for a global outbreak, the closing of country borders, and the influx of refugees around the world, certainly has chilling relevance in our current climate.

The first movie had mixed reactions due to its deviation from the book, which was presented more akin to an oral history. Due to the growing popularity of oral history documentaries on television, for instance the successful Homicide Hunter on Investigation Discovery, a more faithful adaptation of the novel has potential. Having famous actors guest star on episodes in an interview/monologue setting with re-enactments offers a unique interpretation of zombie shows.

 

10. A Quiet Place (2018)

A Quiet Place premiered in 2018 and became a surprise critical and commercial success, with a sequel set to come out April 2021. The sequel aims to expand the focus from just the Abbott Family to the surrounding area, but with the family still as integral. However, there is an interesting scene that occurs in the original where John Krasinski’s Lee lights a fire, and the camera shows other fires being lit by unknown people in the distance.

This moment really took a hold of fans as it spoke of untold stories, creating a wider A Quiet Place world that is full of untapped potential. Krasinski admitted to wanting the sequel to focus more on his character’s family, but the simplicity of this scene demonstrates the possibility of unknown survivors dealing with the aliens, with at the very least the rest of America having suffered attacks. Focusing on other families and communities could expand the mythology of the franchise, especially if done in the guerilla warfare style of Falling Skies, or focusing on nomadic travellers searching for a home à la Battlestar Galactica – which could make this franchise ideally suited for the SyFy channel.

READ NEXT: 29 Dead Horror Game Franchises That Should Rise Again