Whorticulture.com Presents: The Best Horror Movie Adaptation of a Book
Yeah, so I'm a big book nerd. I love to read, and I'll read almost anything I can get my hands on. But you guys know as well as I do that the WORST movies come from books, especially books you love. So this post goes out to all my fellow book nerds out there. These are the two literary adaptations that won't steer you wrong.
#1: John W. Campbell Jr.'s "Who Goes There?"
It's one of the best science fiction short stories I've ever read. You can probably find it on the internet somewhere. You may also recognize it as John Carpenter's The Thing.
I love The Thing. For one thing, it's sticks very close to Campbell's short story. The suspense is freaking CRAZY. Secondly, although the special effects might be a little outdated, they're still pretty quality. And creepy. Oh, and third: A. Wilford Brimley. That's all I need to say.
If you're not into reading but you haven't seen the movie, check it out. It's close enough to the short story that I can forgive you. Plus, ya know, it's a great movie.
I was going to stick with just this one, but I feel like I have to say something about this next one.
#2: Stephen King's The Stand
Okay, so I don't usually read Stephen King. But I remember watching the miniseries with my grandparents as a kid and completely falling in love with it. One day I got bored and decided to check it out on IMDB to see what people were saying about it. I was really surprised to see a lot of disgruntled comments, saying that it wasn't cast properly or that it wasn't, you know, accurate enough or whatever. So I decided to read it for myself.
I don't get it. Maybe they have issues with the fact that a lot of big names are in this movie - like Rob Lowe, Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, and
And I have to say that I'm surprised I like the book as much as I do. I'm not a huge fan of Stephen King's books. It might be because I love this miniseries so much. And I know a lot of you do, too, because we discuss it on Twitter for hours. So I'd love it if you guys started a conversation here, too, because I'm a nerd and I love talking about it.
Also, it's #whyIfollowFlagg. Not gonna lie.
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I read books and watch movies equally now, but I used to be mainly into movies. Of course, horror is normally what I'm always reading/watching. I always tend to like whichever I saw/read first better. I normally like the book better than the movie if I read the book first, and the movie better if I watched the movie before reading- if that made any sense
ReplyDeleteYou mention you don't like Stephen King books, and I understand your opinion of his works, even though I consider myself a fan of his. Some are just fantastic, and some are just awful. He usually creates fantastic characters, but cannot land an ending to save his life. This is a topic for another day :P
Back on topic:
A lot of people loved the movie IT, but it really doesn't capture nearly enough of the book IMO. I read that they are remaking IT into a 2 hour movie. That is just horrible, horrible news. The first movie is a classic and I generally hate re-makes, but it would take a 10-15 episode mini-series to do the book justice, and it would be an absolutely awesome show if casted and done correctly.
Books made into GOOD movies:
1. The Exorcist
2. The Shining
3. Rosemary's Baby
4. Misery
5. The Girl Next Door
6. Carrie
7. The Silence of the Lambs
8. The Haunting of Hill House (The Haunting)
Books made into not so good movies:
1. I am Legend
2. The Ruins
3. The Stand (wasn't a big fan)