Movies based on comic books are insanely popular right now, to the point where it’s surprising when a comic book hasn’t yet been made into a movie. But there are still plenty of comics out there, horror comics especially, that have yet to make the leap to TV or film. Here are some that really deserve the feature film treatment.
Locke & Key
Written by acclaimed horror author Joe Hill, who has found even more success recently with the adaptation of his novel Horns, this series is about an estate called Keyhouse. The home contains many doorways to otherworldly dimensions and all sorts of other surprises. This one has come close to adaptation, but never made it all the way there. A TV pilot was filmed, but it wasn’t picked up despite some pretty positive buzz. A film adaptation was also announced, but nothing much else has been said on the matter.
Black Hole is a great graphic novel that could easily serve as the basis for an incredible horror film. It’s pure Cronenbergian body horror, about an STD that slowly mutates its victims. The bleak artwork already creates a haunting visual style. It’s a quiet horror, not overly violent but very contemplative. It’s more subtle than Cronenberg’s early films, but just as psychological. David Fincher has been talking about directing this film since 2008, but no movement has happened on the project since. Fincher is still interested, but doesn’t indicate that the film will happen anytime soon. Let’s hope that all changes.
Spread
Spread is what would have happened if the creature actually did get loose at the end of The Thing. It’s a post-apocalyptic thriller about an alien virus that can assume a virtually infinite number of forms (some pretty much formless). It features a great cast of survivors. Post-apocalyptic stories are certainly en vogue right now, thanks in large part to the success of The Walking Dead. Getting Spread off the ground as feature film seems like a logical step but the effects would be significantly more costly than the FX involved with bringing The Walking Dead’s to life.
The Sandman
The hugely acclaimed series from visionary author Neil Gaiman is as much – if not more so – fantasy as it is horror. But it does feature a large number of truly terrifying moments and frightening characters. Not the least of which is an escaped nightmare named The Corinthian, with rows of shark-like teeth where his eyes should be. The Corinthian is in the early stages of spreading his wings as a fully functional serial killer. The concept of the series is great, even if its not for everyone. The living personification of Dream (his siblings include Death, Desire, etc.) has been imprisoned for decades and is finally freed and trying to go about putting his kingdom back together. The series also features one of the best interpretations of Lucifer ever, and that character actually went on to receive his own series of books. David Goyer has written a script for the film with Joseph Gordon Levitt attached to star (and possibly direct?) but at the moment it is still part of a long line of attempts to get this off the ground as a feature film. Progress has certainly been made on that front and the studio is very happy with the script, but there is no telling what could happen. Hopefully this will be the attempt that finally makes it to the screen.
Hack/Slash
This is the number one, really. This is the no-brainer. It’s unfortunate to even think about the fact that it hasn’t had an adaptation yet. The story is about a young woman named Cassie Hack, survivor of an attack by a supernatural slasher (it was her mom, who returned from death as a local legend) who now hunts down slashers across the country with her imposing-yet-misunderstood sidekick, Vlad. The story is naturally ripe for crossover and has seen Cassie and Vlad going up against the likes of Chucky, Herbert West, Victor Crowley of Hatchet and Ash of the Evil Dead franchise. The first attempt to bring the comic to the screen was actually as the sequel to Freddy vs. Jason but the idea never really got off the ground. Still, fans hold out hope that someday this series will be brought to life on the big screen.
