Here over at No But Listen, we spend more time than we should getting up in horror’s business – especially when it comes to horror novels. And there are always a few we’d love to see make the jump from page to screen – we’ve written about some of those favourites, but there are always new ones to add to the list. So let’s get in to some of our coveted adaptation fodder from our recent reading lists – and please feel free to drop some of your own dream adaptations in the comments!
The Only Good Indians – Stephen Graham Jones
Did I write this article just so I would have a chance to talk about this book some more? Hey, I’m not going to deny it. Stephen Graham Jones exquisite 2020 novel is just crying out for a movie adaptation, with the three central character strands wrapping into a brilliantly unsettling nightmare based in Native American culture and folklore. The character work offers some really juicy roles for the right actors, and some of the scare sequences could almost make the straight jump from page to screen. I am going to be banging my drum about this book until we get a movie version, and that is a threat.
And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin
Horror stories that scramble your brains are nearly impossible to pull off – there aren’t many worthy successors to films like Jacob’s Ladder without showing their working – but Malcolm Devlin’s novel does just that. It gives a much needed, and refreshing, new spin to the zombie outbreak story while also proving that meta-storytelling doesn’t have to sink along with superhero movies. Then there is the title, perhaps the most confrontational thing you can name a book: And the I woke up being one of the biggest stock cop-out ending lines that make you groan just thinking about it. It would need a director who is both brash and clever so the perfect choice has to be Don Coscarelli after his underrated work on John Dies at the End. I smell another cult hit.
Basket Full of Heads by Joe Hill
Joe Hill is a brilliant novelist, his work in modern horror stands above most, but let me tell you, this dude is crazy in comics. Basket Full of Heads is a proper Saturday night drive-in thrill-ride (I live in Scotland so I haven’t actually been to a drive-in cinema but that’s just how excited I am about this) with a dark stormy night, an island conspiracy, a mythic weapon, and, oh, yes, a lots of blood guts and decapitations. I know Christopher Landon is busy with the next Scream, but Chris, please, give this a read, and think of the possibilities.
If you enjoyed this article and want to see more stuff like it, please consider supporting us on Ko-Fi.
By Lou MacGregor and Kevin Boyle
(header image via GeekDad)
No But Listen 