List: Horror TV

The first (and very short) season of The Walking Dead is coming to a close this Sunday. I am quite impressed by it as each episode is quite well done, and usually surpasses the previous in excellence. The show is based on a monthly comic book series that started in 2003. In that respect it makes good sense to adapt it into a television program, as opposed to a film. Really, the zombie apocalypse premise just works better that way. We can watch characters develop over time, and see how different people survive and interact with each other in a very unpredictable and chaotic situation that will forever be out of their control. The Walking Dead has superb characterization. Everyone I know that watches it has a strong opinion on just about every single character. Even I sometimes find myself an emotional wreck during the aftermath of a zombie attack, having to watch the victims turn in to zombies only to be quickly dispatched by family members. In a particularly tense scene, there is approximately a full fifteen minutes (at least it felt that long) as one character sits with their sibling and waits for them to turn. It is truly as gut wrenching as what happens after she finally does (if you did not pick up on it, I am being vague to avoid spoilers). It truly is all that I could ask for in a weekly zombie television show.

Zombieland was originally going to be a television show as well (zombie kill of the week would make more sense that way). While I think I would prefer the drama of The Walking Dead to the humor of Zombieland dosed in weekly installments, it probably would have made a fine show as well. So, what other horror or horror related films would make good shows (or perhaps ones that I would just like to see)? I submit to you some of my suggestions, in no particular order.

1. The Lost Boys/Frog Brothers. There have been talks of there being a show that focuses on the Frog Brothers. Edgar and Alan Frog are the vampire hunters from The Lost Boys that Sam seeks the assistance of once he learns that his brother is a vampire. There was a comic book series called The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs. For this to work, the roles would need to be recast as Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander look a little too old to be hunting vampires. Perhaps they could “pass the torch” and train younger hunters, but still appear in the show. I would also like for “The Lost Boys” title to not be used, so it can be detached from, and thus not reference the three films. The show also could focus not only on vampires, but other creatures and supernatural happenings.

2. Phantasm. Stay with me on this one. I really like the story of this series, but half of its installments suck. The first and the fourth one were pretty good and you could even ignore the middle 2 and still have a coherent and complete (depending on what you believe) story. Why not do what some franchises do and dismiss parts 2 and 3, and have a weekly story where Mike and Reggie try to find and defeat the Tall Man? The movies were kind of the same in plot; travel though towns that had already been destroyed by the Tall Man, then find him. In the show, perhaps they could focus a little more on the journey and we can learn more about the Tall Man and what he is trying to do.

3. Hellraiser. There is a reboot and even a ninth film planned for this. I say stop those and make a show. This series (a sequel of which was directed by Alan Smithee) has such a fantastical and bizarre storyline that it would be perfect as a weekly show. It could go on forever. Who wouldn’t want to see Cenobites every week?

4. The Howling. I don’t really know how a series of this franchise would fit it to any of the storylines; I think I would just like to see a show about werewolves. Especially shape shifting werewolves that don’t need a full moon to transform.

What horror film(s) would you like to see as a television show?