TV Adaptations of Horror Movies

Over the years, we have come to love horror movies so much, that we want to know even more of the backstory of our favorite slashers. With current takes on classic slashers like 'Crystal Lake" and psychological horrors like "Carrie", these TV Shows bring us further into the overall cinematic storytelling of each franchise. But does the expansion of the mythology of each horror movie diminish that mystery that made it terrifying in the first place?

Some of the current movie adaptations explain the reason the killers turned out the way they did in the movies. Take for example, did we ever understand why Pamela Voorhees killed the camp counselors or did we want to leave that to our imaginations? Did she really need a back story to further understand the lore behind Jason? My hot take is, that in this particular adaptation, Pamela becomes the main focal point of the series with Jason being a background character. With her being centralized then it loosely ties in the rest of the franchise and fills in any holes that the original movie may have left (and there were plenty). Another adaptation that explained a lot of the history and bigger story arch is Ash vs the Evil Dead. The first 3 movies were a master class in comedic, over the top beginnings to a larger story, but once again, there were holes that needed to be filled in. This is where the series was able to fill in the gaps. They were able to further explain the Necronomicons and the Deadites that were attached. This is something that the original movies (The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness) failed to elaborate upon. I believe firmly that the series benefitted the franchise heavily because it setup the rest of the movies that came later.

Some series were mere continuations of the movies like Chucky. The murderous Buddy Doll still on that rampage and extending the franchise into homes on a weekly basis. While I never paid too much attention to seasons 2 and 3, I felt that it was just an extension of the movie in that aspect. Not adding too much to the lore, or the overall storytelling. This was a miss for me, because it took away from that mystique and grittiness of the movies.

So, there are contrasts to how each series can add or diminish the franchise that it's attached to a varying degree. While some do their best to lift up the horror portrayed by our favorite horror movie villains, others leave a little left to be desired, regardless of the popularity of the show.

Which Horror Movie to TV Adaptations are you most curious about next?

• Freddy's Nightmares?

• The MTV Scream Series?

• The Bates Motel?

• Welcome to Derry?

• Crystal Lake?

• Carrie?

• Ash VS The Evil Dead?

• The Exorcist?

• Damien?

• The Mist?

• The Purge?

• From Dusk Til Dawn?

• Wolf Creek?

• Interview with the Vampire?

• Creepshow?

Go ahead and get your list going and let us know in the comments where you either agree or disagree with the assessments outlined here. We look forward to hearing your takes on Horror Movie Adaptations made for TV and whether it helps or ruins a franchise.

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