Watching Dead

It's the week of Halloween, which at my house means scary movie time and I realized something through all of the blood and gore, some of the best scary movies are based on BOOKS! Yep that's right, even a scary movie is done first as a book, so if you want a double dose of scary, read the book, then watch the movie...or switch it up and watch the movie then read the book.

Rosemary's Baby- The movie actually follows the book very closely which is always pretty cool. The book and movie are both kind of dated, creating a horror that must have been felt by every woman who was fighting for control of her own body and family in a world that still saw them as borderline property of their menfolk. I also find it ironic that a man wrote the book and directed the movie when the main plot is about a pregnancy.  I think more than anything it gives us an insight into how men, at least at the time, really did not understand pregnancy and what it did to a woman's body, it probably really does seem like a possession   This is one of my favorite period horror movies, just for the clothes if nothing else.

The Shining-I am of the opinion that most Stephen King books actually work better as movies because they have to cut out all of the melodramatic pontification. Jack Nicholson will forever be one of the scariest dads I have ever seen in a movie...actually this movie is kind of one of the spookiest ones I've seen, and I now forever have a fear of identical twins. This one does not follow the book as well as some of the others, but I don't care I like this movie!

Bram Stokers Dracula-The Gary Oldman adaption of my beloved Dracula is my favorite version of the direct translations of the book. It is pretty spot on in terms of story, and I feel it really captures the sinister seduction that I always associate with Dracula.  The movie also kept in the fact that vampires are evil killers that should be killed, not pined after.  The music, settings, casting, and costumes all contributed to an eerie Gothic London that is perfect for a dark and stormy night.

Interview With A Vampire-Oddly this is one of those movies I actually enjoyed more than the book.  The book is very detailed and drawn out, and not really that scary at all, one of those rare times when editing actually works in the stories favor.  Plus Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Antonio Banderas with casting like that it would be very hard to go wrong.  I like this story a lot because it gives you several views of vampires, the good, the bad, and the really super creepy.  This is also only one of two movies I could stand Kirsten Dunst in.

The Silence of the Lambs- Definitely a creepy, creepy movie and book.  Smart serial killers always give me the heebie jeebies 'cause that means almost ANYBODY could be out to kill me.  The movie is another good adaption of the book, capturing that fine line between genius and madness that to me is one of the scariest things out there and also I now associate Chianti with Halloween.  This movie/book also has some of the best catch phrases of any non-drunk college movie out there ("It puts the lotion on its skin").

What are some of your favorite horror adaptions?  Have you noticed the best adaptions tend to be the least gory?  Will somebody write me my own personal horror story?