Top 5 1990s Horror Movies That Should Be Made Into TV Shows

The Top 5 1990s Horror Movies That Should Be Made Into TV Shows

Last time, I did The Top 5 1980’s Horror Movies That Should Be Made Into TV Shows, which turned out well (you can check out the list here, in case you missed it). This time, I take a look at the Top 5 1990’s Horror Movies That Should Be Made Into TV Shows. This list was a little harder to put together than the 1980’s one, and I’m not entirely sure why. I do think, though, that my picks really would make for great TV shows. I’m actually kind of surprised that my number two pick didn’t get a TV show, or at least a full on low budget franchise, as it has all of the necessary pieces for an extended story.

You’d think the streaming services and, heck, cable channels that do TV shows would be mining the past for potential TV show ideas. There’s always a big need for more content, right?

And now, The Top 5 1990’s Horror Movies That Should Be Made Into TV Shows:

The Top 5 1990’s Horror Movies That Should Be Made Into TV Shows

Honorable Mentions

–Body Bags: Putting this John Carpenter led anthology (Tobe Hooper participated in it, too) on the list is a no brainer, as it was originally conceived as a potential TV show by Showtime. That obviously didn’t happen, but, in retrospect, it absolutely should have. A weekly horror anthology show hosted by a cadaver (I bet John Carpenter would have done the first season as a goof for the right price and it would have been worth it)? Why did Tales from the Crypt get to have all of the fun? What a missed opportunity, Showtime. Why not revive it?

–Wishmaster: You could probably do Wishmaster one of two ways: one, have it be like The Hitchhiker where the Djinn hosts a horrific story where someone makes a wish and it doesn’t work out at all (the Djinn could feature directly into some of the stories and not in others. You could really mix it up if you wanted to). The second possibility is to do a kind of “ongoing anthology” where each episode features a new story but, at the same time, there’s an ongoing story where someone is trying to put the Djinn back into the ruby. Either one, I think, would be fun to watch. And think of the potential practical special effects that could be on display with each story! Remember all of the cool stuff in the first Wishmaster? Imagine that every week.

5- Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers: The “Thorn” plotline for the Halloween franchise is one of the most divisive things in the horror movie nerd world. Some people absolutely despise it, some people kind of like it (they like the idea but don’t like the execution), and some people love it. I’m in the last category. I think it’s fascinating how there could be a weird beard cult out there controlling Michael Myers somehow. I mean, why the hell would anyone try to do that? What would be the point? And that’s what a The Curse of Michael Myers TV show would be all about. How did this Thorn cult start? How did it continue in the modern world? What was before Michael Myers? And, either using the theatrical cut of the movie or the producer’s cut, what happens next? Where does Michael Myers go when he takes off the mask and whatever happens to Dr. Loomis happens? I really think this could work. I think there’s enough potential unexplored plot stuff to look into.

4- The First Power: While I don’t think this Lou Diamond Phillips led action horror flick is totally successful, I think there’s plenty to do with the plot in a potential TV show. A vicious serial killer, put to death only to come back as a sort of demon that can’t die, with a badass cop and a psychic hot on his trail. The show could be weird, could be suspenseful, could be chock full of action set pieces that have never been seen on TV (think of the big jump from the top of the building by the killer. You could end an episode with that jump and freak people the fuck out). And, hell, you could probably do two or three seasons by just having the demonic entity that inhabits the killer “jump” to someone else for the next season. People would watch this show. People love stories about serial killers and cops going after them and whatnot. And who wouldn’t want to see Lou Diamond Phillips and Jeff Kober, who played the killer, make big deal cameos in the show (or even star in it if possible? I bet that would kick major ass).

3- Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday: Easily the most divisive movie in the entire Friday the 13th/Jason franchise, which is a shame because I love it (check out my piece on why I think the movie is awesome here). So how do you turn The Final Friday into a TV show? You go all in on the Voorhees family. Who are they? Where did they come from? How did the whole “body jumping demon” thing start? And are they the only ones in the entire world who have that particular ability? You could also bring back fan favorite character, bounty hunter Creighton Duke, and dig into how he figured out that Jason was really a body jumping demon. There would no doubt be all sorts of weird shit to see, experience, and explore, and I bet that a TV show could actually make Jason from that movie even scarier. That alone would make this potential TV show worth doing.

2-Night Hunter: This Don “The Dragon” Wilson vehicle should have been the start of a blood soaked action horror franchise, but, unfortunately, it wasn’t. I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch a badass real deal martial artist like Wilson taking on vampires (and maybe other deadly supernatural creatures) multiple times? Everyone would. It would be awesome. It didn’t happen, though. And that sucks. So why not resurrect the idea for a TV show? Have Wilson or some other bad ass real deal martial artist fight vampires each and every episode. Have it be episodic, with self-contained stories, like a syndicated 1990’s TV show, or do it as a show with an overarching plot like damn near every streaming show today. And have it deliver on the action and the gore and the nasty creatures, things the movie really tried to deliver on but just didn’t. And think about this: Wilson’s character was named Jack Cutter. Who the fuck wouldn’t want to watch a TV show with a character with a name like that?

1—Vampires: You could go one of two ways with a TV show based on Carpenter’s badass and still fucking awesome horror western starring James Woods: one, do a full on sequel TV show to the first movie (I’m sure Woods would be game to play Jack Crow again. I mean, it’s almost 25 years later but I’m sure Jimmy would put on the leather jacket again and shoot a crossbow at vampires in the desert), or two, start from the beginning with a new cast and sort of expand on what the first movie did (hunting vampires in the southwestern United States. If the show was successful you could go other places in future seasons). I’m sure plenty of networks would be interested in the concept, since so many big deal cable and streaming shows nowadays are all about reprehensible characters. Keep Jack Crow as nasty and hateful and brutal as Woods was in the show, and feature more of the slayer crew that travels and works with him. People watched Sons of Anarchy for God knows how many years. Why wouldn’t they watch a Vampires show?

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