Sometimes I watch an episode of television and can’t help but think, “That really would have made a great stand-alone movie.” It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened. The original Final Destination was originally a spec script for The X-Files that never ended up being made, and look how that franchise is currently thriving.
And since we’re in the midst of Halloween season, I’ve been watching a lot of scary television and horror movies that just get scarier the longer I think about them. What I’ve discovered is that there are a lot of condensed episodes of television in the horror genre that could easily be expanded upon and turned into full-fledged feature-length horror movies all on their own.
The X-Files’ “Home”
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Speaking of The X-Files, an episode that always catches my attention during rewatches is “Home,” from the fourth season. This particular episode was somewhat controversial when it aired, and it would have been the first episode of The X-Files to receive a TV-MA rating had that rating existed at the time. While it’s definitely a very brutal episode for the series, it seems relatively tame by today’s standards of violence and gore.
Still, “Home” would have made an excellent feature-length film, and you really could have kept it as related to The X-Files, too. Personally, I think it would have made for a much better movie than the standalone case we got for The X-Files: I Want to Believe. A slower, more deliberate unfolding of events surrounding the disturbing Peacock family could have made for some truly great psychological terror.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Hush”
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While there have been a few episodes of various shows as well as movies in the horror genre that have dealt with the concept of silence, none have been quite as unsettling as “Hush” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Gentlemen are arguably some of the creepiest villains to ever appear in the show, and a lot of that is down to Doug Jones’ performance in one of the Gentlemen roles.
However, I found myself wanting more of them by the time the credits rolled, and I think the entire episode could have easily been stretched to feature length. I imagine it could have been a fun, unsettling Gothic horror film with a dark fairy tale aesthetic that outlines the whole thing. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad “Hush” exists, but it feels like a missed opportunity in some ways.
Love, Death & Robots’ “Beyond the Aquila Rift”
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I have been a big fan of the bold creativity of Love, Death & Robots, even if some of their episodes don’t always land. I will take a risky, ambitious failure over safe mediocrity any day of the week. And really, I could probably make an entire list of episodes from this show that could be made into feature-length movies, and it would make sense.
Yet, “Beyond the Aquila Rift” sticks out in my mind because I still believe it is the best episode that Love, Death & Robots has ever produced. Part body horror with Lovecraftian vibes, and part sci-fi that will leave you questioning reality, I was desperate for more by the time the shocking conclusion arrived. And I would want the movie to use the same exact animation style, as well, because it is absolutely gorgeous. However, failing that, it could serve as a nice template for the vibe a Dead Space movie adaptation should aim for, should that ever happen.
Supernatural’s “Roadkill”
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You could probably make the argument for a lot of Supernatural episodes that would work well as movies. I mean, a lot of episodes pull directly from movies that have already been made in the horror genre, anyway. But I’ve always found “Roadkill” to be a surprisingly effective little ghost story, with a fun M. Night Shyamalan-like twist at the end.
Maybe it wouldn’t work as well if a writer tried to extend it too much, but if a Supernatural revival ever came to fruition in some form, why not as a feature-length movie centered around a simple ghost story like this? Especially if it balances scares, comedy, and genuine emotional moments as well as “Roadkill” does. This is one of the most underrated episodes of Supernatural.
Horror shows are a goldmine for potential feature-length movie ideas
Thanks to the relative cheapness of both horror shows and movies, I think it’s safe to say that you could probably easily adapt episodes of horror into movie form. Or, alternatively, just take a failed spec script for a show and rewrite it into a film. Not that it would be easy, either way, but these episodes are a small sample size of concepts that would easily transition to the big screen on their own merits.
But if you’re in the mood for movies that already exist, these foreign horror films are scarier than most of what you’ll find in Hollywood.
