8 Books That Need To Be Made Into Movies
Which books are crying out to made for the silver screen?
The number of films that existed as books before they hit our screens is staggering. From Jaws to Jurassic Park, The Shawshank Redemption to Harry Potter, The Godfather to The Ring, it seems as though every fan favourite, iconic classic and big blockbuster in cinema is based on a literary source.
Whilst the aforementioned films (and many more) have taken massive inspiration from bestselling novels, there are still plenty of other books out there that are just begging to make it to the screen. Be they exciting action-adventures, underrated horrors, twisted psychological thrillers or dramatic romances, many of these unadapted books have yet to really catch any filmmakers' eye, but would certainly make for a solid spectacle if someone gave them a shot.
The following list will have a look at eight such books, from teen mysteries, crime thrillers and coming of age dramas, all of them offering something fresh and endearing that would make them a cinematic success. Some would make small drama pieces; others are screaming for a franchise. Whatever the case, here are eight books that need to be made into movies.
8. Department 19 - Will Hill
Department 19 is a series of novels by Will Hill, focused on a fictional sector of the UK government who work in secret to keep the world safe from the real-life threat of vampires, werewolves and other supernatural ghouls lurking in the shadows. The series ran for five books, all massive in size and scale, first published in 2011 and finishing up in 2015.
In the novels, teenager Jamie Carpenter teams up with the titular department after his mother is kidnapped by an evil vampire and his father's past with the group is unearthed. Throughout the five books, Jamie partners with a wide range of characters from a vampire wanting to atone for her sins to the man who betrayed his father years earlier.
The most compelling part of the series is the fact that it takes aspects from pop culture and throws them into the real world. Frankenstein's Monster, for example, is a member of the department, Van Helsing and Jonathan Harker are founding members of the group, and Dracula himself has risen from the dead with revenge and world domination on his mind.
On top of this intriguing premise and the slew of brilliantly drawn characters, Department 19 also balances an expansive range of genres into its pages. It is at once an action-thriller, a moving coming-of-age drama, a gutsy horror and a twisted fairytale.
Stylish, explosive, exciting and shifting brilliantly between time and perspectives, this a series which would make one hell of a film franchise.