Family stories, as advertised, are accessible to all ages. They present friendly content that both parents and children can enjoy. The creators hope audiences take that content and walk away with universal lessons. On the other hand, recent filmmakers want viewers to walk away with something else.
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Hollywood has seen a trend of fairy tales and family narratives being remade as horror movies.Winnie the PoohandHow The Grinch Stole Christmasare a couple of examples. The creators change the context and aesthetic to insane degrees. As stupid as this is, it’s also amusing. Reimagining family tales in this way opens the door for countless other children-friendly plots receiving the same treatment.
7Peter Pan
This is already a thrilling tale, onefull of pirates, mermaids, and fairies. These all make harrowing threats, but the title character holds more frightening implications. Peter Pan is a mischievous boy who spirits other children away to Neverland: a magical place where they never grow up. As time passes in the human world, parents wonder what happened to their kids.
That context paints Pan as a serial kidnapper. He breaks into people’s homes and lures impressionable children away with enticing promises. That’s bad enough, but the element of never growing up holds even more potential. It could serve some bizarre surgical gimmick akin to Professor Pyg, aBatmanvillain who alters victims' bodies in grotesque ways to preserve their beauty. If Pan adopted a similarly warped mindset, he and the other “Lost Boys” could combat imaginary pirates and mermaids forever. It doesn’t matter if they want to or not.
6Pinocchio
Dolls and puppets can be extremely creepy. Hollywood has picked up on that withChucky,Annabelle, Saw, andvarious other franchises, but the original puppet icon has plenty to offer in that respect. Pinocchio is a wooden toy who strives to be a real boy. That transformation gives filmmakers free rein to play on the uncanny valley. Some have already done so with other Pinocchio adaptations, albeit unintentionally. However, the potential for horror goes beyond the protagonist.
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The puppet encounters numerous unscrupulous figures in his travels. Honest John tempts people with his wares and schemes. Stromboli puts people in the circus against their will. Worst of all, the overseers of Pleasure Island turn naughty boys into donkeys, condemning the kids to hard labor for the rest of their lives. These elements have enough imposing villains and body horror to fill any flick.
5The BFG
Another tale involving child abduction,The BFGis more blatant with its subject matter. Here, giants regularly steal kids and eat them. Main character Sophie befriendsthe sole gentle giant, and they work together to stop his brethren and take children off the menu.
With such a twisted premise, the horror version writes itself. The story never shows other children being devoured, so seeing that process–however briefly–would go a long way in making these behemoths more menacing. For those seeking a more demented narrative, why not make them into humans? After all, adults seem like giants to children, and cannibalism would add an even sicker edge to the tale. ThinkTexas Chainsaw Massacreon a grand scale.
4The Little Mermaid
Purists already lambaste Disney’sLittle Mermaidfor neuteringHans Christian Anderson’s work. The film turns a saturnine narrative into a silly romance between a human and a mermaid, complete with smiling sea creatures and a happy ending. A more daring filmmaker could lay the foundation for an eerie seaside journey.
Most of the ocean remains unexplored, and the animals lurking in the dark abyss are downright alien in appearance. Mermaids cut from the same aesthetic cloth would be the stuff of nightmares. Of course, their powers only enhance that impression. Old sailor tales tell of sirens' songs luring men to their deaths. Without context, Ariel seems to be doing the same thing to Eric. Framing it as such will send shivers down one’s spine.
3Goldilocks & The Three Bears
Despite their omnivorous nature,bearsare among the most powerful predators on the planet. It would be absolutely terrifying to face one in the woods, let alone three. Alas, that fate befalls Goldilocks when she stumbles on their home, eats their food, and sleeps in their beds. Luckily for her, they take it well, but that wouldn’t be the case in real life or a horror rendition.
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Instead, it would be a tense chase as the heroine finds herself hunted down by the fearsome foragers. The animals are especially aggressive while defending their cubs, lending further fright to the scenario. This approach worked withThe Grey, which depicted a wolf pack pursuing the protagonists. There’s no reason it can’t work with bears. It would arguably be scarier with a little girl as the target rather than a group of grown men.
2The Cat In The Hat
This may not seem scary on the surface. It’s a standard story ofa cat getting into shenanigans with a couple of kidsbefore helping them clean up the mess they made. That said, audiences need only think back to previous attempts at anthropomorphic felines to see the horror.The Cat in the Hatitself perpetrated this in its live-action remake. Mike Myers–caked in makeup–looked like a deranged clown. In addition, one can’t forget the CG abomination that was theCatsmusical movie. The less said about that, the better. The feline figures in these films are unnatural and unsettling, and that would likely be the case with any future versions of the tale.
The same could be said for the Cat’s sidekicks. He summons a pair of helpers: Thing 1 and Thing 2. These appear to be malformed humanoids with similar facial features to the Cat. Perhaps they’re some horrific hybrid. Against all odds, this would let them one-up their master in pure disgust.
1The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Thesemulti-legged creatures are as harmless as they come. As such, this innocent plot chronicles one caterpillar’s road to maturity through his diet. He eats everything he possibly can: leaves, apples, cheese, watermelons, and even cake. Luckily, this fuels a normal transformation into a butterfly.
Otherwise, the caterpillar could star in a creature feature. Imagine if he just kept growing. His gargantuan size would lead him to eat bigger and bigger items, eventually consuming entire cities. That sense of impending doom could create a phenomenal kaiju flick. Not to mention, it would freak out scores of viewers who are scared of bugs.
