Hey everybody, Kayleigh here and this month I wanted to talk about my favourite horror movie adaptations of novels/short stories/graphic novels. I think I started with about 30 titles on this list but I would have been talking at you forever, so I've limited it to just 5. Here goes, in no particular order...

Bram Stoker's Dracula (based on the novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker... obviously)

1992 Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

To boldly entitle this picture "Bram Stoker's" Dracula is funny because it's sort of ironic. There are countless Dracula movies (well, I'm sure SOMEONE has counted them, but I don't have that sort of time), and out of all those that I've seen, this version has to be one of the least like Stoker's book. Usually, because of time-constraints/pacing/focus, the book gets cut down to fit the run-time of a screen adaptation (all of the Tom Bombadil stuff in LOTR, for example). This adaptation is unusual in that a lot was added. Stoker's Dracula is not a sympathetic, tortured character... at all. He is a straight-up monster. There is no love, only possession and conquest, and death.

Coppola's Dracula is a wronged warrior, wrought with unimaginable grief, cursed through his own rage, and driven more by love than blood-lust. He is a complex character that you're conflicted about because on one hand, he's evil, and on the other, you relate to his heartbreak so much that you just want him to get the girl and be happy.

Also, the score and the cinematography in this movie are out of this world.

The Mist (based on the short story/novella by Stephen King)

2007 Directed by Frank Darabont

Now before you start shouting at me for not picking The Shining, or Carrie, or IT, as the best Stephen King adaptation, let me say this - shut up. I love this movie. It's the story of David, a man who finds himself trapped inside a store with his son and several others as a dangerous mist rolls through a small town.

I read this story when I was a teenager and it has remained my firm favourite short story. It's so spooky and tense and claustrophobic. Plus, there are cool monsters and Mrs Carmody, a raving religious fanatic who becomes almost as dangerous as the monsters outside. I love the performances and the dialogue in the movie, and that change to the ending... jeeeez. If you know, you know.

If you can, I'd recommend watching the black and white version, as this is the way Darabont originally intended it to be seen. It really does make a difference, leaning the film into that old B-movie monster flick style.

The Exorcist (based on the novel by William Peter Blatty)

1973 Directed by William Friedkin

Who hasn't heard of The Exorcist? No one. And there's good reason for that. Whether you find it terrifying or comical, this movie is special and marked the most significant of its kind in the genre. As far as possession stories go, I don't think anything else has come close to matching the dread and the horror of this one. If you read the book, you'll find that it's a pretty faithful adaptation. If you're trying the book for this first time, go ahead and treat yourself to the audiobook. It's scary!

30 Days of Night (based on the graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith)

2007 Directed by David Slade

Boy, was I surprised by how much I loved this movie. I've read all of the graphic novels and - please forgive me - I'm not a fan of the art style. This is nothing against the artist, it's just me and my bizarre pet peeves. There are animated shows I can't watch because the art style bothers me so much but for the life of me, I can't explain why. Someone please... figure out why I absolutely detest this...

... but I love this ...

... and weirdest of all, I'm fine with this...

... but can't stand this...

I know, I know. It's nonsense.

So anyway, while I enjoy the story in the graphic novels, the art style isn't for me. I think it's because the vampires look a little more goofy than scary, and I love scary vampires so I find this grating. I wasn't expecting much from the movie but damn! - if those aren't some of the best vampires ever! Slade really made the most of the premise and the setting too, and it's glorious.

The Ritual (based on the novel by Adam Nevill)

2017 Directed by David Bruckner

I won't give any spoilers but the third act goes in a different direction from the book, and it's great, especially if you've read the book. The movie is a pretty close adaptation until a certain point and then it veers, but not so far as to ruin the plot as set by the book. You'll have to read it and then see it to know what I'm talking about, but both are excellent if you like suspenseful, isolation-themed horror (and creepy cult magic). I'm only saying so little about this one because I went into the book blind and that's the way I'd recommend going into this story, whichever medium you decide to enjoy it in first. But READ THE BOOK!

That's all from me this month, I'll be back in April, enthusing about other things I love.