Forget Wonka, It's Time To Adapt Roald Dahl's Adult Horror Stories To Film
Some of Roald Dahl's most popular children's stories possess an undercurrent of menace and darkness. For example, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" thrusts its young characters into peril by having them almost drown in chocolate rivers and inflate to massive sizes. Meanwhile, "The Witches" is about child-hating magical beings whose only desire is to kill and torment the youth. For young readers, Dahl's iconic stories help them understand the reality of death, danger, and grief. Dahl never shied away from trying to disturb readers during their most formative years.
So, then, you can only imagine how dark his adult horror stories are.
Dahl had a knack for writing effective scare fare for mature readers, yet he's mostly remembered as a children's author. However, if studios want to produce more horror hits for film and television, they should consider turning their attention to the author's gruesome adult stories. His oeuvre boasts a range of macabre gems that cover everything from cannibalism to war to bizarre scientific experiments — and many of them have received successful adaptations in the past. In Hollywood, everything that was once old eventually becomes new again, and the same mentality should apply to Dahl's spooky tales.
Roald Dahl's horror stories used to be all the rage
Big-name filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg ("The BFG") and Tim Burton ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") have adapted Roald Dahl's popular stories as family-friendly blockbusters. The success of these movies has only further solidified the notion that the author was all about providing entertainment that's appropriate for all age groups. Back in the day, however, the world of film and television appreciated Dahl's darker sensibilities more than his children's fiction.
In 1961, the English writer hosted and wrote for "Way Out," an anthology series that hangs out in the same wheelhouse as "The Twilight Zone." The series adapted stories such as "William & Mary," Dahl's story about a widow who learns that her abusive dead husband's brain and eyeballs are still functioning and alive, thanks to an experimental procedure. To get revenge, she brings his active remains home and forces him to watch her move on — much to his fury.
Dahl's collection of horror, sci-fi, and crime short stories, "Tales of the Unexpected," also inspired its own anthology TV series. The series eventually evolved to adapt works by other authors, but Dahl's ideas informed much of its content for multiple seasons. Elsewhere, some of his stories were adapted for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," which was hosted by the Master of Suspense himself.
In short, Dahl's most twisted stories provided a foundation for some of the most influential adult genre shows out there, but their connection to Dahl has arguably become forgotten. If Hollywood insists on continuing to adapt "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," then studios and streaming services can also spare a few million bucks to give modern makeovers to stories that haven't been brought to film or television in decades.
Roald Dahl's horror stories are original and full of twists
Most of Roald Dahl's fiction has been praised for its originality, and his adult horror is no different. Some of these tales are also dementedly humorous and would make for great horror comedies in the current cinematic landscape; for example, "The Landlady" tells the story of a taxidermist who runs a bed and breakfast, and it's heavily implied that she poisons the guests and keeps them as stuffed pets after they die. "Lamb to the Slaughter" is another gem that tells a funny tale about a wife who kills her husband and feeds the murder weapon to the police.
Of course, some of Dahl's best stories are undeniably twisted, cruel, and bizarre. "Poison" is about a man who believes that a venomous snake has crept into his bed. As the story progresses, however, it's suspected that the bedridden victim is telling fibs. Similar ideas are explored in "The Wish," which follows a child who believes that his mother's carpet is actually a snake pit. Reptiles are terrifying, and it's about time that they receive a big comeback on the screen — even if Dahl's snake stories aren't conventional animal attack features.
These are just a few examples of Dahl's imagination at its sickest and most adaptation-worthy. However, he was also a master of using some of his real-life experiences to create stories that preyed on humankind's collective fears — such as war.
Roald Dahl and the horrors of war
Prior to becoming a successful writer, Roald Dahl served as a British Royal Air Force pilot during World War II. Naturally, the author's battle experiences inspired him to pen some truly harrowing war stories that are arguably more chilling than his more conventional horror fare, as they depict the horrors of battle in an uncompromising light. At the same time, some of them are so bizarre and unique that they crossover into bizarre genre fare territory.
A noteworthy example of one of Dahl's most horrifying war tales is "Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story," which tells the story of two parents who fear that they'll lose their child after experiencing three tragic losses in the past. However, the fourth baby survives, but in a shocking turn of events, it turns out that he's Adolf Hitler. It's a thought-provoking story that makes the reader sympathize with grieving parents before revealing that their child is one of the evilest human beings in history. Talk about a moral dilemma, right?
Elsewhere, "Beware of the Dog" centers around a pilot who finds himself stuck in a hospital being cared for, but the caregivers aren't the people they claim to be. The idea of doctors and nurses harboring a sinister agenda is a great concept for a psychological horror yarn, and the story plays on the notion that people will go to extreme lengths to win a war. The story was adapted as a suspense movie called "36 Hours" in 1965, but a modern filmmaker could lean further into its horror elements and make it truly scary.
Dahl wrote dozens of adult-themed horror stories that are begging to be rediscovered by filmmakers. There's no shortage of material to mine from, and it's time for Hollywood to capitalize.