Stories are what the entertainment industry is built on. Usually, they all follow the heroes’ journey; a set path that the main character of a story follows, and if their story follows this path then they can be categorized as a hero. Many stories boil down to this because it is the backbone of a lot of classic literature as well as modern media. Recently there has been a resurgence in adaptations of many classical stories through movies and modern entertainment. There is noticeable popularity as these movies are bringing these classics into the mainstream. It’s started a trend of sorts, with A24, Christopher Nolan, and Sydney Sweeney moving it forward. And I’m all for this trend.
The Movies Spearheading This Trend
Starting with Nosferatu, while the name itself is not from classic literature and the movie itself is meant to be a remake of F.W. Murnau’s iconic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. But a lesser known fact is that Symphony of Horror was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. And many scenes and shots in both versions of Nosferatu mirror the original backbone and plot structure of Dracula. Both follows a man who travels to Transylvania and encounters the titular vampire despite the fact that the world around the character is begging they go the opposite direction.
Nosferatu has seen overwhelmingly positive praise across many critics, and Robert Eggers is already moving on to tackle werewolves next. But the trend doesn’t stop there, as on Christmas Eve it was announced that Christopher Nolan would be adapting The Odyssey.
Homer’s The Odyssey is widely considered as the prime example of the heroes’ journey. Many movies arguably wouldn’t exist if not for the influence of The Odyssey, including Nolan’s own Interstellar. Since the announcement, social media exploded as many people across the world stating they had never even heard of The Odyssey. Which was interesting as just before Nolan’s announcement, The Return was released, which is another adaptation of Homers classic poem.
Beyond that, the cast for Nolan’s adaptation is stacked with big names, including Tom Holland as the lead. Whether that ‘lead role’ is as the title character Odysseus, or as his son Telemachus, is the center of some discourse. This is because in the original classic poem, the first few chapters follow Telemachus as he searches for any information about the whereabouts of his father. Time will tell as more information is still forthcoming about Nolan’s newest adaptation.
The last, but newest announcement is that A24 is going to be doing an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s classic poem The Masque of the Red Death, and there are talks that Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney is going to be among the cast. Which if true is the film I’m the most excited about.
Why I’m so excited for Masque of the Red Death
A short story by Edgar Allen Poe, it follows a lot of the classic traditions of the gothic genre at the time, but more than that, the short story is an allegory for the inevitability of death. There aren’t many attempts at adaptations, with a film adaptation in 1964, and a small collection of comic adaptations done by Marvel comics.
The story is about a prince hiding in his massive home from a plague that is spreading rapidly. The prince hosts a massive party with other rich nobles trying to hide from the plague. Without giving too much away, a guest in red appears, and the prince and all his guests die as the guest in red brings the plague into the home.
It’s a simplistic concept and story on the surface, but the reason I love it and why I’m so excited for A24’s adaptation is the overall aesthetic of the short story. Each room of the party has a dedicated color, with red being excluded because the plague is associated with red. It’s meant to represent surrounding yourself with everything that could keep death at bay, so the presence of a character fully dressed in red, seemingly chasing the prince through his home, is an aesthetic that I’m very excited to see A24 tackle.
It’s an interesting story to tell because it’s root plot can also closely mimic and resemble the covid pandemic and could be easily adapted to be more modern if that’s the angle A24 wants to go. And I’m sure that they won’t shy away from the political commentary that is present throughout the whole short story. There are a few possibilities for how this iconic story can be tackled, all of which would be very exciting as a horror movie fan and a classical literature major.
This new trend of adaptations is something I’m very excited to see, and something I really hope continues. While there is no shortage or original stories, many original stories are inspired by the classics, and seeing those classics re-contextualized for modern screens will only give more inspiration to future original concepts.