10 Literary Classics That Could Use Monsters, Robots and Gore

Elton John's Rocket Pictures is putting together a new take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. They won't just be taking the same old story and transplanting it to modern times, oh no. This new reimagining will be called Pride and Predator and while it will be set in the novel's original time period, things will be decidedly different when a murderous alien is thrown into the mix. Naturally, this got me thinking. First I thought, "Elton John? Really?" Then I thought about all the other classics of literature that could get new titles and add in a few monsters, robots, or general helpings of gore.

1. The Merchant of Venus: A young Venusian merchant strikes a deal with an android lender named Cylock in order to finance a friend's spaceship. When the merchant defaults on the loan, Cylock comes calling for his pound of flesh--and this time a legal loophole won't stop him.

2. Bleak House on Haunted Hill: Sure, Richard and Ada, you'll finally win your inheritance... on the condition you survive one night in a haunted house.

3. Silas Mourner: A hermit named Silas adopts a little girl... a little girl from hell! It wasn't an opium overdose that killed her mother. Unless it was opium... from hell!

4. David Copperplanet: Have you ever seen Ice Pirates? It's like that, but he steals copper instead of ice. Copper thievery is way up for real, so it could totally happen. And anyway, there should just be more movies with Space Herpes.

5. The Importance of Being Furnaced: Two men take on assumed identities in this new take on an Oscar Wilde play, leading to misunderstandings and mishaps. When their lady loves discover the truth, the cads are are burnt to death, only to then haunt the dreams of their murderers. It's a comedy.

6. A Tale of Two Space Stations: It was the most stable of orbits, it was the most decaying of orbits...

7. Jane Eyrebender: I have no idea what it would be about, but let it fight it out with M. Night Shyamalan's take on Avatar: The Last Airbender.

8. Séance and Sensibility: Three sisters conduct a séance to ask the spirit world about the true intentions of their suitors. It's less annoying than He's Just Not That Into You, plus there are ghosts!

9. Cloverfield Park: This one sticks very closely to Jane Austen's original Mansfield Park. Except Fanny Price turns into a gigantic rampaging beast after being treated poorly by her snotty cousins.

10. Grave Expectations: Miss Havisham is now a zombie, obsessed with her wedding. It's like Bride Wars, except instead of killing the audience's soul, she devours the brains of wayward grooms.

What other literary/genre mash-ups would you like to see?

18 Comments

February 18, 2009 5:08 PM
jane
Reply

what? they're not making "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?"

February 18, 2009 5:52 PM
Josh
Reply
replied to comment from jane

That's totally what I was expecting when I clicked on the link, but alas!

February 18, 2009 6:47 PM
cordis
Reply

How about:

Anne of Green Gargoyles
The Great Gatsby vs. Godzilla
The Sorrows of Undead Werther

February 18, 2009 9:14 PM
Anna
Reply

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a book, not a movie.

February 19, 2009 3:45 AM
Karen
Reply

Yeah Anna, but they are apparently making it into a movie. Now there's news of this predator one. But I think it's all a joke. Heh, heh... BRILLIANT title, Tippi - have passed this on to lots of other people. Love Anne of Green Gargoyles too...

February 19, 2009 9:36 AM
Lurlock
Reply

They already ruined this story in Baliwood - see "Bride and Predjudice". It's like the original, only set in India, and with more singing and dancing.

February 19, 2009 10:41 AM
Alice
Reply

Oh man.

Well, it'll probably still be better than the Keira Knightly version... and the Bollywood version... and the Mormon version.

February 19, 2009 11:05 AM
RJ
Reply

Actually, "Grave Expectations" doesn't sound half bad. Heh.

February 19, 2009 12:10 PM
singlarity
Reply

A Killer for All Seasons
A Christmas Carnage
Crime and Punishment (no need to change title)
Howard's Dead-End
Huckleberry Sin
Moby Sick
A Room with a Boo!
Uncle Tom's Laboratory
Wuthering Bites

February 19, 2009 12:31 PM
esbropa
Reply

Singularity, those sound like excellent titles for episodes of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror. I'd totally watch them.

February 19, 2009 1:09 PM
cliff
Reply

Once again,great fun. Thank you. How about "Taming of the Shrew" with giant shrews?

February 19, 2009 1:48 PM
singlarity
Reply
replied to comment from cliff

Cliff, how about "Taming of the Shroom" with giant carnivorous mushrooms?

February 19, 2009 4:52 PM
Rae Stabosz
Reply

Joe vs the Vulcan

Goredfellas

The Late Gatsby

The Slashed King of Scotland

The Maltese Ripper

The Apes of Wrath

Confessions of a Chopaholic

Breakfast with Leatherface

A Confederacy of Monsters

The Ghoul of San Luis Rey

To Kill a Chupacabra

The Decapitation of Miss Jean Brodie

February 19, 2009 5:12 PM
Yvaughn
Reply

How about the "MAIMING of the Shrew" which combines the classic Shakespeare work with "Saw?"

February 19, 2009 6:57 PM
m@
Reply

I was going to try to come up with something, but honestly, "The Apes of Wrath" way too good. So many possibilities

February 19, 2009 7:21 PM
Faye Bond
Reply

I loved this, except the part about Pride and Predator for real. When Elton John hires M. Night Shahaman to direct it,I will official start screaming.

February 21, 2009 11:20 AM
charleybrown
Reply

Very fun! I do wish that the actual movies being made were just in jest!

February 22, 2009 7:52 PM
Tom
Reply

Oliver Twister

An orphan boy taken in by a gang of pickpockets runs in terror as he is chased by Bill Sykes and the worst natural disaster to ever hit the streets of 19th century London!

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