5 Worst Book To Film Adaptations

Whenever an exciting new book comes out with a great story and intriguing characters, thoughts almost immediately turn to making it into a film. There are many examples of awful book to film adaptations, but here are five of the worst.

1)Kill Your Friends (2015)

John Niven's brutal, vicious and utterly hilarious satire of major record label culture in the ‘90s is one of the most stunning novels to appear in the last twenty years. It's bold and daring creation of a genuinely evil yet incredibly realistic lead character made it absolutely gripping. Unfortunately the film adaptation missed the mark, losing the organic and authentically dark humour of the book and replacing it with comedy that felt far too smug about it's edginess.

2)The Black Tower (2017)

Most of Stephen King's novels are well designed for film adaptations, but The Black Tower is an exception. His vast series of eight novels created a detailed and intricate universe that everyone thought would be impossible to capture in one single film. Unsurprisingly it was an abject disaster; far too confusing for those unfamiliar with the novels yet also so condensed and over produced that it completely failed in bringing King's dark magical world to life. The film went through a decade of production, with multiple big name directors being linked before dropping out, presumably realising that this project was doomed from the start.

3)The Scarlet Letter (1995)

Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel is a powerful story of adultery in Puritan American society that received multiple film adaptations in the early 20th century. The 1995 version tried to give The Scarlet Letter a Hollywood makeover but failed spectacularly. It lost all of the questions of morality and religion that the book discussed, instead working it into a mildly erotic religious themed romance that doesn't even cross into “so bad it's funny” territory. Instead it just feels tragic, misguided and utterly pointless.

4)My Sister's Keeper (2009)

It's not uncommon for script writers to change the ending of stories to better suit a film adaptation, but what you can't do is cut out the narrative twist that defines a novel. That's exactly what My Sister's Keeper did though, removing the incredible curveball in Jodi Picoult's remarkable story. Instead the movie became a tearful melodrama that by the end mostly brushed over the existential anxiety and moral dilemmas that the story has at its heart.

5)Eragon (2006)

An attempt by 20th Century Fox to latch onto the success of Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings, Eragon drifted so far away from Christopher Paolini's novel as to be almost unrecognisable to anyone who'd read it. The storyline was so derivative that the money making intention of this film became immediately transparent. The studio initially slated Eragon to be the first in a trilogy, but following the poor reception they dropped the project. With little genuine charm or warmth but plenty of focus-grouped sparkle and sheen, Eragon is a prime example of how not to adapt a novel to the big screen.

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