5 Doctor Who Episodes That Would Totally Work As Standalone Movies
There's plenty of nightmare fuel in Doctor Who.
The second Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, Wild Blue Yonder, was praised by many Whovians for its creative, horror-filled premise.
Many noted that even without the presence of the Doctor and Donna, the story of mysterious species called Not-Things lurking at the edge of the universe, waiting for a lost spaceship to come and provide them with living beings to copy and further attack the universe, could be made into a perfect sci-fi horror movie.
In fact, Wild Blue Yonder is not the only such episode. In its 60 years of existence, Doctor Who has aired many stories that could be re-made into amazing standalone movies. Here are just five examples.
Blink (S3E10)
To this day, the Weeping Angels remain the most terrifying Doctor Who villains for many fans. The story, based on the fear of graveyard statues that only move when no one is looking and steal your life force when they touch you, sending you to live and die far in the past, could be a horror-thriller masterpiece. It could even spawn a legendary franchise, as the potential for intriguing storylines is limitless.
Midnight (S4E10)
Nothing triggers our fear of the unknown like the Midnight Entity from Season 4 of New Who. This strange creature steals a human voice, first by repeating words after its victims, then by speaking at the same time, and then by anticipating what a person will say. Add to that the confined space of a tourist train and you have the perfect Agatha Christie-style supernatural mystery.
The God Complex (S6E11)
Even if we take Matt Smith's Doctor, Amy and Rory out of this story, the concept of a simulation disguised as a 1980s hotel that leaves no guest alive is breathtaking. Imagine the Minotaur-like alien prowling the labyrinth of hotel corridors, consuming anyone who has been brainwashed by one of the rooms containing the illusions of the guests' greatest fears. Now that's real nightmare fuel, isn't it?
Eve of the Daleks (2022 Special)
The first of the Thirteenth Doctor's specials has an interesting time-travel twist that would benefit any sci-fi flick. As the Doctor and her companions enter a storage facility, they encounter an Executioner Dalek who kills everyone. Fortunately, resetting the TARDIS after the Flux triggers a time loop, and the Doctor is able to relive those few hours over and over until she figures out how to defeat the Dalek.
Under the Lake / Before the Flood (S9E3/4)
The episode tells of the crew of the underwater mining facility of the future, who unearth a mysterious empty black ship. But as the crew members begin to die one by one, a horrifying reality is revealed: the ship was never empty, but brought hollow-eyed, murderous ghosts to the facility. If that's not the stuff of a perfect Alien-like thriller, we don't know what is.