What would a TMNT horror movie be like?

[neatoman]

Hey, so remember when the Blood and Honey guy said he wanted to make a TMNT horror movie? I mean, he's obviously not going to, the only reason he even got to make Winnie the Pooh horror movies is because the character entered the public domain. It also doesn't seem likely that Paramount will entertain the idea and TMNT does not enter the public domain until 2080, so don't count on seeing a TMNT horror movie.

But... What if one was made? What would the angle be?

[Wildcat]

People making horror movies based on public domain characters is stupid. They’re clearly just doing it for the attention of turning family friendly cartoon characters violent.

They’d probably just make the turtles ugly monsters that kill people with their weapons. That’s pretty much it from what I can tell. Never seen them and don’t plan to. It’s just low budget garbage.

[Powder]

Plenty of room for that, with precedent set by Mirage, 4kids (at times), & of course the 2012 show. I'd just assume adapt one of those pre-existing stories. Rat King would be a great character to lean into for that, I think.

[Wildcat]

Oh if we are talking a legitimate horror movie where the TMNT take on a supernatural villain or something that's different. That'd be cool to see.

The Shredder being brought back as like a zombie in the 2012 series was cool. I thought it was very well done and creepy.

[kerorokatak]

Picture creepy, dark sewers, grotesque mutant turtles, and Shredder as a slasher villain. April and Casey would be fighting to survive in a city overrun with mutant horrors. It'd be like "The Descent" meets "The Thing."

[BornAgain]

Mirage TMNT + The Mist + The Descent

Very roughly inspired by the story in Mirage volume 2 where Leo faces off against a giant turtle.

Get one turtle alone for a reflective, cerebral, horror-action movie. Not tons dialogue or characters and not a lot of narrative handholding.

More about taking a turtle through a psychedelic horror adventure where you’re not always sure what’s happening. The large turtle is the existentially horrifying antagonist of sorts, which gives our ninja turtle a lot to chew on mentally and physically. There are other strange creatures or possibly characters to encounter down there as well. Possible Rat King appearance.

I suppose the real horror will be the existential themes like having to acknowledge being a strange mutated creature, or the horrifying awe of a giant snapping turtle underground. The relationship between our turtle and the “monster” turtle. Our ninja turtle having to reckon with destroying the giant turtle’s helpless eggs despite a shared connection and uniqueness between them.

Plenty of room for some action segments as well.

Perhaps it needs some type of McGuffin or even a child for Leonardo to save.
Something to drive the journey forward.

So not completely traditional but I think you have to take some swings to make a TMNT movie scary and so I’d lean into the trippy cerebral side of things. Despite the large physical threat it’s more of a mood piece overall. It’s a reflection on existence, mutation, and morality.

[Andrew NDB]

Just take something like Rick Veitch's "The River" and lean into/amplify the horror material already there in droves.

[sdp]

You won't have to wait too long to find out. By the end of the decade (That's basically only 5 years away but could be much sooner). You'll be able to prompt whatever Movie/TV show you want to watch and it'll be generated by AI.

[IndigoErth]

Someone some years ago here suggested the Rat King being used for a horror film and I haven't let that one go, I still want it.

Mind you, this was before IDW Rat King and leaned more toward the 2012 styling of him and it's what I think of, but honestly either of them, or even the 1987/Mirage type, would work well as a movie villain/monster. Give the largely clueless general public something unexpected.

Originally Posted by sdp

generated by AI.

The "trailers" AI is forming are all horror without even trying to be.

Originally Posted by BornAgain

Mirage TMNT + The Mist + The Descent

Very roughly inspired by the story in Mirage volume 2 where Leo faces off against a giant turtle.

Get one turtle alone for a reflective, cerebral, horror-action movie. Not tons dialogue or characters and not a lot of narrative handholding.

More about taking a turtle through a psychedelic horror adventure where you’re not always sure what’s happening. The large turtle is the existentially horrifying antagonist of sorts, which gives our ninja turtle a lot to chew on mentally and physically. There are other strange creatures or possibly characters to encounter down there as well. Possible Rat King appearance.

I suppose the real horror will be the existential themes like having to acknowledge being a strange mutated creature, or the horrifying awe of a giant snapping turtle underground. The relationship between our turtle and the “monster” turtle. Our ninja turtle having to reckon with destroying the giant turtle’s helpless eggs despite a shared connection and uniqueness between them.

Plenty of room for some action segments as well.

Perhaps it needs some type of McGuffin or even a child for Leonardo to save.
Something to drive the journey forward.

So not completely traditional but I think you have to take some swings to make a TMNT movie scary and so I’d lean into the trippy cerebral side of things. Despite the large physical threat it’s more of a mood piece overall. It’s a reflection on existence, mutation, and morality.

I now want this too.

Heck, after Mikey gets a Ronin film, have Leo in a horror like this, some crazy Sci-fi with Donnie maybe, and Raph a very brawler-ish kinda movie.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

Michael Bay's monstrosities were pretty much horror to me.

But on a slightly serious note, those designs would fit for a horror TMNT movie.

[Cowabung-Gal]

I brainstormed this back in a thread that I started over a year ago:
https://forums.thetechnodrome.com/sh...ad.php?t=65803

Originally Posted by Cowabung-Gal

I think it would go something like this:

New Yorkers are suddenly disappearing at an alarming rate, the first victim being a pizza delivery boy. Investigative journalist April O’Neil follows the trail into the city’s sewage system. There she discovers four frightening humanoid turtles that fight like deadly ninjas, and their master is a malicious mutant rat that feeds on human flesh. The city’s pollution problem has led to the creation of the mutant monsters instead of the mutagen accident in the original story, and every night the turtles kidnap at least one person and drag them underground to feed on them.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Just take something like Rick Veitch's "The River" and lean into/amplify the horror material already there in droves.

But then they'd have to pay royalties...

[ToTheNines]

I had an idea for a Mirage based movie that was basically a horror film:

So Act 1 starts on a high note obviously, but the main theme of the movie is fear/anxiety and how they affect your actions. The turtles are terrified to take on Shredder, but they’re able to overcome him and win (they kill him in the first 5 minutes). Splinter is thrilled that his sons were victorious, but is now looking to the future and worries what's next for them as a family. He realizes how lucky they were to all make it home and is concerned for their safety and no longer wants them taking risks and confronting The Foot.

After kind of getting into each character's hopes and dreams, act 1 ends by revealing the Foot are still out there and want revenge.

Act 2 starts with "What Goes Around/Silent Partner", taking place on Christmas. Leo is terrified and running for his life the whole time, kinda like a slasher flick except he’s fighting back effectively. Again, it mostly plays out the same as Mirage, except Splinter is so scared of Shredder (it's revealed that's the main reason he sent them instead of going after him himself) that he fights poorly and ends up mortally wounded.

He makes it to Northampton but doesn't have long to live, maybe 1-4 weeks? But he loves it there and is so happy that they found a safe haven that he makes Leonardo promise to never go back to NY. Act 2 ends with his funeral.

So the turtles start act 3 divided equally. 2 years have passed and Raph wants to go kill Shredder because he's Raph. Donnie want's to do it because he's afraid the Foot will come find them. Conversely, Mikey wants to stay because he's afraid he'll never see Klunk and his chickens again, and Leo will absolutely not disobey Splinter's dying wish (but he's also secretly too afraid to face the Shredder clone again).

The rest plays out mostly just like Mirage 19-21. Raph runs off, the others follow. The main twist is after Raph has taken out enough Foot ninja, they sic Zog on him. Now even Raph is finally afraid of something, a literal monster chasing him through the sewer. It would be explained in the next movie why they have a Triceraton slave, but remains a mystery for the first one.

Anyway, Leo and the Clone have their duel, and he's terrifying to look at with his worm skin. Leo overcomes his fear again and wins. Between the nasty looking Saki clone and the 3 failed experiments, I think you could really play up the horror aspect.