7 Deadly Books Hitting The Big Screen In 2014

Bodies. Bodies everywhere. (Thanks to Kate Voss at Criminal Element)

Divergent – March 21, 2014

Based on the first installment of the YA thriller by Veronica Roth, Divergent takes place in a dystopian Chicago, where society is divided into five ranks depending on each citizen’s personality traits. Although Beatrice Prior was born into an Abnegation family (known for their selflessness), when she takes her aptitude test, she finds that she is placed into three different factions, which means she is Divergent. This is a secret she must keep to herself or risk her life. The film stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James and was directed by Neil Burger (Limitless, The Lucky Ones).

Sabotage – April 11, 2014

This upcoming film is loosely based on a 1939 detective novel by Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None. It follows a team of DEA agents who are sent to bust the safe house of a drug cartel in order to steal millions of dollars worth of confiscated items. When their little secret comes out, an assassin begins taking out the agents one-by-one. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mireille Enos.

Dark Places – September 1, 2014

The talented author Gillian Flynn (you'll see more from her in a bit) has inspired a feature film from her 2009 novel Dark Places. The story follows a woman named Libby who survived the brutal killing of her family when she was younger. Flynn’s setting is 1980’s rural America, a society plagued with satanic cults and poverty. Libby begins to investigate the murder of her family, as well as a set of massacres in her hometown. The film will star Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult.

The Maze Runner – September 19, 2014

Based on the 2009 YA sci-fi thriller by James Dashner, The Maze Runner presents a Hunger Games-esque dystopia where young boys live in a community after their memory is erased. The young boys are then dropped in a maze and are forced to use their skills to escape. When a girl arrives with a strange note, the boys are forced to take another look at their world. The film stars Dylan O’Brien and Thomas Brodie-Sangster.

Gone Girl – October 3, 2014

Author Gillian Flynn (here she is again!) has rapidly become a household name in the world of thriller literature, and her bestselling novel had production companies grabbing at the chance to turn it into a feature film. In the end, David Fincher (of Fight Club, Se7en, and The Social Network fame) was named as director, and the film stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, and Neil Patrick Harris. The book and film will explore the marriage of Nick and Amy Dunne after Amy disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary, leaving us all wondering: did Nick kill his wife?

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 – November 21, 2014

Once again, Katniss Everdeen is back and slinging her arrows. In this first half of the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ final Hunger Games novel, which is broken up into two parts, Katniss becomes the Mockingjay, or poster-child, of the mass rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol. Again, the film stars the series' mainstays Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson and adds Julianne Moore and Nathalie Dormer to the already overly-talented cast.

Before I Go To Sleep – Release TBA

This book-to-film adaptation, which stars big names like Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth, is based on the first novel and psychological thriller by J.S. Watson. A woman wakes up each day with no memory, 50 First Dates-style, due to an accident she had when she was younger. When she discovers some truth about herself, she must attempt to understand her past in order to put her life back together. Interestingly, this was the last feature film to use Fuji 35mm film.

Read this, and more, at Criminal Element, where murder, mystery, and mayhem reign supreme.