Movies that are based on fanfiction

Fanfiction has become increasingly popular in recent years, and sometimes it even gets converted into new, seemingly original content. Let's take a look at some movies that are based on or inspired by fanfiction.

Fifty Shades of Grey

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, "Fifty Shades of Grey" is an erotic BDSM movie trilogy based on books of the same name by E.L. James. And those books are based on "Twilight" fanfiction.

While the quality of the narrative may be questionable, Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan's performances as Anna Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, were of solid quality. So props to those two and the rest of the cast.

And yes, I actually do have a solid working knowledge of both the books and the movies. In a bizarre incident, I spotted an acquaintance of mine reading "Fifty Shades of Grey" in my middle school cafeteria. Why a girl her age was reading that, especially out in the open at a school in notoriously religious Utah, I may never know.

I was previously unaware of the series and couldn't exactly glean much from the grey tie on the cover. So I asked her what it was about, and her response was to peer her eyes over the book, wiggle her eyebrows suggestively, and say, "You'll have to read it to find out."

And now I've read all three books in the trilogy and watched all three movies. The sexual scenes don't really spark my interest, but the plot itself is wild and fun bad. Anna's inner monologue in the books, the inaccurate depiction of BDSM, figuring out which "Fifty Shades" characters correspond with which "Twilight" characters.

Also, mad respect to Anna's friend Kate (Eloise Mumford) for consistently calling Christian out and being the funniest character in the books for the right reasons. At least until "Fifty Shades Freed" when she just sort of stops questioning everything. Also props to Christian's mom (Marcia Gay Harden) for confronting Mrs. Robinson (Kim Basinger).

After

The entire "After" movie series is based in Harry Styles fanfiction. And it's not subtle, either, since the character based on Styles is named Hardin Scott and other characters based on the members of One Direction also have names starting with the same letters as their real-life counterparts.

I haven't watched any of the movies since I feel like fanfiction based on real people is a little weird, not to mention that toxic romances aren't exactly my cup of tea, but it's clearly loved by a lot of people since the fifth installment in the series, "After Everything," comes out this week.

Everything I've heard about the series sort of sounds like the dynamic in "Fifty Shades," but with less sex scenes and not as much "fun bad" value. I might just watch it anyway since it seems so popular, but I make no promises.

The Mortal Instruments

While "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," based on the novel of the same name by Cassandra Clare, isn't directly a fanfiction itself, it apparently does draw a lot of inspiration from Clare's days writing fanfiction stories such as "The Draco Trilogy."

I've watched the movie, and while it didn't draw me in as much as "The Hunger Games," "Divergent," "Harry Potter," or the endless list of other teen movies coming out around that time, I did think it had its moments, especially with the soundtrack. Demi Lovato's "Heart by Heart" in particular is a favorite song of mine.

The end of the movie does feel mildly disturbing if you haven't read the books though. The way Clary (Lily Collins) rides off with Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower) feels romantic, which is weird because at that point they've been falsely led to believe that they're siblings.

That isn't actually true, and they're actively doubting it, but that's what they've been told at that point, so it's a little weird.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

At first glance, you might not think of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" as fanfiction. Just a parody, or a new spin on an old classic. But that's essentially what fanfiction is.

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" just gets to use the actual characters and settings commercially without paying royalties because the original Jane Austen novel is in the public domain.

And while I haven't gotten to watch the movie myself yet, it's one I look forward to because of its creative AU (alternate universe) take. It's literally just "Pride and Prejudice" set in a world facing a zombie apocalypse.