Keep an eye out for Kirkus’ upcoming in-depth columns on Rosaline, a film adaptation of Rebecca Serle’s Shakespeare-inspired YA romance novel, When You Were Mine (premiering Oct. 14 on Hulu); and a streaming series based on William Gibson’s SF thriller The Peripheral (premiering Oct. 21 on Prime Video). Meanwhile, here are four more book-to-screen adaptations coming in October:

Oct. 2: Interview With the Vampire (series premiere, AMC)

Anne Rice’s 1976 gothic-horror novel—the first in her Vampire Chronicles—has influenced vampire fiction for generations. Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Angel and Twilight’s Edward Cullen might never have existed if not for Interview’s angsty, tortured Louis de Pointe du Lac. In Rice’s novel, Louis narrates the story of how he struggled with his status as an immortal creature of the night after the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt turned him. The book was memorably adapted as a 1994 film, directed by Neil Jordan and starring Brad Pitt as Louis and Tom Cruise as Lestat. This new TV series, created by playwright and TV writer Rolin Jones, features Game of Thrones’ Jacob Anderson and Australian actor Sam Reid. The trailer suggests all the sumptuous visuals that Rice’s picturesque prose promised—and her many fans will certainly be happy to sink their teeth into a new adaptation after nearly three decades.

Oct. 5: Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (film premiere, Netflix)

This new film—directed by The Little Things’ John Lee Hancock and based on a novella from Stephen King’s Kirkus-starred 2020 collection If It Bleeds—is based on a rather low-key horror premise. Teenage Craig buys his elderly friend and mentor, a wealthy man named Mr. Harrigan, a first-generation iPhone with some of the proceeds from a winning scratch ticket. After Mr. Harrigan dies, he’s buried along with his phone, which Craig occasionally calls when he misses the old man or just needs to vent. Before long, Craig starts to believe that he’s actually communicating with his deceased friend, who may be responsible for some horrifying occurrences in the land of the living. The original tale is a quietly creepy and effective one, if not obviously cinematic. However, the casting of It Chapter Two’s Jaeden Martell as Craig and the excellent Donald Sutherland as Mr. Harrigan certainly bodes well.

Oct. 14: Stars at Noon (theatrical film premiere)

Kirkus’ review of Denis Johnson’s 1986 novel described its protagonist as “a female American semi-journalist, semi-hooker” in Managua, Nicaragua, who becomes involved with a “pale, tall, bumbling” English oil company representative who’s put himself—and, by extension, her—in danger after accidentally making “vague commitments to Sandinista, Contra, and CIA alike” as the Nicaraguan Revolution rages. French director Claire Denis’ film version, which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, features My Salinger Year’s Margaret Qualley and Mary Queen of Scots’ Joe Alwyn, both fine actors. However, readers expecting the movie to follow the book closely may be disappointed; Denis intriguingly updates the action to the present day, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Oct. 14: Shantaram (series premiere, Apple TV+)

This streaming series, co-created by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Eric Warren Singer, is based on the Kirkus-starred 2004 novel by Gregory David Roberts. It features Sons of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam as Lin, an escaped Australian prisoner and recovering heroin addict who flees to Mumbai, India, where, according to Kirkus’ review, he becomes “increasingly Christlike and increasingly drawn into the criminal demimonde.” (The fictional work draws on some elements of Australian ex-convict Roberts’ life.) The dramatic trailer certainly has the feel of a sweeping crime drama, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans are sure to enjoy the inclusion of Alexander Siddig as Lin’s mentor, crime boss Khader Khan.

David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.