The sharp, salivating teeth. The serpentine, Gene Simmons-esque tongue. The dark, hulking mass and perpetually angry, milky-white eyes. He might as well be H.R. Giger crossed with Jack Kirby.

He is Venom.

And now, Sony has announced a standalone film for one of the most beloved villains in Marvel Comics history. But after what we can collectively call a massively disappointing big screen debut in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, will Sony get Venom right this time? There are a million ways it can go; but as a lifelong fan of the character, I think there’s one route above all others.

Horror and comics–specifically Marvel comics–have had a long and successful affair. There’s the bonkers Marvel Zombies comic book run and the big screen action-horror franchise Blade; plus horror-centric characters like Morbius, Ghost Rider, and so many more. Then there are acclaimed horror directors Sam Raimi and Scott Derrickson who have taken a crack at Marvel heroes.

Now, Fox has announced its upcoming New Mutants movie will be straight-up 80’s-esque horror. In what is the golden age of big-budget superhero movies, it might finally be time for studios to take the idea of a horror comic book movie seriously.

As fans of horror, the stories we love and remember are the ones with a strong commitment to their characters, no matter how bleak and horrifying the situation becomes. It’s fun to watch teenagers die, but it kills us to see Lorraine Warren hallucinate the death of her husband.

So here we have Eddie Brock, a young man who comes from a rough, unloving childhood. Though he is gifted, he never seems to earn the respect of those around him. He soon finds his personal and professional life destroyed. On the verge of suicide, that’s when the alien symbiote finds him.

It’s an origin story that is practically the polar opposite of the Spider-Man origin we now know so well; and even if Spider-Man no longer exists in Sony’s universe, the parallels stay with us. Spider-Man/Peter Parker becomes everything Eddie Brock could never be, even though Peter Parker (and we, the audience) understands the plight of the man who just got dealt a bad hand in life more than anyone. Yet here, at his most vulnerable, Brock discovers the thing that could make him even more powerful than Spider-Man.

The symbiote attaches itself to Brock and destroys his moral compass, leeches off of his insecurity, and creates the monster Venom. The warped spider emblem on his chest even symbolizes his relationship to the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler.

After sympathizing with this sad, broken main character, the whole thing is tragic in a way that recalls something like the end of The Ring: a character loses him/herself to the supernatural forces you almost thought could be destroyed. Then that’s when we meet Cletus Kasady.

Art by Mike Mayhew

Though Eddie Brock unleashes his rage as Venom, in his heart he had still been a decent human who was wronged too many times, now sick of trying to be good. But what happens when the symbiote also finds the most vile person alive? Sadistic serial killer Cletus Kasady–the comics’ Carnage–is a cocktail of Leatherface, Norman Bates, and most of all Chucky. What if you gave that guy superpowers?

What ensues is a battle between the evil and the morally ambiguous, suddenly showing a stark contrast between internally conflicted Venom and actual monster Carnage. Neither may be totally right, but one is certainly redemptive. Either way, there will be blood.

I mean, imagine the thematic possibilities here. There’s sci-fi horror a la The Blob where Brock first faces the symbiote, terrified of it until it attaches to him (remember the hospital scene in Raimi’s Spider-Man 2? That’s what I’m talking about). Naturally, there’s body horror in Brock’s first experience as Venom, a brutal Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation waiting to happen (bones crunching, teeth protruding, all of that stuff). Then there’s the defining introduction to Kasady, a deeply disturbing scene that’s sure to stick with you–think “American Girl” in Silence of the Lambs, or perhaps a first-person excursion straight out of Maniac.

Art by Alexander Breuning

See, the story of Venom requires a sense of morbidity–of straight-up horror–to be truly effective. It’s a dark origin of a fully fleshed anti-hero, made only darker by the presence of his primary antagonist, who must be even more brutal and terrifying than the main character himself. But if done right, it’s also a deeply personal character study of a figure who represents and gives in to our darkest, most temptingly vengeful fantasies while trying to hold on to what’s left of his humanity–something so refreshing to blockbuster movies, yet familiar enough to fans of horror.

So why not take the plunge into genre storytelling and embrace the natural horror in Venom? Give him the Logan and Deadpool-approved “hard-R” treatment and let him tear some people in two and threaten to rip Carnage’s fucking head off. That’s the Venom I want to see.

One can only hope.