With all of the remakes out there, some good and some horrible. Which classic horror movies would you love to see remade and which would you hate to see butchered on the big screen?
I would really hate to see them mess with a movie like the Black Cat. I mean Bela and Boris are amazing in this movie. Also I'd hate to see someone remake Freaks 1932 that is just an extraordinary film. They would just butcher it into a gore fest.
Also of the remakes out there which ones did you love and which ones did you hate?
I found Slither a nice laugh out loud movie. Having seen the original which wasn't my favorite anyway, I thought it was a refreshing change.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre have really been trashed by these remakes. It is a break through film to see them completely butcher what the original was. It's a sad day in film.
Remake Madness
A curse on Ted Turner! Doesn't he understand that a lot of the cinematography at the time was created specifically for optimal use of b/w? Colorization changes the entire mood of the film. Can anyone imagine Nosferatu in color?
Remake Madness
any one seen black christmas ? 1974/2006
Remake Madness
"Slither" wasn't a remake -- it was influenced by "Night of the Creeps", but aside from a few similaries in creature effects and an "alien takeover" aspect it was much more of an "original for 2006" film.
Remake Madness
I'd like to see Ghost Story remade, maybe a mini-series like Salem's Lot (the original Salem's Lot, of course). The originals are always best. With some exceptions mentioned in previous posts. I did like the remake of Cat People, Natasha Kinski and Malcom McDowell were very interesting to watch and the soundtrack for that movie is great, too. So many of the remakes I haven't seen, I last about 30 minutes with 'em and then give up. Black Christmas and Amityville Horror fall in that category. Is Ted Turner still ruining classic films with colorization? What a putz! I think he was attempting to reach a new audience who have never watched a B&W film. But, really, who cares? When I saw the remake of Psycho in the theatre there were a couple of guys sitting behind us, one said," I heard the first one was in Black and White." and the other guy said, "Oh, I never saw it." I tell ya, it was like an ice pick in my ear! Maybe Turner had these guys in mind when he messed with the masters. No excuse!
Remake Madness
I think it depends on why any particular remake is done.
Do the filmmakers, inspired by the original, have a fresh idea to pursue? Was there something interesting in the original that could have used more follow-up? Is the original based on a literary property that invites reimagining? Or do the filmmakers merely want to make some quick money, putting old wine into new bottles, and exploiting a market unfamiliar with the original?
Paul Schrader's remake of Cat People, mentioned in several other replies, is a perfect example of an excellent remake of a classic film. It stands on its own, without shaming or otherwise damaging Jacques Tourneur's original. Same thing with Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, transporting the metaphor from the Cold War to the 1970s pop-psych self-actualization movement. George A. Romero's zombie scenarios also translated well into remakes/re-imaginings. (In my opinion...)
What puzzles me is why some remakes wander so far from the original properties that you wonder why the producers didn't just start from scratch to begin with. Jan DeBont's The Haunting is a film that barely uses any of Shirley Jackson's novel or Robert Wise's original film. Why not just make an original haunted house movie? Why pay to use the original copyrighted material? Why risk the ire of fans of the original, or the scorn of critics? It wasn't that the movie totally sucked, it just sucked as a remake of The Haunting.
Ultimately, it comes down to the intent and the skill (and the taste!) of the filmmakers.
By the way, the last poster makes a great call with suggesting Ghost Story as a candidate for remaking. The original film has some nice elements, but the writer and director apparently missed out on the point of Peter Straub's novel -- the title Ghost Story is something of a cynical joke, because what the characters in the story encounter is something far older, and far worse, than a ghost -- especially a ghost out of a cozy fireside story! I'd really love to see this one done properly.
Some good discussion on this thread!
Doc
Edited by Doc Tourneau on 5/26/2008 at 12:16 CST
Remake Madness
ya i saw it, Its a complete gore fest. I like the twist in the climax of the film but
there was waaay to much blood lol. and I think too many people died but w/e.
The Original was great and they didnt even poke anyone's eye out!
the phone calls made no sense but thats what was great about it.
Remake Madness
What remakes today are good? I cannot think of one.
The brst remakes are now classics. "The Thing" is a 82 remake of "The Thing From Outer Space" and that was remarkably better and a stand alone classic.
"The Fly" was a 86 remake of the old V. Price film and that is also now a stand alone classic.
But the crap today, "The Fog, Black Christmas, Halloween, (Halloween for god's sake!) Psycho, Hills Have Eyes, Amityville Horror", etc, are ALL BAD FILMS. They are meant for kids who want gore to replace suspense.
Now they will remake "Hellraiser", artistically there is no reason to remake this film, financially there is and that is the bottom line.
I personally do not support these films, I wait til they are on cable, except I did rent "Halloween", hoping that Zombie could do something with it, but he failed.
You know, I have never understood wh filmmakers remake good films? Why not remake cheesy camp, their chance at a better film is greater.
When you remake Pscyho or Halloween, the only result possible is a worse film.
Remake Madness
I'm interested by what treuj said about remaking cheesy camp, how a filmmaker's chances of succeeding are better when the orginal movie was bad.
A camp remake I'm looking forward to is Death Race, though it doesn't look like it'll surpass the classic Death Race 2000 in much more than its level of violence. A friend of mine said, "It looks like they made it more violent but less disturbing than the original."
What he meant is that there's something horrific about the idea that the national pastime is centered around the killing of innocent people. And the sport is so popular, the only way to end it is to become a part of it (I'm speaking of how the Resistance sneaks their navigator into the race).
A campy movie I'd enjoy seeing remade is The Tingler, though it's hard to imagine a capable heir of Vincent Price. Maybe Nathan Fillion could play the scientist?
Remake Madness
The problem with the "Death Race" remake is that it is absolutely nothing like the original.
In the original "Death Race 2000", idolized contestants drove in themed cars across country. They got points for running people over. There were no real rules. Just cross the finish line alive with the most points. It ended with the main character "Frankenstein" assassinating the host of the show and taking over.
In the remake, the main character is framed for murder and sent to jail. It is where the warden puts on a wildly popular show (death race) pitting inmates against one another with heavily armed cars. The winner of the contest wins his freedom. Of course it will most likely end with the main character getting revenge on the warden who most likely had him framed to get him into the show. And I'm willing to bet that his car will be named "frankenstein" in homage to the original. But does it really have anything else in common? I don't think so.
Remake Madness
I have no qualms about remakes in general though I have to echo the sentiment of some of the other posters that it would be best to stary with a property with potential that was not perfect ant try to make it better which cna give you a final product like "the thing" rather than taking something great and cherished by your primary demographic and possibly ruining it ending with a final product like the new "psycho".I just want a filmmaker to be able to honestly say that they think they can do better than the original before thay attempt a remake; if someone wants to try to make Manos watchable I dont think anyone will try to stop them.
Edited by overusedplotdevice on 8/5/2008 at 10:29 CST
Pages
Add new comment