Remakes

[Tad]

The way I see it, in stage and theatre the same stories are told 100 times over by different actors in different ways on different stages. Hamlet, for example. There are a dozen film adaptations, and it's been told on stage thousands of times over.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a great film. And I enjoyed seeing it retold in 2003. The Amityville Horror. If I hated anything about the remake, it's that the end "explained" shit. When, in fact, what makes the story so great is that there IS no explanation. In any case, I was able to enjoy it. I hear Near Dark is getting a remake. I highly doubt they can pull anything off better than the original. But Near Dark is a fantastic story that I could appreciate seeing retold. Bill Paxton IS Severen, but I can't help but be curious to see other adaptations of the character. Or Jesse, Mae and Homer for that matter.

I don't see the downside of seeing a great horror film reenvisioned. It doesn't take anything away from the original film. The worst a bad remake of a great film can do is... be bad. (The Fog)

Often the only reason some of these films are remade are for... financial gain. Film production companies raking in dollars recycling old ideas. Not a lot of people really, actually care about retelling the story so much as they do about using an old, fan-favourite moneymaker to make even more. Freddy vs. Jason was a terrible movie by most standards. I love it, but it was such a hack production it hurts my abdomen. Ronny Yu didn't know what he was doing, with FvJ OR Bride of Chucky. But that's "the biz". It didn't matter. The names Freddy, Jason and Chucky would be enough to ring in ticket sales. But I don't believe that's always the case. Based on interviews I've seen, articles I've read, etc., the makers of 2003's TCM were really, truly attempting to retell the story effectively. Whether they pulled it off successfully or not, I can't help but commend a fan of the original story for trying.

Thoughts to expand on?

My feelings exactly, lemme be honest first of all, I'm 19 years old, I love horror movies, but I can honestly say, growing up with all this new technology and much better quality in movies, it's really hard for me to go back and watch older movies, but I do, I try, I enjoyed the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I enjoyed the remake more, Dawn of the Dead, same story, I'll even go as far as saying House of Wax, but I do enjoy both the originals and the remakes, and when I here a new horror movie is being remade, I'm extremeley excited, and ready and always will be waiting to jump on it.

By the way this is my first post, so don't be to harsh, lol.

[the_real_linda]

i know what you mean....being of the same generation but ive always watched horror films so i rember the quality of halloween and elm street or evil dead and such and have seen how films have progressed so love the older films more....blame my mother for letting me watch them since i can remember.

[Elvis_Christ]

I thought Ronny Yu did a great job with Bride of Chucky and Freddy vs Jason.

[the_real_linda]

i love them!!!! jen tilly :D :D

[Fred Krueger]

With remakes it depends on their intention. For instance, rob Zombie is going to "reimagine" Halloween. However, are they going to leave it at that, or restart the series anew from the remake, making the other films pointless? Although i loved it, I'm the first to admit that Halloween:Resurrection was chaos, but it did give one thing to the makers of the next sequel: Myers' mask was burnt to his face. It could have been a new direction, making it a bit more gruesome, who knows?

I was a fan of TCM 2003, i'm a fan of many remakes, but only if they don't render an entire series of films obsolete.

What i don't want to see is what has happened to a non-horror series: Batman. The fourth film in the original series was terrible (although i love Arnold as Mr. Freeze) so they go back to the beginning. It could have been fine, except they mention the Joker at the end of the film thus rendering the first Batman useless!!!

So if you can derive a point from all that blather, its that i enjoy remakes that don't sacrifice a whole series in the name of saving a franchise.

Oh, and just as a side note, Freddy vs Jason is, in my opinion, one of the bext old school horror films to come out in a long time.

[Tad]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the blue hell out of FvJ and BoC. It doesn't get much better than when Jason storms the cornfield rave, slicing and fucking dicing. First class Jason Voorhees. But I don't understand some things about Yu's approach to these classic horror icons. Opening and closing the films, or orchestrating fight scenes with death metal. Everybody's smoking pot all the fucking time. Maybe it's just his attempt to bring the characters into the 21st century, surrounding them with pot and Slipknot. Whatever the case, too much change and "updating" to a classic horror franchise irritates me. As far as the characters, they were spot on. Chucky was still Chucky in BoC. Jason was as great as ever. But the story and setting surrounding them made both films feel... cheaper.

[the_real_linda]

i dont quite know hoe but i know what you mean....bout the cheapness.....im not sure how or why i perceive them like this....perhaps its because we've seen these characters so many times before and its a little worn....im not saying i dont love some of these films

[alkytrio666]

To wrap my opinions on the subject up shortly:

By supporting remakes we're also supporting an already abundant and ignorant refusal by the general population to watch anything made before 1990.

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally Posted by alkytrio666

By supporting remakes we're also supporting an already abundant and ignorant refusal by the general population to watch anything made before 1990.

Not going to remakes isn't going to change that.