With the remake of "Evil Dead" about to hit theaters on April 5th (as I write this), I started thinking again about remakes. "Evil Dead" actually looks pretty good, and advance word on it has been very positive. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are both involved, so I am planning on seeing it.
It seems that over the last decade or so, we have been flooded by endless remakes, prequels, sequels and the dreaded "reimagining". Of course, remakes are nothing new, and have been a film staple for quite a while. It just seems that in the horror genre in particular, almost every month there's some remake of some horror film.
In recent years, we've been treated to remakes of some venerable horror classics such as "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Friday the 13th", "Last House on the Left", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and. the one that shattered my soul the most, Rob Zombie's remake of "Halloween".
All of this got me thinking, "What's really going on here? Why so many remakes? Are they good for the genre or bad for the genre?" So many questions......
I know that many horror fans are rabidly anti-remake, and I can completely understand that, especially when it comes to the classics, like the ones I mentioned above. While I am not nearly as militant as some fans, I still can't help but wonder why Hollywood bothers to remake some of these horror classics. The originals have stood the test of time, and still hold up today. I still maintain that the original "Nightmare on Elm Street" is a very creepy, scary film. The original "Halloween" is one of my favorite horror films of all time, as is "Last House on the Left".
So, why bother? The answer is simple. MONEY. We fans tend to forget that Hollywood studios are corporations and corporations exist to turn a profit. That's it. If I told you that you could invest $5 million in a project, and that it would pay back $50 million in the end, you would ask me where the dotted line was so you could sign up, and please don't tell me that you wouldn't. The studios know that the current, young generation of filmgoers will make these films the number one film the weekend that they are released.
It seems that over the last decade or so, we have been flooded by endless remakes, prequels, sequels and the dreaded "reimagining". Of course, remakes are nothing new, and have been a film staple for quite a while. It just seems that in the horror genre in particular, almost every month there's some remake of some horror film.
In recent years, we've been treated to remakes of some venerable horror classics such as "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Friday the 13th", "Last House on the Left", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and. the one that shattered my soul the most, Rob Zombie's remake of "Halloween".
All of this got me thinking, "What's really going on here? Why so many remakes? Are they good for the genre or bad for the genre?" So many questions......
I know that many horror fans are rabidly anti-remake, and I can completely understand that, especially when it comes to the classics, like the ones I mentioned above. While I am not nearly as militant as some fans, I still can't help but wonder why Hollywood bothers to remake some of these horror classics. The originals have stood the test of time, and still hold up today. I still maintain that the original "Nightmare on Elm Street" is a very creepy, scary film. The original "Halloween" is one of my favorite horror films of all time, as is "Last House on the Left".
So, why bother? The answer is simple. MONEY. We fans tend to forget that Hollywood studios are corporations and corporations exist to turn a profit. That's it. If I told you that you could invest $5 million in a project, and that it would pay back $50 million in the end, you would ask me where the dotted line was so you could sign up, and please don't tell me that you wouldn't. The studios know that the current, young generation of filmgoers will make these films the number one film the weekend that they are released.
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Let's also keep in mind that not all remakes suck. Regardless of how militant and cavalier you want to be on the topic, you have to admit that some remakes are actually quite good. Allow me to draw your attention to the photos above. Ring any bells? Are you really going to tell The Horror Nerd that these films suck simply because they are remakes? Shit, John Carpenter's "The Thing" is on many people's top ten list. Go tell Carpenter that he's an asshole because he remade a film. I also enjoyed a few other recent remakes. "The Hills Have Eyes" was dirty, grimy and made me feel uncomfortable. "The Uninvited" and "The Crazies" are also two good examples of decent remakes. Heck, even "Dawn of the Dead" was pretty good.
I think the problem comes in when we fans perceive that what we feel is "a classic" is being tampered with. Don't get me wrong. If they ever remake "The Exorcist" or "Jaws" my head will probably explode. I feel there was NO need to remake films like "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Friday the 13th" because the originals still hold up after all these years. The best remakes are ones of films that were not that great to begin with, or have become old and tired. Tell me that a film like "Soylent Green" is not ripe for a remake.
I'm going to make a statement that I am sure many fans will not find popular, but it's the truth. We horror fans tend to feel that we "own" these films somehow. Yes, in a way we do. It is we who have cherished and supported them over all these years and have kept them popular. But, when you get right down to it, these films are not owned by us, they are owned by the fimmakers, who ultimately can do with them as they see fit.
Let me ask you this, fellow freaks. Why should Rob Zombie's shitty remake of "Halloween", or the awful American remakes of classic Asian horror films diminish your love of the originals in any way? So they're remaking a film. So f**king what? Don't go see it. Instead, get a bunch of friends together, some of whom have not seen the originals, and WATCH THEM. Go and buy them when they come out on blu-ray. When a local theater puts them on the big screen, GO AND SEE THEM! It's that simple.
I think the problem comes in when we fans perceive that what we feel is "a classic" is being tampered with. Don't get me wrong. If they ever remake "The Exorcist" or "Jaws" my head will probably explode. I feel there was NO need to remake films like "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Friday the 13th" because the originals still hold up after all these years. The best remakes are ones of films that were not that great to begin with, or have become old and tired. Tell me that a film like "Soylent Green" is not ripe for a remake.
I'm going to make a statement that I am sure many fans will not find popular, but it's the truth. We horror fans tend to feel that we "own" these films somehow. Yes, in a way we do. It is we who have cherished and supported them over all these years and have kept them popular. But, when you get right down to it, these films are not owned by us, they are owned by the fimmakers, who ultimately can do with them as they see fit.
Let me ask you this, fellow freaks. Why should Rob Zombie's shitty remake of "Halloween", or the awful American remakes of classic Asian horror films diminish your love of the originals in any way? So they're remaking a film. So f**king what? Don't go see it. Instead, get a bunch of friends together, some of whom have not seen the originals, and WATCH THEM. Go and buy them when they come out on blu-ray. When a local theater puts them on the big screen, GO AND SEE THEM! It's that simple.
For my final thoughts on the matter, I will say this. For me, the saddest thing about remakes is that while Hollywood is churning out one after the other, this means that there are probably tons of good screenplays sitting on the shelf that are being passed over because the studios are afraid to take a chance on something new or different. They know that they can remake "An American Werewolf in London" and it will be the number one film that weekend. For every remake that gets done, a potentially excellent film is being passed over.
When all is said and done, it's up to us, the fan base, to decide where to spend our hard-earned dollars. Don't like remakes? Don't go see them. We can lament these things until the end of time, but they won't change. You want to make a difference? Attend a screening of a new independent horror film. Go to a film festival and support the filmmakers. Go to a convention and purchase a bunch of indie horror film and, if your theater has the balls to show an unrated horror film, GO AND SEE IT!
THE HORROR NERD COMMANDS YOU!
When all is said and done, it's up to us, the fan base, to decide where to spend our hard-earned dollars. Don't like remakes? Don't go see them. We can lament these things until the end of time, but they won't change. You want to make a difference? Attend a screening of a new independent horror film. Go to a film festival and support the filmmakers. Go to a convention and purchase a bunch of indie horror film and, if your theater has the balls to show an unrated horror film, GO AND SEE IT!
THE HORROR NERD COMMANDS YOU!
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