A Thought On Remakes

Let’s talk remakes…In just two days, our movie theaters will be overrun by the Wolfman remake, and 2 weeks later, The Crazies will hit moviegoers. Not all remakes are bad, or good for that matter. I’ll give you an example. I am a huge fan of James Gunn’s take of Dawn of the Dead. Yes I know that was a George A. Romero classic. I also know that Gunn is a fanboy for Romero’s zombie films. I have seen both Dawn of the Dead versions and it’s my opinion that James did a great job and thus surpassed the original. I can hear you arguing already. Yes it is possible for remakes or reboots to exceed the originals. It happens all the time. I will add to this list Last House on the Left, originally directed by Wes Craven. But I have to draw the line with Amityville Horror (Sorry Ryan Reynolds. You were good, but the original retained the creepy feel through the entire movie.) and Halloween. I’m sure you knew that one was coming. You at least sensed it, right? I will always love John Carpenter’s Halloween more than Rob Zombie’s revision. That won’t change. I will probably even go to the grave believing that Jamie Lee Curtis outperformed and outscreamed Scout Taylor-Compton. That’s just the way it is and it’s also just my opinion.

You heard me right. It’s my opinion. It’s how I feel about things. That’s all opinions are. You can add facts to the mix and come up with a hypothesis if you like. It doesn’t change the fact that we all view movies differently, especially remakes. That point brings me to the new Nightmare on Elm Street set for release in April. It has been hyped some here and there. We all know that Jackie Earle Haley is taking over Robert Englund’s role as Freddy Krueger. What we don’t know yet is if he does the role justice. I realize that Freddy had a rye and unique sense of humor. What’s even more evident is that he was almost punned to death the further along you got in the sequels. Bad jokes were everywhere and it only worsened with Freddy vs. Jason. You know it. I know it. So let’s move on…Haley’s Freddy will probably be much darker and sinister. I’m looking forward to that. I want to see the Freddy that first scared me in the very first movie. He needs to be scary. That same Freddy unfortunately plagued my nightmares for years to come, but I think you get the point.

Maybe I got a bit off track there. The bottom line is that we don’t have to naysay remakes right off the bat. Maybe they do better or they do worse. Only time will tell if the film studios threw their money away on a bad idea. I even feel that it is our duty as horror fanatics to watch both movies. Re-watch the original and then see the remake. Then we’ll talk. Who knows, maybe one of these movies will help to reshape what horror movies should be!



One Response to “A Thought On Remakes”

1. Coleman Hilfiker says:

   March 7, 2010 at 7:00 pm

   Thanks, Keep up the Great work