An image of Jackie Earl Haley as the NEW Freddy Kruger.
I know I've said this in blogs, rants, podcasts and other things. But I am not a fan of remakes. Especially ones that aren't needed. Granted, there are some remakes that I can see. For nostalgia purposes. Like I guess the BRADY BUNCH movie was fun for fans of that (which I am not). and in essence, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and the new STAR TREK movie are "remakes" (although one of those essentially carries the same continuity into the new evolved continuity through good storytelling).
there are some good remakes of movies that are perfectly fine the way they are. DAWN OF THE DEAD by Zack Snyder for example. It was surprisingly good. But if I had to pick one, I'd pick the Romero version by far.
Unfortunately, the genre of horror seems to be the biggest target for this stuff. Every single horror film ever made is now being remade. Upcoming: April Fool's Day, Mother's Day, Anguish, and more. And now this: the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. and if you watch the original right now, it still totally holds up. Plus, Robert England is an iconic actor in the role and would definately be up to do more. And wasn't JASON VS FREDDY actually pretty damn decent? So why do it? Why remake this? Whats the point?
Cause Hollywood hasn't come up with an original idea for years. Treadin' water, they are. In fact, the last original idea I can think of is BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. An independent film. And now hollywood is taking that for their own, with films like CLOVERFIELD, QUARANTINE and even romero's DIARY OF THE DEAD. Granted, some of the torture porn movies like SAW and HOSTEL are genrating interest, but its not "horror." Its torture porn. Pure and simple. (albeit well done in Hostel's case)
I guess I am just frustrated with the way hollywood is going lately and it doesn't appear to be ending any time soon. They've announced remakes of ROBOCOP, PREDATOR, THE RUNNING MAN and many more. Films that are just fucking fine the way they are. Robocop is a great film, with great social commentary and it totally holds up. Why remake it? and PREDATOR? Hands down one of the top 5 action movies of all time. If it ain't broke, why the fuck fix it?
Money. Pure and simple.
Lost is the art, the motivation and inspirations of the original. Just put some effects and some tits together and make a film. Its hollywood in the 2000's. I weep.
Sorry for the rant. Its just that I am a hardcore film fan and really don't see anything new coming out that is exciting me. Not for a long time. Alot of my favorite actors and directors are retiring or dying and I'm not taking it well. Cause the new captains haven't even gripped the wheel that well. There's no capable hands anymore, save for a few indie guys.
I guess thats where its at. Independents. (hey, that sounds vaguely reminiscent of comics doesn't it?)
T
1 comment:
Great rant - I remember hearing Doug Bradley (Pinhead from Hellraiser) recently talk about remakes. He was upset about the Nightmare remakes, and said he fully expects to hear about a Hellraiser remake without being included (I think he even said it's already being talked about). He said that if Hollywood is ignorant enough to make a Nightmare without Robert, they would certainly make a Hellraiser without Doug. Unfortunate.
I agree with the remakes you mentioned. I have liked most of what Darren Lynn Bousman has done (even thought he's doing some remakes). But, the indie scene is where all the good stuff is.
By the way, you could say there are two "new" idea movies out (or coming up). "Orphan" and "The Collector" appear NOT be remakes, and they are not PG-13 horror. "Orphan" came in at #4 in it's opening, and I'm curious how "The Collector" will do.
Also, don't forget we recently had Sam Raimi's return to horror with "Drag Me To Hell". Sure it was PG-13, but it was not a remake and was actually quite good (ending wasn't edited for morons). This was another one that hit #4 in opening weekend.
Maybe there is some hope, but there needs to be more support of the original stuff.
Just my opinion.
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