Birmingham, West Midlands, UK
19 Sept 14
Happy Friday Fright everyone! Mr Kaos here, the gorgeous Kitty is busy writing you lovely lot some awesome new posts so has graciously let me host this edition of Friday Fright! This is my first ever blog post so please bare with me! With that in mind lets all take a deep breathe and begin!
As the title subtly hints at this Friday Fright's blog is all about the horror re-make. So what happens when Hollywood turns Herbert West and tries to inject some new life into the blood soaked silver screen of yesteryear?
The late seventies and early eighties heralded golden age for the horror film, with censorship loosening and the new and exciting invention of the slasher flick, some of the biggest blockbusters of the decades belong to the genre. When Friday nights were reserved for date night, curious and excited couples would pack theatres for the latest blood bath! Get scared, hold your baby tight and enjoy the rush! Not a new concept I know, it's reminiscent of the '50's American drive-in cinema, new and edgy films for hormonal teenage couples looking for new kicks. With that in mind it shouldn't surprise you the first wave of horror remakes were rehashed versions of '50s B movies (The Blob, The Thing, The Fly), now in colour with added splatter!
But what now? How do major studios cater to the fright fans of a new era? Home media and seemingly endless supply of TV channels have hardened the generations to what was once considered shocking. How has a big budget and a new wave of special effects treated some of our favourite horror films? Here's a few select cuts from Hollywood's "Nu-horror cinema".
First on the chopping block is the 2010 version of I Spit On Your Grave. A pretty appropriate remake of Meir Zarchis original video nasty. With it's predecessor championed as one of the most controversial films ever made it's no surprise the remake is an over enthusiastic gore fest. Despite the addition of a corrupt sheriff the already sparse script and plot of the original is stretched even further to accommodate more elaborate death scenes. Gratuitous bloodshed takes centre stage in what appears to be Steven.R.Monroe trying to appease the SAW generation with a hip new portrayal of one of the nastiest movies ever made.
Next up Alexandre Ajar 2006 reworking of Wes Cravens The Hills Have Eyes is a loving homage to the original with added extras! It's an almost shot for shot replica of the original with an expanded script and glossier camera work. With no spoilers all I can say is the back story of the menacing cannibal family is built upn with a slick script twist and an additional scene in the middle of the feature. Although the film is well executed the characters seem a little two dimensional, with the main protagonists seeming a little too all American, A little too clean cut and a little too generic.
Finally billed as Rob Zombie's Halloween this movie lets you know from the start it's a new directors interpretation of an others work. John Carpenters original is one of the highest grossing and praised films of the horror genre, so it made sense that Zombies version was more of a re-imagining. Beautifully shot and scored, the first half of the film is a short prequel exploring Micheal Myers childhood and development into one of cinemas most notorious psychopaths, while the latter part of the film does a bloody good job at retelling the original film. The movie's a fright fans geeky dream! With subtle winks to the Carpenter original (as well as Zombie's previous works) and appearances from cult cinema stars along with Rob's regular roster of performers the casting seemed spot on. Even though we've seen these actors previously in some incredibly strong roles the characters are well developed enough to cover this. As a film in it's own right it would be brilliant but sadly lacks the tension and suspense of it's predecessor.
With that I think it brings it to the tragic curse of the remake! Can a remake ever truly outshine the original? Especially in the horror genre, with a hardcore fan base of loyal gore hounds, blood junkies and terror fiends, cinema fans don't get more passionate! (Shit, you don't weekend film festivals celebrating rom coms do ya?) The films I've mentioned are a small fragment of a massive surge of remakes, prequels, and re-imaginings, with every big name (Friday 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare On Elm Street) being tampered with by major studios and redesigned for a new audience. Many of these films, like Zombies Halloween , are good films by their own merit but, with comparisons obviously going to be drawn to some of people's favourite films, just can't step out of the shadows of their originals.
That about wraps it up Fright fans! So chat back with your opinions! Is there anything you think that's crying out for a remake? Or are there films Hollywood shouldn't touch? With all these remakes has Hollywood ran out of ideas?! And most importantly.....How'd I do?
Thanks for reading creeps!
I hate the remakes. Part of the charm of the originals are the shocking special effects and gore, many were B movies, and the big budget remakes just don't cut it for me.
ReplyDelete#UKBloggers
I totally agree it is like the big budget just go way over the top x
DeleteI really dislike outright remakes where they're basically copies, but I think if the same story line is used but it's different it can be good. Some of the effects of old films are so old it's more like a comedy than a horror!
ReplyDeleteIndia #UKBloggers
Ha I love the old FX they were made by hand so that makes them real special x
DeleteIt may seem strange me reply to a post on my page but as I didn't write this one I wanted to give my opinion. Remakes can often be Hollywood just being lazy and not working on new ideas because they know that curiosity will get the better of the original fans. We all vowed never to watch the Evil Dead remake but what a shame it would have been if we didnt check it out as it is a completely new re-imagining. I think remakes need to bring something new to the table instead of lazily scene for scene copying the original *cough* Psycho *cough*.
ReplyDelete