Thread: Horror remakes

A Nightmare on Elm Street is the one that I'm really looking forward to. I absolutely loved the original series. I love how surreal they are. Those movies struck a (creative) nerve with me that most of those other slasher films just didn't even come close to. Child's Play (the first one) is still one of the scariest movies I can remember, though it's been ages since I've seen it, but as far as sheer creativity and twisted-ness, nothing beats the Nightmare series.

I hope they continue to make more of them, but continue making them good. They've gotten a bit stale, in the later versions, but they are still badass.

Yeah, that's definitely the one I'm looking forward to the most, though I'm curious to see what they do with the new Hellraiser. I heard that the Nightmare movie is going to be a series re-boot, bu I also heard rumors that Robert Englund won't be returning as Freddy. That would suck, but I guess it's kind of necessary if they want to keep the series going, because Englund is getting pretty old.

As far as Hellraiser, they may be giving Pinhead a revamped look, kinda like how they did with Michael's mask in the remake:



I think it's a great idea to kind of freshen up the image.

I am looking forward to the Hellraiser remake, even the subsequent bad ones are entertaining and chilling to me. Hopefully they do this right (although, is Clive Barker involved in the remake at all? He's a badass, and some of his other short stories are being made into movies as well).

I'm pretty sure that Clive isn't directing. I could be wrong though. I also heard that they're doing a candyman remake.

I am appalled every time a classic horror movie is remade. It is just wrong. It is like rewriting a classic novel or repainting a classic painting. "Hey, this new artist is going to repaint Henri Rousseu's The Sleeping Gypsy! Some guy is going to repaint Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and put it on display at the Met after he finishes rewriting Moby Dick! Yay!!!!" Think of it. That is what people are trying to bring about by remaking classic horror legends. That The Amityville Horror remake, which I absolutely refuse to watch, is the one that went the furthest out of bounds, and the remake of The Omen is right behind it. I won't watch that one either. If they ever remake The Exorcist, I am going to start a riot in Hollywood.

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

I am appalled every time a classic horror movie is remade. It is just wrong. It is like rewriting a classic novel or repainting a classic painting. "Hey, this new artist is going to repaint Henri Rousseu's The Sleeping Gypsy! Some guy is going to repaint Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and put it on display at the Met after he finishes rewriting Moby Dick! Yay!!!!" Think of it. That is what people are trying to bring about by remaking classic horror legends. That The Amityville Horror remake, which I absolutely refuse to watch, is the one that went the furthest out of bounds, and the remake of The Omen is right behind it. I won't watch that one either. If they ever remake The Exorcist, I am going to start a riot in Hollywood.

I can understand that. I have a few mixed feelings about it, though.

I mean, I compare it to someone covering someone else's song, and putting their own twist on it. I love listening to different versions of songs, but I never let that take away from the weight of the original. I consider them to be tributes, not that they're necessarily trying to "one-up" the original artist.

That's kind of how I like to see movie remakes (though it's hard to at times, I admit. Sometimes you look at these remakes - especially since it seems to be more of a trend lately, than honest tributes, and just have to ask yourself "...why??").

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

I can understand that. I have a few mixed feelings about it, though.

I mean, I compare it to someone covering someone else's song, and putting their own twist on it. I love listening to different versions of songs, but I never let that take away from the weight of the original. I consider them to be tributes, not that they're necessarily trying to "one-up" the original artist.

That's kind of how I like to see movie remakes (though it's hard to at times, I admit. Sometimes you look at these remakes - especially since it seems to be more of a trend lately, than honest tributes, and just have to ask yourself "...why??").

Okay, I will try to look at it like that. I will... try.

Remakes of songs piss me off too. However, I can think of two exceptions to all of this. The remake of the movie Cape Fear is unbelievably good. Martin Scorsese directed it and cast De Niro as the bad guy. It is one of the best thrillers ever. The original was not just all that great, and the remake is phenomenal, so that example gets a pass. Also, Steve Miller's version of Paul Pena's song "Jet Airliner" is extremely good. I am totally cool with those two remakes. I can't think of any others I am okay with, off the top of my head, except for a few concert performances of other people's songs. Doing it in the studio is competely different. Usually, I see remakes as insults to the originals, but I will attempt to see from your perspective that they are tributes.

I personally love remakes for the most part. For example, if there's a good classic movie like Hellraiser, then why not remake it and put a new twist on it and freshen things up? Sure, it could totally suck, but it will never take anything away from the original. There's really nothing to lose, there's nowhere to go but up. Look at The Blob for instance. The original is the best and nothing can ever take away from that. It may have a far inferior remake, but who cares (and another is on the way)? You can still enjoy remakes even if they're not as good as the originals. And if it's bad, there's no reason to complain about it, just don't watch it!

Besides, remakes can be just as good if not better than the originals. A lot of people hate on remakes because 90% of the time they don't do the original justice, but that doesn't mean all remakes are like that. After all, the main reason remakes are made is to make lots of money so most of them actually succeed in that regard. But as far as the quality of the actual movie, I think it's a really good idea to remake old movies in order to open them up to a newer audience and freshen them up with better effects and such. Not only that, but you can get a whole other experience from them, with tweaked storylines and other elements.

For instance, look at the movie Scarface. The original came out it the 30s, but how many people even know that? By far the 80s version with Al Pacino is more well known, and has a bigger fanbase. The original was good, don't get me wrong, but the movie would have died had it not been for the 80s remake. The remake opened up a whole new audience to enjoy the original who would have never know it existed, and they get a totally different experience from watching the two films. Just like you can get a totally different experience from listening to a song sung by different people, like Oneironaut said. Take the song "Georgia on my mind" for example. Yes, Hoagy Carmichael was the first to sing it, followed by Frankie Trumbauer; but who has the best rendition and most well-known version of the song? Ray Charles. Now the song will be passed on to another generation for some artist to pick it up and record his rendition of it. Back to movies, when there's a really good story, there's no reason to just let it die and move on. Like George Lucas once said, "Movies are never finished, they're just abandoned."

Bump, a new concept teaser for A Nightmare on Elm Street remake:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxPmOP1_HIY

Is Robert Englund going to be the new Freddy?

I hope that the new Hellraiser is consistent with the first couple. In the first two, Pinhead never does anything to the innocent, he has to be summoned by someone wanting to see him. I remember in Hellraiser 2 Pinhead calls his minions off of an idiot savant who opened the box because it was not her desire, it was her doctor's.

Nope, Jackie Earle Haley will be the new Freddy Kruegar.



He's the same guy who played Rorschach in Watchmen.

That's no fun... I'll bet Robert Englund didn't want to go anywhere near this disaster waiting to happen.

Actually I think the makers made the decision to go with a new, younger Freddy in order to carry on with a new line of Nightmare movies. I'm equally disappointed that Englund won't be reprising his role, but I'm also interested to see what this new actor brings to the table.

I remember when Kane Hodder first played Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part VII nobody liked him because he portrayed Jason so much differently than the other actors, but now he has become the definitive Jason.

I'm not saying that Jackie Haley will one-up Englund, but I'm interested to see his interpretation of Freddy. I also read that Freddy won't be cracking as many jokes this time around, with more focus on scariness.

Release date: April 30, 2010

I think it's odd how they have Freddy on fire.