That new Evil Dead
remake got me all riled up and thinking about remakes in general so here are some
thoughts.
We’ve had some good ones over the years like The Thing (1982), The Fly (1986) and Dracula
(1992). And we’ve had some bad ones (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Planet of the Apes (2001)). But generally speaking there are two types of
remakes in my opinion. There are those
that are based on some sort of prose like Carrie
or Batman. And those based on a previous movie like Last Man Standing (Yojimbo), Halloween and Evil Dead.
It may be a small difference but I think it’s an important
one. Let me put it to you this way: no
one is rewriting The Great Gatsby or The Lord of the Rings. No one seriously says “I could write that
book better.” But people do say “I could make that movie better”
or something very close to that like “I have some new ideas that could work brilliantly
on this great old tale.” With going from
book to movie you’re attempting to adapt to a different medium but going from
movie to movie you’re staying within the same medium. This is what makes that second category so
dangerously egregious. It doesn’t matter
what the intention is, the people doing the remake are saying they can build a
better mousetrap or, at the very least, make a product just as good as the
original in some way or another.
Now I really really want to say that I think these Hollywood
studios have the wrong idea about remakes because they keep redoing films that
were either successful and/or well known.
I really really want to say that these aren’t necessarily the right
candidates. I really really want to say
that the ideal contender should be something that has a good idea but was executed
poorly (whether script-wise or production-wise). I mean why remake shit like Alice in Wonderland or A Nightmare on Elm Street? They were done pretty perfectly already. Well the problem with thinking that way is
you never know. You just never know how
something could turn out in different hands under the right circumstances. Hell, the 2009 Girl with the Dragon Tattoo seemed fine but the 2011 remake showed
that certain parts could be improved and that the original wasn’t the best it
could be. This is why I’m ok with
remakes (and reboots for that matter). You
don’t know until you try it.
Overall I think I still prefer sequels or rip offs more
though. With those you might not realize
(potentially ever) that they’re the same as another film. At least they’re trying to fool you for a
minute that you’re watching something different and that attempt is a commendable
one. Plus it’s like I just said, the
changes made could be a substantial improvement over the original. Look at Terminator
2. It’s pretty much the same movie
as its predecessor but with some retooling and tweaking you get something better
than the first go around. I also think Drive is better than the movie it ripped
off, The Driver (it’s still a really
cool movie though and you should definitely check it out if you liked Drive).
Sure remakes are frustrating more often than not and they
rightly get held to a higher standard if you’re a fan of the original but don’t
lose faith in them. A remake will come
out one day that’ll knock you’re block off and you’ll see that they’re a
worthwhile venture.
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