Remake

There’s no denying that the latest iteration of Mary Shelley’s classic is pretty terrible.

The bar was simply set too high with Campanella’s 2009 Oscar Winner, making this tepid remake feel both ill-advised and ill-conceived.

When Resident Evil originally hit the shelves in 1996, the term “survival-horror” was born. Though there were other darkly-themed experiences, such as Clock Tower, Resident Evil became known as the ultimate horror-gaming experience, with elements missing from the competition such as complicated puzzles, mysterious conspiracies, and most importantly, some genuine scares.

There were two distinct reactions coming from the news releases about the Annie remake. There was a collective groan from the cynics who like to complain about how Hollywood has no fresh ideas, and there was also a lot of excitement from social justice communities about a black Annie. Which side won out with the final product? That really depends on how charming you find Quvenzhané Wallis as the title character – as for me, I was sold and think it’s one of the best musicals of the past ten years.

This could either be a very interesting experiment or it could go horribly wrong. Eli Roth joins the remake of his 2002 directorial debut, Cabin Fever, as executive producer, Variety reports. Cameras start rolling this weekend and this time around the film with be directed by Travis Zariwny, who has a feature in post-production called Intruder …

The Cabin in the Woods was the final frontier for slasher films… or at least it should have been. Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s 2011 horror-comedy took all of the subgenre’s tropes and turned them on their head. It acknowledged every character stereotype and rejected each one. The slasher film received a complete deconstruction, and now it may be best to simply pack it away. Sadly, The Town That Dreaded Sundown heralds an uninspired return to form. It just may be the blandest movie to feature violent homicide and ruthless killers.

Deep under the surface of Hollywood ideas, treatments and discarded scripts roams something hideous, gliding blindly and occasionally breaking the surface whenever enough buzz about it is at a certain pitch. It never takes much noise, just the aloud musings of one executive as he ponders, “Reboot?” Not long ago, the franchise reboot replaced the …

Too few modern horror films take their cue from the power of suggestion. The less you show, the more terrifying your story can be. Some of the all-time greats of the genre, from The Haunting to The Shining, either show nothing scary or deliberately supernatural at all, or bide their time, allowing strange noises in the distance or unexpected shadows to do the heavy lifting.

They’re back!!! Sam Raimi and Gil Kenan are remaking the horror classic Poltergeist, and not even Hollywood rumors about a deadly curse are enough to stop them. What makes the original 1982 version so terrifying? Let’s recap. An average everyday family, living in a run-of-the-mill suburban house, begin to notice some strange things are happening in …

Jim Mickle’s previous film Stake Land, a post-apocalyptic road movie with a vampiric threat, combined the tone of something like The Road with narrative flourishes (invincible hunter known only as Mister, vampires launched from helicopters like dropping bombs) more akin to comic books.

Addiction is a fierce beast, a monster that takes many shapes and can consume people whole, at least if you look at it a certain way. It’s not a very subtle analogy, but one at the heart of the grim new film Evil Dead, based in no small part on the seminal horror film from the early 1980s that vaulted Sam Raimi into mainstream fame.

Headhunters  Directed by Morten Tyldum Written by Lars Gudmestad, Jo Nesbø, and Ulf Ryberg Norway, 2011 While American politicians abjectly deride the Scandinavians for being ‘pinko commies’, Hollywood has been taking notice of their considerable cinematic talent, finding every opportunity to import some of their best films for American remakes. David Fincher’s The Girl with …

Remakes, “re-adaptations”, and “re-imaginings” have been a frequent occurrence in cinema throughout much of its history, alongside the franchise “reboot” concept that has become particularly commonplace in the last decade. 2011, however, saw a rather curious trend of remakes of films and TV shows, either formerly original concepts or previous adaptations themselves, where the original’s …

There is a long tradition in storytelling of remakes, retellings, or in other ways copying someone else’s idea. Television is no exception. This fall season, two new British imports are on the way, Prime Suspect and The X Factor, and several of the most popular returning series originated across the pond as well. America has …

“Horror fans finally have a remake worthy of the original…” I Spit on Your Grave Dir. Steven R. Monroe (2010, USA, 107 mins.) Though the horror remake is fairly ubiquitous at today’s cinema, and though most horror remakes have been terrible, fans of Meir Zarchi’s 1978 controversial film can breath a sigh of relief. Director …

Michael Bay’s production company, Platinum Dunes, has been brought on by Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures to reboot the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise. Deadline reports that producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form will tag along with Galen Walker and Scott Mednick and meet with writers within the next few weeks to establish pre-production ideas. With …

So, it was announced as of April 2009, that Guillaume Canet’s incredible French thriller Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One) will receive the ultimate Hollywood retouch. An English language remake. Not much was heard after that announcement, but now according to Variety magazine Miramax and Focus Features will be handling this one. Tell …

Twisted Pictures, the production company behind the never-ending Saw series, is in talks with LIONSGATE to buy the movie rights to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with plans to relaunch the series in 3D. Stephen Susco, a horror specialist who is most famous for penning the remake of The Grudge will write the script and Carl …

Children of The Corn Directed by Donald P. Borchers In what’s being marketed as a “rebirth,” Children of the Corn revisits the 80’s classic that spawned 6 sequels and countless amounts of children to fear those long weekends in the country.  There’s a trend happening again in the Horror genre. A trend that makes a …

The Warner Bros. division is developing a sequel of sorts to the 1983 comedy classic, with David Dobkin attached to produce and possibly direct. New Line is meeting with writers to develop the script focusing on Rusty Griswold, the son of Clark Griswold, now a father in his own right who decides to follow the family …

David Cronenberg is in talks to develop a reboot of the 1986 classic The Fly, writing and potentially directing the remake. The project would represent a chance for Cronenberg to return to a film that helped establish his career, with the technology needed to tackle the effects which wasn’t possible in the 80’s. Strangely Cronenberg  …

Judge Dredd, starring Sylvester Stallone and Diane Lane, was a commercial and critical flop back in 1995. Now, nearly 15 years later, it seems that a reboot for the film is in the works. Screenwriter Alex Garland, known for 28 Days Later and Sunshine, has apparently written a script. The report came in from comic …

This is definitely the week for Rob Zombie fans to come together and celebrate their favorite singer/writer/director/producer. With Halloween 2 hitting theaters this Friday, Rob Zombie is yet again signing on to direct another remake. According to Variety Magazine, Zombie will write, produce and direct a remake of the 1958 horror flick The Blob. Zombie …