Horror filmdom has suffered a rash of remakes these past few decades. It's one of the more disheartening trends in modern horror.
What was the point of the Omen remake? It mimicked the original, scene for scene, but without Jerry Goldsmith's creepily demonic music soundtrack. Nearly identical, minus some of the better parts.
The Haunting remake was no better despite offering a new story. The remake removed all the ghostly atmosphere and subtle characterizations of the original, replacing them with embarrassingly silly and inappropriate CGI effects. I suppose Hollywood thought that “modern” means CGI.
Dozens of other examples come to mind. But the big question: What's the point of all these remakes?
John Carpenter offers a theory. In the Special Features documentary on The Fog remake's DVD (another inferior remake), Carpenter says:
“I've heard several reasons why horror films are being remade. One, I think, probably is the simplest explanation, is a lot of kids have heard of these movies, but they've never really seen them. Maybe they've heard their older brothers or their parents talk about them. So it's in their consciousness, but they've never paid attention.
“But in general there's a cultural mindset right now that says anything over fifteen years old is kind of dead and old-fashioned. And so in order to make it viable again, we need to take it out, and kind of give it a fresh coat of paint, and try to revise the corpse.”
So Hollywood thinks that young horror fans have heard of these old films and are interested in seeing them, but refuse to do so because the films are over 15 years old.
Huh?
Does anyone say, “Wow, that film sounds great. I'd like to see it. But it's old, and so I can't.”
Not only illogical, but contrary to the evidence.
Horror is the most enduring of genres. The 1930s Dracula and Frankenstein films remain widely known and admired nearly a century later. Even lesser known horror films from that period (e.g., The Black Cat, The Raven, Maniac, The Devil Bat) win new fans each year. Despite some exceptions (e.g., Gone with the Wind, Stagecoach) the same cannot be said for dramas or westerns from the 1930s.
Horror is evergreen. Hardcore horror fans love horror films from every decade. There's no need to remake the older films (even if Hollywood does, on rare occasion, do it well, as in 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers).
So why does Hollywood produce so many remakes? Three theories come to mind.
1. Famous older films are seen as a pre-sold commodity, hence, a “sure thing.”
2. Hollywood has run out of new ideas.
3. Young horror fans refuse to watch any horror films made before the 2000s.
Of those three theories, I doubt there's much truth to #3. Young casual film goers might shun older horror films -- but not young hardcore horror film fans.
Ironically, the hardcore horror film fan is the core target market for these horror remakes. Why? Because only they would know about, or care about, all the horror films that have been remade over the past 15 years.
The Toolbox Murders Thirteen Ghosts, The House on Haunted Hill -- all remade (even when they only kept the title). Not the sort of films known to casual film goers, but films that continue to attract hardcore horror fans of every age.
I believe that hardcore horror film fans of every age, being connoisseurs, appreciate horror films of every era. No need for all the bad remakes. Try to come up with something original (e.g., It Follows).
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To learn about the four attractions of horror films, see Horror Film Aesthetics: Creating the Visual Language of Fear. This blog represents a continuing discussion of my views on horror, picking up from where the book left off.
