The Main Mistake When Remaking Horror Movies...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Last House On The Left (2009)... A great example of a remade horror movie![/caption]

As we all know, Hollywood, for about the last decade or so, has been remaking just about everything that has ever come out... With a special emphasis on remaking horror movies...

I have wondered why this is... I mean is it because they are out of ideas? Or maybe Hollywood in it's bid to continue to suck out every cent that they could out of some of horror's most classic horror movie franchises (like, 'Friday The 13th', or 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'... Just to name a few.)

Well for whatever the reasons that maybe, there is one thing that they have mostly done wrong when it comes to trying to remake these movies... In my opinion it is one of the biggest mistakes that they have made... It is a mistake that they don't always make... But they do often make... That is, the choices that the studios make for the people they hire to write the story for the remade masterpiece!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="165"] Fright Night (2011)... One of the more recent remakes that has had very mixed reviews![/caption]

Now you might be asking, 'why is that so important?' I imagine some of you are probably thinking, 'that's nonsense... The biggest problem is the fact that they over CGI everything!' Well, to that last one I will say that it is definitely one of the problems, but in my opinion the writing is the main problem!

As for the writers themselves... Well, for the most part, they are in-and-of-themselves not bad writers... I'm just not convinced that all of them are fans of the genre, or fans of the original movies that they are trying to remake... You have to have that if you are going to have a successful remake!

A couple of good examples of this are:

1. A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)... Let's be honest here... This movie stunk, as far as a remake goes, this movie was virtually killed off a legendary series that had for itself created: 7 sequels, a TV series, helped launch the careers of a lot of A list celebrities, including: Johnny Depp (Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl), Breckin Meyer (Rat Race) and Patricia Arquette (True Romance) as well as having created tons of media in just about every venue... I mean Freddy Krueger was a house hold name... but when the remake came out that all pretty much has gone to pot, with no new, 'Nightmare' movies currently being released!

[caption id="attachment_2635" align="aligncenter" width="450"] With this one, you just have to ask yourself, 'Why?'[/caption]

2. Friday The 13th (2009), in all truth, I thought that this movie was better then the, 'Nightmare' remake, but again... This movie series was a house hold name because of it's popularity, and since the release of the remake movie, has not seen another, 'Friday' movie on the horizon!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Better then the, 'Nightmare On Elm Street' remake, but still... ya know?[/caption]

Now I have heard rumors of sequels coming out someday... But then again I have also heard rumors of Halloween 3 supposedly starting production since 2009 as well!

Either way, the main reason that I think that these movies tanked is because of the story! I mean don't get me wrong... If you are like me, then you probably had a hard time getting past the fact that Robert Englund (Urban Legends) was no longer, 'Freddy'... But, Friday The 13th, really did not have that excuse... And story wise was just not as good (I mean they tried to rely on the success of the, 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' remake for this movie scene wise... And they tried to change the basic makeup of, 'Jason' himself... To say the least... A big mistake!)

Now I have shown you the negative side... I wanted to show you the positive side as well with Rob Zombie (House Of 1,000 Corpses) did with his remake!

Before I go on... Let me say this, Rob Zombie is a true fan of the Halloween series, (he has mentioned it in a few of the interviews that I have seen him do about the, 'Halloween' movies,) with that in mind, it shows!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="388"] Rob Zombie with Tyler Maine as, 'Michael Myers'... A true fan of the original, 'Halloween' series, and it showed in his work with the remake series![/caption]

Mainly I say this because I personally believe that Rob Zombie took the story to such an extreme that not only was it fun, but I felt it really honored the original vision of John Carpenter (The Ward) and Mr. Carpenter's vision for the original movie!

Well if you haven't seen it yet, I won't say to much, just to say that, John Carpenter's original 1978 classic, 'Halloween' movie is my favorite movie, but I also thoroughly enjoyed Rob Zombie's version as well!

For more information on these movies, please enjoy the trailers for the movies that I have mentioned above:

http://youtu.be/Mra_Z3cpGCM

http://youtu.be/btH4tPwILg0

http://youtu.be/fpKdXnXl93s

http://youtu.be/polKMrfyK-A

http://youtu.be/rrdYC-YKkJs

Total Recall (2012) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="258"] Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]

When I was a kid, one of the first Science Fiction movies that I ever remember seeing in the Theater was, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), with Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator)…

But since before that though, I was a huge fan of Arnold’s starting with movies such as Commando (1985), and even The Terminator (1984)…

Now you might be wondering why I mention this… well simply put there is another movie of Arnold’s that I really liked when I was a kid, (and had to see the recently released remake for), of course that movie is Total Recall!

Written by: Kurt Wimmer (Salt), Mark Bomback (Unstoppable) and Directed by: Len Wiseman (Underworld). Starring: Colin Farrell (Minority Report), Kate Beckinsale (Underword: Awakening), Jessica Biel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Bokeem Woodbine (Devil), Bill Nighy (Shaun Of The Dead), and Bryan Cranston (John Carter).

Now this movie which is based on the original story by Dan O'Bannon (Alien) and Ronald Shusett (Phobia), I wasn't to happy to hear they were remaking (the truth is, is although there are some good remakes out there, I think Hollywood relies to heavily on them and I thought of this one as one of them!)

But the truth is, is this movie, which tells the story of a captured double agent by the name of Carl Hauser (Farrell), and whom is living with a woman by the name of Lori Quaid (Beckinsale) that he believes is his wife in a world that had been created for him (as his own so-called prison).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Colin Farell as Carl Hauser/Douglas Quad as he is about to make his life turn upside down![/caption]

It turns out though that his old life comes out in bits and pieces in the same recurring dream of when he got captured and the woman he loves, who works with the resistance escapes!

But when he discovers the, 'Rekall Lounge' he goes to get some memories that he thinks he will would never forget.... The only problem is that after going to, 'Rekall' he begins to remember things that he had been forced to forget... memories that Chancellor Cohagen (Cranston) will send wave after wave of robot militia to stop from coming back!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Carl Hauser as he is beginning to realize that his wife as, 'Douglas Quaid' isn't exactly the woman he married![/caption]

I have to admit that I did like Arnold's, 'Total Recall' better then Farrell's, 'Total Recall' for the following reasons:

1. I thought that the chemistry between Farrell and Biel was forced, (which considering that Jessica Biel was supposed to be the love interest, just seemed a little far fetched,) but oddly enough, the chemistry between Farrell and Beckinsale (whom Beckinsale is trying to kill Farrell in the movie) was better!

2. I also thought the makeup affects were way off... I mean Kate Beckinsale looked different in a lot of the scenes, especially those where continuity needed to be constant! (which I doubt was the way it was supposed to be.)

3. Also I thought the ending was completely unnecessary and pointless!

Now that is the bad side, the good side!

1. The special effects were so well made that I could believe that stuff like those hover cars being the wave of the future.

2. I also thought that the story for this movie, although similar to Arnold's, was also different, and fun! (I mean Arnold's took place on Mars, and this one took place on Earth!)

3. I also thought that the strongest person in this movie was Jessica Biel, because she seemed to have the strongest presence, and as a matter of fact I actually kind of thought that if she had the starring role in this movie, then on the strength of what she brought to the role, it would have made for a great movie!

I am definitely glad I saw this at least once, and would be willing to watch it again (just not in the theater!)

http://youtu.be/8vO8cAHnVbY