The Halloween Franchise: Remaking the Remake
Sometimes one wishes for the winds of change to come but instead are greeted by a gentle breeze that translates into remakes and reboots. With this topic being butchered to death over the past few years we won’t bore you with another rant about how originality is dead and Hollywood only cares about money. That story has been written. What we do want to talk about is the remaking of remakes...
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Which oddly is something that we aren't sure any of us expected so soon. What do we mean by that? We’re not naive in thinking that if a film can be remade once that somehow puts it into an untouchable category that makes it off limits for future attempts at remaking the same movie. We just didn’t think it would happen for another 10 to 20 years. Obviously our heads were in the clouds because Hollywood is remaking remakes and the trend seems to be in an infant stage. One that will only grow no doubt and be built upon. With comic book movies seeing the remake of the remake treatment with films like Superman, The Hulk, and Spider-man, is it really that far fetched of an idea that horror movies are next? Texas Chainsaw Massacre was what many consider the start of the horror remake boom and talks are hot and heavy to reboot the franchise once again.
So are we losing creativity here? Has Hollywood lost its touch? The answer is no. Creativity is at an all time high and with technology gaining access into an ever growing number of homes and business any Joe Schmo with an internet connection and half a brain can write a screen play that would probably rival half of the dreck that makes it to the silver
screen these days. So with creativity not lacking why aren’t we seeing new ideas and brand new ideas flourishing on the screen, in games, and even in the music industry? The answer lies in the bottom line. The almighty dollar.
A proven franchise is not only less risk but guaranteed money. If you slap the name Friday the 13th on a film or Halloween you're guaranteeing 20 million at the box office right off the bat. Why not take the easy path? If you had a few million dollars to spend on a project would you want to take a gamble on (insert cheesy movie title here) or a franchise that has millions of fans? It’s a no brainier and who are we to argue with Hollywood for doing something each and everyone of us would do if we were in the same place. We would take the safe bet. Most of us would anyway. It’s those few of us that wouldn’t that will push the envelope and create art and a new fan base. The sad fact of the matter is for every 30 films those creative artists make, 29 will fail and loose money. It takes all the stars to lineup perfectly to create another Halloween or Friday the 13th. It isn’t something that just happens. Many chase that dream never to realize it.
Where are we going with this you ask? We’ll we’ve mentioned the film Halloween. We’ve seen Rob Zombie take the film and re-imagine it. Some loved it and others loathed it. Regardless of your feelings, he certainty put his own flare on the series. Something that we can applaud for the simple fact that at the very least he created his own vision. But that also has us thinking. With Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 not performing well at the box office, the Weinstein Brothers reported that Halloween 3 in 3D would be in the development stages. That news broke on the weekend Rob’s H2 came out. It took many of us in the industry by surprise but it also made sense. It gave fans that hated the film something to hang their hats on, hoping that the series may once again take a different turn. The director and writer of My Bloody Valentine 3D, Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer, were signed on and the film was all but a done deal. Fast forward a week or two later and the project was canceled. It left many of us scratching our heads wondering why the fast axe? We’ve heard nothing about the project since and we are beginning to put the puzzle together on why that may be.
We go back to where this story started…remakes. How unlikely would a remake of the Halloween
franchise for a second time be? Not that unlikely and we feel strongly that something might just be in the works. Again Rob Zombie gave the Halloween series a shot in the arm that it needed. A different look and feel. A very gritty, dirty look and feel that only Rob Zombie can do, and do well. He created his version of Halloween but that was his vision. Michael Myers is a character that was built in the suburbs. An old fashioned 50’s mid western setting with fall leaves blowing in the wind and kids carving jack-o-lanterns on the porch. Something so innocent. A time that many of us remember as a child trick or treating or at the very least picture in our mind when thinking of the holiday. But that fun and exciting time turned so brutal when the character of Michael Myers was unleashed and started terrorizing Haddonfield, his home. It was that contrast that we feel the fan base may be longing for again and something they may be wanting to reinvent. Instead of trying to continue Zombie’s gritty style we see the studios remaking the franchise taking it into an entirely new direction, one where nostalgia meets brutality. It will have the Halloween stamp on it. It will cause fans in droves to go see it. It will continue on one of the greatest horror icons in history and most importantly it's a safe bet, it will make money. Again, you have to think of the dollars at the end of the day.So with that being said, how would you feel to see a reboot of a reboot? Do you welcome the idea or does remaking something so many times tarnish the originality that still exists? Isn’t there a point when an idea becomes so used up that we as an audience just grow tired of it? Will that happen to Halloween and when is too many remakes too many? If we are rebooting a franchise every 5 or 10 years when does it stop? A lot to think about Bidites. We want to hear your thoughts on this topic. Let us know where you stand not just with Halloween (our example) but with remaking remakes in general. It’s time to be heard, Hollywood is listening.
Source: HorrorBid

80 comments
As for the remaking of remakes I would not put it past them at all and to be honest it's sad. A film is a work of art no matter how good or bad and that should stand on it's own.
If you want to remake something because it's dated I can see that being ok but we are tiptoeing on a fine line and that line is going to be crossed. I just hope it doesn't happen to Halloween even though I despised Rob Zombie's efforts.
I do like Rob Zombie's Halloween though. He brought something different to it.
i'm just saying....
I could honestly give two shits about whether they remake the movie or not. I just like good reads and this was a good fucking read!
Evan
I liked the director's cut of H2. I thought it was a step up from the first, though the white horse shit was just kinda... meh. Like, what's the point? But other than that [thumbs up for Rob] But I think there is hope out there. Like you said, anyone can write a screenplay, and everyone on this site has the testicular fortitude to knock out a great script. Now get to work. lol
I think it deserves one more shot. If you hate it, you hate it, and they'll be the ones to suffer for it. But you may love it... It could end up being the breath of life that we are so desperately hoping for, and not the dying gasp of an amazing horror franchise.
If you go back and rewatch Halloween (1978), you'll see that Myers is far more of a stalker than a killer, with only five kills in the entire film, which he sees more as an art than a brutal rampage.
The one director I would trust to truly capture suspense and realism, and recreate the stalker vibe from Myers, is Bryan Bertino, the director of The Strangers. That film had only 2 kills by "the killers" in the whole film, and created an amazing sense of suspense the whole film without having a blood bath. It was certainly one of the best modern horror/slasher films of the decade.. hell, of the genre! If he was behind the script and direction of the film, there would be NO disappointment. Anyone else agree?
As for MovieMan's comments. Friday the 13th could use the remake as well. I wasn't a fan of the original and frankly the remake is garbage. I like the idea of Jason don't get me wrong, but he needs the right treatment.
Little known fact, if you remake the remake of a remake a tear will appear in the fabric of timespace and Michael Myers will appear to cut Hollywood execs to ribbons. Its true.
laurie: ellen page or kristen stewart
michael myers: john corbett
samuel loomis: anthony hopkins or tobin bell
annie: jennifer love hewitt
lynda: reese witherspoon
idk who the fuck else. lol
isay give a good director and a good writer and some imagination and no bullshit and create something new something awesome something just badass
that gets our attention and that can really make us love then ull be going in the right direction.. but thisremake and 3d shit and remaking aremake is fucking old and KILLING horror movies one by one .. FUCKING FRIGHTNIGHT ....
And again, please, no 3D. 3D's not scary, it's just fuckin' silly. If you want to make a 3D movie, do Titanic. I'd love to see Leo sink in 3D. XD
for the fans. Lots of us want it to happen, no disrespect to Rob Zombie, but he did take the Boogeyman and turn him into a giant hobo with anger issues instead of the EVIL enigma that John Carpenter
created. I say let it happen and give it to someone who can capture the essence of the original and put it into this time period. Thank you.
I'm starting to like indie straight to videos movies a whole lot more because the directors have more control and creative control.
Some remakes are very good, and others are not, but for me is always nice to be able to see some of my favorites like Freddy Krueger and Leatherface on the cinema and in a new movie again.
Regarding the creativity issue, there are tons of new creative ideas from moviemakers all other the world in every genre, just look for it.
And if you do not like remakes just don't watch it, I don't know why there are so many people against the idea, as the original movie is still going to be there, it is only going to be more accessible and more interesting to the newer generations, that are accustomed to a different pace, esthetic, effects, e.g.
They need to redeem this suffering franchise, but I think they need to wait at least 4 more years (get everything perfect before pre-production). Its too soon after the brutal horror that real fans went through having to watch H2. Nobody will take a remake of the Halloween remake seriously less than 10 years after it came out. especially because of H2.
Bonne decision de remaker ce remake on devrait fair la meme chose pour A nigthmare on elm street 2010 qui était vraiment nul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ATTENTION:In youtube ;I found a video (in french)where the serials killers ottis tool tell he and henry(serial killer) kidnaped a child for movies of.....HOLLYWOOD!!!!!!!
DON'T JOKE !!!!!!
I say fuckin' go for it and remake his fuckin' piece a' shit!
His "House of 1000 Corpses" is STILL by far the obnoxiously worst fucking movie (not limited to just horror films) that I have ever seen in my fucking life!
And have you ever seen his fucking stage performances!? It's just a clutter of robots and bullshit to distract from his total lack of talent and retarded lyrics.
Anyway!.. Look what happened with "The Incredible Hulk (2008)" after that piss-awful "Hulk (2003)"! And that super Emo version of "The Punisher (2004)" was redid and they made the kick-ass "Punisher: War Zone (2008)"!
"And again, please, no 3D. 3D's not scary, it's just fuckin' silly. If you want to make a 3D movie, do Titanic. I'd love to see Leo sink in 3D."
They are. In April 2012, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, they are theatrically re-releasing Titanic... in 3-D. Oh happy day.
No. I don't think they should remake Halloween again. They don't have an original vision for it and they don't want one. Producers want a slick, safe product they can control. This is about the farthest thing from art you can get.
Could a Halloween remake be fantastic? Yes it could. But you'd have to make an uncomfortably violent art movie that pissed off every fan of the series. You'd have to make his mask more abstract, you'd have to make him completely inhuman (think Lovecraft's The Thing On The Doorstep) and you'd have to delve into the existential and the spiritual dealing with a villain that's a conduit of all evil, misrule and destruction. You'd feel his presence before you ever saw him; that deep primal rage that sucks all the air out of a room making it very cold. Myers is not a man. If you shot him in the heart he'd bleed black.
Personally though I don't understand why producers keep their remakes dumb; they'll make a million dollars anyway. I think they're just afraid to let movies be dangerous by saying how they really feel. People just might learn something about their own innate destructive feelings and find the experience of watching the movie cathartic. Then the producers would have to start topping their achievements with more complex morality plays written by actual writers and would finally get to the point where they'd gotten so good that disappointment was inevitable... So they figure fuck it. Why try? Audiences will eat any gruel you put in front of them. And that's the film industry today.















