tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post160092946104984161..comments2023-11-05T02:57:06.922-05:00Comments on The Vault of Horror: Horror Remakes: Then vs. NowB-Solhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10717121313061173603noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-54650877786045420892009-01-29T16:14:00.000-05:002009-01-29T16:14:00.000-05:00It's a tough call, cause on the one hand Kael was ...It's a tough call, cause on the one hand Kael was a real champion for the new generation of filmmakers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It mya have been her feeling that the rise of the blockbusters that occurred post-Jaws had laid to rest the era of experimentation that she was such a fan of. As for movies getting progressively worse, while I don't think you could make that case in the big picture, I do generally feel that mainstream American films of the 1970s and 1980s, generally speaking tend to be of a higher quality than in the 1990s and 2000s. But, for example, I don't think films of the 1950s and 1960s were generally superior to films of the 1930s and 1940s (rather, the opposite). So, in other words, there might still be hope!B-Solhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10717121313061173603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-7573286850129383402009-01-29T13:49:00.000-05:002009-01-29T13:49:00.000-05:00B-Sol, suggesting that movies are getting progress...B-Sol, suggesting that movies are getting progressively worse with each passing generation is one way to look at things. Another interpretation is that this 'golden age' paled in comparison to the nostalgia Kael felt for films from her youth - much like critics today.Brian (a.k.a. Hellstorm)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11190873106999381558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-21742950655521224332009-01-29T09:49:00.000-05:002009-01-29T09:49:00.000-05:00Interesting stuff, Brian, thanks! If Kael was depr...Interesting stuff, Brian, thanks! If Kael was depressed about the quality of movie-making in the late 1970s--a golden age by the estimations of many--just imagine how she'd feel today...B-Solhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10717121313061173603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-90087535271831923522009-01-29T07:04:00.000-05:002009-01-29T07:04:00.000-05:00Not everyone remembers that "halcyon time" you ref...Not everyone remembers that "halcyon time" you referred to the same way - http://is.gd/gzihBrian, aka Hellstormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09632230945619822481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-17804736561301394362009-01-20T10:20:00.000-05:002009-01-20T10:20:00.000-05:00I have to agree with you about the remakes. To my ...I have to agree with you about the remakes. To my horror I saw that Last House on the Left and Straw Dogs are being remade. I mean, come on, when will it stop?Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17742330964990995982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-75466945394834017372009-01-19T12:47:00.000-05:002009-01-19T12:47:00.000-05:00while the remakes stand opposite Bush, Iraq, and t...<I>while the remakes stand opposite Bush, Iraq, and the GWOT. There's a point to be made about the lack of politicization in these new movies vis a vis the Bush era, but I don't know what it is.</I><BR/><BR/>Not to paint with too wide a brush, but I think that can be chalked up to films being made by retards, for retards.<BR/><BR/>People just don't care about making or watching smart horror films anymore.<BR/><BR/>Sure one could easily argue that the messages in Dawn of the Dead don't exactly compare to the messages in other, more consumer friendly fare (To Kill A Mockingbird, for example), but some message is always better than none. <BR/><BR/>Just because there's a lack of politicization in movies these days, doesn't mean that that's a secret, ironic retaliation against the current admin. Also, while I wasn't around back then, it does seem that even in the 70s and 80s, when these allegorical films were being made, filmmakers and reviewers could clearly discern the messages and subtexts hidden within. <BR/><BR/>If you aren't seeing anything in todays horror films, it's because there's nothing <I>too</I> see.gordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955994070918697381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-43075005647070755542009-01-18T15:46:00.000-05:002009-01-18T15:46:00.000-05:00Mention House of Wax to anyone under the age of 30...<I>Mention House of Wax to anyone under the age of 30, and I can guarantee you they're 100 times more likely to bring up Paris Hilton than Vincent Price. Yet, as a kid, despite being 30 years removed from the 1950s original, I was still keenly aware of it, and it was a favorite of mine.</I><BR/><BR/>Ah, yes, but were you aware that House of Wax was itself a remake of 1933's Mystery of the Wax Museum, with Lionel Atwill and sexy, sexy Fay Wray? Interestingly, the original Mystery of the Wax Museum was an experimental two-strip Technicolor movie (six years before Wizard of Oz), while House of Wax was the first 3D movie [paddleball!]. And the last remake made use of what cutting edge technology? Smellovision? Flavorama? The only new technology in that one was debsploitation. Hah!<BR/><BR/>Regarding the current remakes of seventies horror films: I suspect that someday some cultural historian will get quite a bit of mileage out of the fact that the classic 70s horror films were made against the backdrop of Nixon and Vietnam, while the remakes stand opposite Bush, Iraq, and the GWOT. There's a point to be made about the lack of politicization in these new movies vis a vis the Bush era, but I don't know what it is. Yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-38493654230887679782009-01-15T08:55:00.000-05:002009-01-15T08:55:00.000-05:00Horror movies are generally easy money in Hollywoo...Horror movies are generally easy money in Hollywood--they don't cost much, and appeal to a wide fan base. They're a safe bet in general, and doing a remake sweetens the pot even more. That may be why we see horror remakes more than any other kind.<BR/>And yes, The Omen remake was almost as slavishly shot-for-shot as The Psycho remake. Pointless.B-Solhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10717121313061173603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-2957019085453371742009-01-15T05:42:00.000-05:002009-01-15T05:42:00.000-05:00Good article.I for one loathe those remakes. Not b...Good article.<BR/><BR/>I for one loathe those remakes. Not because they are a sign of a new creative low, but because 99% of the time they don´t even get the basics right and are inferior to the original.<BR/><BR/>If you watch the worst offenders, it is painful to see how the directors and writers are virtually unable to handle (or update) material even in a halfway competent way. If a screenwriter in the 40s would have send in a script as fucking incoherent or senseless as the remakes of The Fog or Haunting of Hill House, he would have been fired on the spot. Today there seems to be no thing as quality control in all things genre. When has fan-writing taken over professional standards?<BR/><BR/>But one thing I truly don´t get is the pointlessness of the whole enterprise. Why spend millions for a movie, if you slavishly ape the original? I watched the remake of The Omen the other day, and all I could think was: this has to be a tax write-off. There was no other explanation for this boring waste of time.<BR/><BR/>But the remakes will keep on coming, their beautiful but talentless actors and directors will tell us how they worship the original and why we - the paying public - should give their work its much deserved chance.<BR/><BR/>And it will be the same awful crap like the last one.AndyDeckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12806906746754478064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-32129996273805957802009-01-15T01:17:00.000-05:002009-01-15T01:17:00.000-05:00Hurray, suggestion complied with!Great article too...Hurray, suggestion complied with!<BR/><BR/>Great article too.<BR/><BR/>What I want to know is, why are horror the films almost the sole genre being remade?<BR/><BR/>And on the off chance that a film from another genre is remade, people don't usually go apeshit?gordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955994070918697381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-7186085662618020622009-01-14T23:20:00.000-05:002009-01-14T23:20:00.000-05:00Hey B, the remakes have to be more visceral for th...Hey B,<BR/><BR/> the remakes have to be more visceral for the current crop of desensitized youth, and for the most part they do loose the political tone of a Romero film or even the camp of an 80's era film But look how well the DOTD remake worked when it decided not to try to be anything more than a re telling of a zombie tale.<BR/><BR/>I truly feel that the studios are to scared to back unique ideas in fear of lackluster box office sales so we will have to look to Canes, and independant film festivals for new blood.<BR/><BR/>And new blood doesn't necessarily mean new themes, " and his hand was.....a HOOK!" can still work if the set up is fresh. A perfect example is Fido. Zombies, not a fresh idea, Zombies as the family pet,BRILLIANT! So fear not film goers, there are new ideas on the horizon, and keep the remakes coming, we may get a gem every now and again.<BR/><BR/>Later days<BR/>Christopher Zenga<BR/>thedayafterart.blogspot.comChristopher Zengahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04621627648001812605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-34684143958206129562009-01-14T21:49:00.000-05:002009-01-14T21:49:00.000-05:00I simply don't find the same kind of social commen...I simply don't find the same kind of social commentary in the new Dawn of the Dead as there is in the original. It's not a very introspective movie, it's having way too much fun for that. Romero's film is much weightier, which is why I still prefer it. But I admire that Snyder had the balls to try something different and pull it off well, even if it is more fluffy. And I will also go on the record as saying that I enjoyed the Hills Have Eyes Remake more than the original.<BR/>GASP!B-Solhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10717121313061173603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-82302631856910884332009-01-14T19:31:00.000-05:002009-01-14T19:31:00.000-05:00Great article! I agree with so much except the Da...Great article! I agree with so much except the Dawn of the Dead remake. I walked away longing for something more or different. This is how I feel about most modern remakes. The only worse than a post-millennial horror remake is their sequel, i.e. The Hills Have Eyes 2.Gestalthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03964080283396840153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-50982480775044659382009-01-14T18:00:00.000-05:002009-01-14T18:00:00.000-05:00Yeah I totally agree with you! I couldn't have put...Yeah I totally agree with you! I couldn't have put it better myself!cyberschizoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04167243836673135936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470604276410220159.post-25897255249904799912009-01-14T17:41:00.000-05:002009-01-14T17:41:00.000-05:00Hey B-Sol. Well articulated. Thank you. I love the...Hey B-Sol. Well articulated. Thank you. I love the Dawn of the Dead remake. You sure it's void of social commentary though? <BR/><BR/>Peace,<BR/>AAlana Noel Vothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15678764751722565458noreply@blogger.com