Column: Remakes galore

The Crazies, Nightmare on Elm Street, Last house on the Left; the list goes on.
 
There has been a barrage of horror remakes released recently, but I don’t thinks it’s always such a bad thing. With every bad remake that is released, there is a good movie to be released as well. For every Friday the 13th there will be an exceptional remake like Dawn of the Dead to give horror movies back their credibility. Yet, with this slew of remakes, I remain hopeful that there will be some decent horror remakes, even if that means I have to sit through a few lousy movies.
 
The list of remake horror films is long and since the list goes on and on, I will focus on two films; both of which have had a cult following and both that are in the works for a remake. The first is cult horror film The Evil Dead, which I believe could turn out to be a great remake. The next film that is up for discussion is semi-kid friendly horror film The Monster Squad, which was an endearing and strange childhood favorite of mine.
 
The Evil Dead, originally directed by Sam Raimi (Spiderman series) and staring Bruce Campbell (Bubba Ho-tep) as Ash as he fights off his demon possessed friends in a cabin. The Evil Dead remake has been rumored for several years, with Raimi saying in a May 18 2009 issue of the LA Times that if he couldn’t make another Evil Dead sequel, he would like to have a young filmmaker take the project.
 
My ultimate hope, being a fan of the cult horror series, is that Raimi will find the time to make The Evil Dead remake (since he’s left the Spiderman franchise). It would be interesting to see Raimi get the budget that he and The Evil Dead remake deserves, since the original was made on a shoe string budget.
 
However, more importantly, Raimi still proved with his recent horror movie “Drag Me to Hell” that he can still make a scary movie, with the occasional slap-stick humor moment. Even if Raimi never gets to direct another Evil Dead movie, he is open to the idea that the Evil Dead franchise can be handled by a young filmmaker and I am more than willing to see someone from my generation take the reins of Evil Dead and see what he, or she, can do.
 
The news of a possible Monster Squad remake can be seen in a March 19 2010 article for Empire online and it was strange hearing this news since it was a complete box office bomb and a cult classic.
 
The Monster Squad is one of those films that when you hear the premise you’re either dumbfounded or completely interested. Imagine the Goonies, a lovable rag tag group of misfit kids with ambition and a taste for adventure.
 
Now add in legendary horror movie monsters like Dracula, the Frankenstein monster and the Wolfman and then you have the Monster Squad. While the plot of the movie is strange, it stands as a cult classic with lines like “Wolfman’s got nards” that were sure to make kids in the 80s laugh.
 
However, I am slightly hesitant to see how they would make this film now, since the Monster Squad featured twelve year old kids cursing, taking voyeuristic pictures of their female next door neighbors and kids using guns. While the original film stands as a fond memory of 80s cinema; it would be a difficult sell without being completely censored or having the kids age group changed to at least teenage status.
 
The only hope I have for these remakes is that I would like to see them remade into good movies. It would be a downright punch to the stomach to have cult classics such as Evil Dead or the Monster Squad ruined by poor filmmaking just for the sake of a dollar. However, with all of these cult horror films getting a reboot, it would be interesting to see someone remake the likes of Zombie 2, The Gate or even C.H.U.D. I suppose it is up to Hollywood to see what comes next to the local theater, but for now: I’m still pulling for a decent Evil Dead sequel.
 
Raymond Mendoza
Managing Editor