The Two Arguments on Remade Horror Movies

It has been said that Hollywood is running out of creativity. That our supply of imagination was drained long ago. This may be so, but it has not stopped our fine filmmakers from coming up with re-imaginings of classic movies. One particular genre has been given a lot of attention in that area. I speak, of course, of the horror genre. It seems like every classic horror movie ever made has been or is in the process of being remade. To name a few of them, you have Halloween, Prom Night, My Bloody Valentine, Black Christmas, Friday the Thirteenth, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Some people question whether or not the remaking of these classic horror movies is the best thing for the film making industry.

The first and foremost problem with remaking horror movies is the lack of surprise. The majority of their audience will be people who are fans of the original movie (or movie series, whatever the case may be). They already know what is going on, who the killer is, who lives and who dies. They lose some of their enthusiasm because they already have a general idea of what the plot is going to be like. Halloween fans were faced with this problem when Rob Zombie did his remake of the classic motion picture. In this way, it can be very difficult for horror movie remakes to rise above or even meet the expectations of their audiences.

A second complaint about remade horror films is that they never seem to be as good as the original. Fans of the original movies almost always criticize films for not being as good as their predecessors. Sometimes this appears to be psychological, the fans are so loyal to the original movie that even if the remake is a hundred times better, they still say it was not as good as the first. It even gets to the point where they actually feel guilty if they like the remake better than the original. I do not understand why. I liked the remakes of Black Christmas and My Bloody Valentine much better than their original films.

Despite the negative reactions to remade horror movies, there are many good things that be brought upon by the remaking of the film. For starters, remaking gives classic stories a modern and creative twist. They can also correct mistakes that were made in the original movies, such as continuity errors. Loyalty versus modernization is really what it comes down. I just encourage people to remember that just because you like the remake, that doesn't mean you can't like the original as well.

No sources other than prior knowledge were used in this article.