Why Many Classic Horror Movies Dont Need A Remake

Why Many Classic Horror Movies Don’t Need A Remake

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Remakes of classic horror movies have become incredibly commonplace within the genre, but these beloved films don’t need remakes – here’s why.

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Why Many Classic Horror Movies Dont Need A Remake

Remakes of classic horror movies are so common that they have become something of an expected tradition within the genre. However, a handful of horror films are so influential and sacred that, to this day, it would be a fool’s errand to return to them. Not only does the scare factor of these movies still hold up, but their styles and techniques have already been copied countless times since their release, rendering a remake utterly pointless and redundant.

Even before the current Hollywood trend of revisiting old properties, horror has come to look at its past in order to update its stories to reflect contemporary fears. There was a wave of horror remakes, particularly in the 1980s, that redefined the limits of the concept with storytelling ideas and filmmaking styles that became arguably more influential than the original versions. These films recontextualized 1950s Cold War anxieties to suit modern issues, while also adding a healthy dose of special effects. The Thing, The Fly, and The Blob remakes have all become classics in their own right, and are arguably of superior quality to their predecessors.

Despite this potential, though, remakes have still retained a poor track record. Whereas the successful ones have introduced new concepts and analyzed the original sources with a fresh perspective, the less memorable remakes are merely interested in either telling the same story or introducing unnecessary details regarding backstories. The shot-by-shot 1998 remake of Psycho, for example, is notorious for copying the same camera techniques as Hitchcock’s classic without adding anything innovative. On the other hand, the 2010 version of A Nightmare on Elm Street left audiences disgusted with Freddy’s new penchant for child molestation.

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Remakes of Classic Horror Movies Are Unnecessary

The most successful horror movies are the most innovative; they are the ones that create horror elements and introduce story structures that inspire later filmmakers. No one has ever sought to remake Alien or Jaws, nor should they, but the idea of an unseen creature hunting its human prey is so often repeated that the films have essentially been remade already. The Exorcist is so iconic that a recreation would come across as a parody, and Stanley Kubrick’s groundbreaking camerawork in The Shining has become a staple of horror filmmaking to the current day. These types of films are so influential that to revisit them would be superfluous.

On the other hand, the most beloved remakes are ones that introduce brand new ideas while still maintaining reverence for the original films. John Carpenter was such a fan of The Thing From Another World that he was hesitant to tackle a remake, but his version of The Thing is lauded for its assimilating alien that created stifling paranoia. Filmmakers who can identify the most effectively scary parts of a particular piece of work tend to breach new creative ground. David Cronenberg recognized that The Fly presents a compelling story about the loss of human identity, but Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake made the villain too sympathetic. He didn’t understand how Michael Myers is more unsettling when the audience knows less about his history.

There are still plenty of lesser-known horror movies that would benefit from a remake, but ultimately the classics should remain untouched. It’s ironic that remakes so often repeat tropes that were started by the films they are trying to replicate. For instance, The Omen helped popularize the “creepy kid”, which was a tired cliche by the time the 2006 remake arrived. Retreading old, hallowed ground often leads to repeating common mistakes that the source material avoided. The genre is always building on past tradition, but the most exciting breakthroughs in modern horror movies are because of bold, original choices.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/classic-horror-movies-no-remake-needed-reason/

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