Remake! A word that seems to send a chill down the spines of many movie lovers. Just saying the word can cause an audibly loud groan across an entire room. Why is that? Well, one reason is most of the time the movie being remade is a beloved classic or at least one that has many fans. People don’t want the movies they love touched or tainted. So why remake a movie anyway?
Well, the main reason might be because they can be profitable. As much as people complain about remakes, numbers don’t lie. In recent years the top ten grossing films each year are filled with remakes and sequels. People like to see things that they are comfortable with.
A great example is the “live-action” Lion King remake that came out in 2019. A movie that audiences and critics called soulless and nowhere as good as the original. It still is in the top ten top-grossing movies of all time. Why? Nostalgia and comfortability. Studios rely on the nostalgia of others. If the movies are making money why do people still not like remakes?
A Big Issue
A big issue is the lack of creativity. The live-action Disney remakes are profitable but they aren’t beloved. It could be because most of the time, they don’t have much to offer. The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are two of Disney’s biggest films of all time. The remakes for the most part are line for line and story beat for story beat. There may be an added song here or there but if you aren’t improving on anything or making anything too different, what is the point?
The latest release from Blumhouse “Speak No Evil” is a remake of a film of the same name that was just released two years ago. TWO YEARS AGO. This is ridiculous. The movie is getting pretty good reviews similar to the original. The original is a Danish film that feels bleak and has a dark ending. The consensus of this new version is that the performances are well done and it is a crowd-pleaser that is still conventional. The makers didn’t want to do everything the same as the original but watering it down shouldn’t have been the answer.
This is another huge issue with remakes. You can limit yourself when it comes to movie watching. There are many movies made every year and amazing ones exist outside of the United States. Some do not like foreign films, dubbed films, or having to read subtitles. This is fine at the end of the day. Everyone has a choice. Studios know this though and when a foreign film gains traction or starts to become talked about more, a remake is announced.
Train to Busan, Oldboy, and Martyrs are just a few highly acclaimed foreign films that have received a remake or are going to. Oldboy and Martys were watered down completely. Train to Busan is one of the highest-rated zombie movies of all time. With how believed the original is, the remake has already been met with trepidation. It is a shame that such creative work could be lost or thrown to the side because an American remake is more accessible. Many people didn’t even know Speak No Evil was a remake, which is a shame.
How to Fix the Problem?
I don’t have the answer and I’m pretty sure that studios at the end of the day are going to do what they want, but I do have some suggestions.
1. Allow more creativity… Many remakes add callbacks to remind people of a better movie for the most part. Stop doing that. It is okay to have similar plot points. It is a remake after all. But do something different. Go in a different direction. True Grit, The Thing, Judge Dredd, and The Departed have all been remade. The story for the most part feels the same but there are enough new ideas and ideas that are expanded upon that the movies feel fresh and somewhat new. Take a big swing. It may not always work but you made it your own. Do not be boring, conventional, safe, or too similar. No matter what you are always going to be compared. A Star is Born has been remade 4 times and finds a way to be a little different each time.
2. Don’t be Disrespectful… There are some remakes that want to drive the feeling that they are better than the original. The remake of Annie starts with a young girl portraying the original Annie dancing and her classmates groaning. It is to tell the audience, this isn’t your original corny Annie. What follows is a corny, bland, forgettable movie. The 2019 Black Christmas was one of the most hated films of that year. The original is a violent movie. This remake tried to spin the violence around which could work. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. It gave us highly unlikable characters, a preachy script, and a horror film devoid of horror. Just don’t disrespect source material for the sake of it.
3. Remake bad movies only… Every movie is subjective but instead of remaking objectively great movies. Remake the ones that did poorly. This seldom happens. The closest thing I could think of is Judge Dredd. A movie that is campy but has a more serious, exciting remake. Why are there talks of remaking Back to the Future or Goonies? There is no need for this.
Overall
I don’t think remakes are going to stop anytime soon and as much as I don’t love all of them, there are some successful ones. The Ring, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cape Fear, and The Fly all have very good remakes. Why? They are different enough, creative enough and time has passed. There will always be remakes as long as the money comes in but maybe we owe ourselves to do a bit of research and seek out the original versions.
There will always be complaints when a remake is announced because why fix what isn’t broken? But if a remake is going to happen, swing for the fences. Do something different. Be weird. Be original. Go in a different direction with new characters. The recent Crow remake might show that people are finally getting tired of receiving a product that is similar while being lesser. With many remakes still in development, it is too soon to tell.
