Tuesday, May 4, 2010

My Thoughts: A Nightmare on Elm Street Remake and The ANOES Series

NOTE: I don't get many comments on this blog, but I am going to come right out and request that anyone reading who has anything to add, either positive or negative, please, feel free to leave me a comment. You can choose anonymous if you so desire, I do not block anonymous comments on this blog. I put quite a lot of time and effort into this one, so any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. Help me feel as though I can't hear the echo of my own voice in here for once :)

Alright, so, on to the Nightmare on Elm Street Series!


So, A Nightmare on Elm Street has been remade. Like many of the fans of the original series, I'm not entirely thrilled. I wasn't particularly thrilled when I heard about it, and then when I saw who was involved (and who was not) well.....let's get to that later. First, I want to talk about the series as a whole, and then I will get into the remake and my thoughts on it. Be prepared, this is a lengthy blog, but I think.....well....hope, that it will prove to be a pleasant read to anyone interested in the subject matter.

I LOVE the Nightmare on Elm Street Series. I love them all, from the suspense filled, serious in tone, scary original, to the silly and humour driven, campy (but somewhat stupid, granted) later iterations. And that's one of the great things about the series. It wasn't your typical slasher. The original, A Nightmare on Elm Street (ANOES for short) was great because it had a fantastic antagonist in Freddy Krueger, suspense, intrigue, an amazing musical score, some really great effects for the day (which were pulled off with a slim budget), a very unique concept, and, perhaps most importantly (maybe not most, but quite), the characters had depth and were very likeable, ensuring that you cared about the protagonists, which is very important if you want the murders in a slasher movie to be horrifying as opposed to entertaining.



When the teens died in the first Nightmare, I wasn't cheering (and still do not). In the typical slasher film, I, and almost everyone else watching, does just that. We can't wait for the bodies to start dropping, and we cheer it when it happens. We revel in it. The "villain" is the frigging good guy! But not in ANOES, oh no. When the teens die you're horrified. You don't want anything unfortunate to befall them. None of what was happening was their fault, and they weren't acting in ways that made you desire for them to be killed.

Now, the later sequels (especially 5 and 6) were really silly, and quite campy, but even then, they were not your typical slasher films. And why was that, you ask? Well, they still had the unique concept. The villain, while he started to become the hero after part 4 ( a typical slasher feature), was very unique in that he talked, and made jokes. His few, evil one liners early on turned into full on zany comedy later on (riding a skateboard, anyone?) which, while it changed the tone of the series, and made it very campy, still differentiated it from may other slasher movies/series in that the killers in those weren't cracking jokes. Also, again, the concept was really very unique. A demonic entity possessed human, killing teenagers in their dreams from beyond the grave? Does that sound like a typical slasher to you?

Didn't think so ;)

The series started out incredibly strong. And then Bob Shaye, the executive producer and genius (sarcasm) responsible for the stupid rule breaking ending of the original ANOES (Wes Craven fought him tooth and nail on that but ultimately lost.....the money prevailed I guess, since Shaye was the one who was coughing up and taking the chance on Craven and co.) got his mitts on the sequel (which by all accounts, Craven did NOT want to happen, and was ultimately not involved in) and delivered to us his ideas in the form of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.



This was a shitty (comparatively) sequel. It's probably my least favourite of the series (although A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child is also up there) because, while Freddy was an evil, sadistic, demonic, scary fuck in this one (even darker than in the original) there were some signs of things to come contained within, and there was also the problem of a shitty and annoying protagonist, and cast of characters, some really insipid scenes, and of course, the biggest problem of all: Mr. Bob Shaye, rule breaker, continued to break the rules! Big time. Now, all of a sudden, Freddy could operate outside of the dream world?

Huh? What the....? What the fuck?

What a damn travesty! He SHIT all over Craven's work. Now, despite all this, I still do like the film. For one, it's a Nightmare movie, and I love Nightmare movies. Freddy is beyond awesome, and that alone is enough to at least get me in front of the screen. And by the way, before I continue on, as an aside, I just want to say that

ROBERT ENGLUND IS FREDDY DAMN IT!!



Okay, I got that off my chest and now I feel a bit better.

Anyways, as I was saying, besides Freddy being in it, it did feature some great moments, some awesome lines from Freddy, and a really, dark, sinister iteration of Krueger is something we fans can all appreciate. One particularly memorable scene is when Freddy is standing outside after fucking up the pool party (during, I might add, absolutely no one's dream, Mr. Shaye, you moron) and he waves his arms over his head, in front of a light source, casting this brilliant shadow in the light, razor glove and all, as he says the chilling line

you are all my children now
(emphasis on all)

So awesome. Such a great visual, and I loved when they replicated this many years later in Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

So, what are my favourite entries in the Nightmare on Elm Street series?

A Nightmare on Elm Street , A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, and Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

Things were getting a bit silly by the time the A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Master rolled around, but it retained some aspects of the better ones, and I still enjoy it greatly. Some pretty ridiculous, but awesome scenes contained within this one. I won't spoil anything, but bench pressing, anyone?



As I said, I love them all, even Freddy's Dead: The Final (lol) Nightmare and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, despite the fact that they sort of....suck. Seriously, that staircase scene near the end of A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child.......what the fuck. And again, like in Freddy's Revenge, they really fucked with the canon in that one. I mean, as the series went on, the rules were bent and changed seemingly at will, arbitrarily and for no reason, but 5 took it to a whole new level. Sure, they were in uncharted waters with the whole pregnancy thing, but it still didn't fit. They might objectively suck but I still love them. It's hard work, though :)



Actually, come to think of it, part six, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, doesn't suc- ah, ya, I guess it does, but I'm actually very partial to that one, compared to 2 and 5 (the other 2 iterations of the nightmare saga which are in my ya, they basically suck but I still like them camp). Freddy's Dead s really, really fun, and it's got some absolutely hilarious moments. One in particular that sticks out is Freddy toying with the deaf kid, removing his hearing aid, creeping around behind him making faces at him....lol. And then, he takes the hearing aid and....modifies it, turning improved hearing into improved hearing, which he then has some fun with, in typical late series Freddy fashion. Let's just say he puts a whole new spin on the phrase "like nails on a chalkboard."



To those of you reading this you have not done so, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors is one you have to see. I suggest, if you have not seen it, watching the original A Nightmare on Elm Street before you do. Heather Langenkamp, who played Nancy in part one, returns, and the moment when Freddy and Nancy encounter eachother for the first time since the events in A Nightmare on Elm Street is AWESOME, and Freddy's in an.....interesting form. I won't say what, but he does some very interesting things to himself in that one. I highly suggest watching it. Not only for those reasons of course.

Again, like the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, this movie had a great cast of teenagers. The movie took place in a mental health facility, full of teenagers with sleeping and psychiatric (supposedly) disorders. Of course, we know what's really going on, and we watch it wondering if the kids will die before any incompetent adult figures out that they aren't delusional and they aren't making up this burned man with a razor filled glove on his hand stalking them in their sleep.

*whew* Try saying that five times fast!

Anyways.......



Of course, many of the teenagers aren't very fortunate, and they meet an early demise at the hand of this burned dream demon.

This sequel introduces a few new concepts while sticking to the rules established in the first, the return of (an older) Nancy is very much appreciated, and you once again sympathize with the kids trying to reach the adults around them as they endure being stalked by some dream stalking psychopath who's slowly killing their peers in horribly gruesome ways. Now, this sequel did have Freddy getting a bit more liberal with the jokes, and the silliness started to show, but the balance was still reasonable between the serious tone/horror
and the humour, and the humour was steeped in that horror as opposed to at the expense of it, as it was in later sequels.

Oh, to quickly speak to one of the things I mentioned earlier, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 introduced some new concepts, one of them being Freddy's ability to take on entirely new forms. They had played with the notion of him altering his form in the previous movies, but not like this. He does some pretty awesome and interesting this in this one, really showcasing the power afforded him by the fact that he exists only in dreams.

My second favourite entry into the A Nightmare on Elm Street series is Wes Craven's New Nightmare....what a movie. If there was one way to perfectly describe the reaction/reception this movie received, at least as I see it, it would be Loved by a few, hated by a few, misunderstood by most.

I personally LOVE it. Wes Craven's New Nightmare and the original A Nightmare on Elm Street are the two best in the series in my opinion. Speaking of Wes Craven, Wes Craven's New Nightmare was a risky move for Craven. I don't want to say much about this one, as it needs to be seen, and I feel the less one knows going in the better. I will say that the originality I spoke of boils down to the fact that it's a movie within a movie. This meta-movie idea (a meta-movie, or a metafilm), is a film which is a metaphor for the production of said film. Essentially, the events of the film are the events of the film within the film actually happening).



This was off putting to many but I personally thought it to be brilliant and very fitting. Basically, to surmise it really quickly, in the movie, Freddy Krueger is a movie icon, and fans are clamouring for more. Wes Craven is secretly writing a new Nightmare script, spurred on by some nightmares that he has been having. As he writes, ominous things start happening in real life, mostly centred on Heather Langenkamp, the actress who portrayed Nancy Thompson in the first and third Nightmare on Elm Street films.

In his script, he writes that evil, if it is captured in art, can be defeated, but if it is not captured in art, is is free to accumulate power in the real world. Freddy was kept out of the real world by being written about in films, but now, with no fiction binding the evil behind Krueger to that world, is roaming free and trying desperately to gain entrance into the real world. As time passes, and the writing continues, this malevolent force grows stronger, and tries to get in by gaining access through the gatekeeper, who it believes to be Heather, since he believes she gave Nancy her power, the power she used to defeat Freddy. And so, there is a struggle between Heather Langenkamp and the evil force behind the fictional villain Freddy Krueger, as he battles to enter her realm, and she must decide if she has the courage to enter his, and defeat him, once and for all.

The blending of the worlds is just fantastic. It starts to happen so seamlessly that Heather finds herself, unbeknownst to herself, becoming Nancy Thompson, and the people around her, who played in the Nightmare films, are becoming the characters they portrayed. And in this film, Freddy is the ultimate depiction of what Craven envisioned. Dark, menacing, evil. Freddy is pure fucking evil in this one. He's probably the scariest he's ever been, and he's certainly the meanest. His look has changed. His glove is now organic, indicative of the transition and blending taking place. He wears a black trenchcoat, his face has changed somewhat, and his voice, while basically the same, has taken on even more menace. And this time, he's not limited to teenage victims....

The movie is very suspenseful, very well crafted, and very entertaining. There are a myriad of great scenes within. It's somewhat plagued by problems of consistency though, as the concept, I'm sure my readers can surmise, does lend itself to some vagueries and opportunities for inconsistency, and you do get some of that. There are a few things within that will make you wonder aren't they breaking their own rules? even though the rules aren't necessarily crystal clear to anyone, including those in the film. Come to think of it, perhaps that's the point. Or maybe I'm just being too forgiving now. Either way, it's amazing, and it's a fantastic end to the series. Brings it right back to the quality for the first, and justifies its existence both in that fact, and in the fact that it's definitely not a rehash.

Of course, however, as we all know, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, the fantastic and fitting end to a great series, did not end up being the end at all. As is the case with horror movies, especially slasher films, they just keep going and going and going......Just like a certain drum beating bunny.....



It keeps going and going and going......

Years later, we got Freddy vs Jason. And now, we have the dreaded REMAKE. Duhn duhn duhn...

And now, My Thoughts on the A Nightmare on Elm Street Remake.

I grew up with ANOES. When I heard about this remake I did what all nostalgia fuelled fans do: I decried it.

Then when I realized who was involved, I felt completely justified in my feelings. These guys churn out drivel, and drivel is what this remake is based upon the large number of reviews and tons of viewer feedback that I have read online (and also inference based upon previous works of theirs and the current state of American horror).

Here are my issues with this remake (although, keep in mind, I have not yet seen it):

1) Freddy's look. I know that's more realistic, but he lost the demonic look that I loved. However, I am willing to admit a part of this is likely nostalgia.


Ugh.......

2) HIS VOICE!! Freddy sounded demonic. Now he sounds like a breathless Rocky Balboa. Not scary in the least and this alone is a huge dealbreaker for me.

3) Based upon several reviews and viewer feedback it seems as though the ''scares'' were pretty much the loud BAM sound followed by a sudden appearance of Freddy. I HATE  the overuse of jump scares. It's cheap, cheesy, manipulative and indicative of the fact that these guys are creatively bankrupt and don't understand shit about horror or what Craven did with ANOES.

4) I read that the nightmare scenes are always telegraphed via musical and aesthetic changes. Part of what I loved with the original series is you often weren't immediately aware that you were in 'dream world' if you will. There were some surprises. Some.....unknown. Some...suspense.

5) The footage I have seen features a very wooden Nancy. Langenkamp might not win any awards but at least she had expression and depth.

6) The people involved do it solely for money, and they are hacks. They didn't even care to try and involve any of the original people. No Craven, no Saxon, no Lagenkamp and no Englund.

Now, this is a 'reboot' so this makes some sense. Well, Englund could have played Krueger but the rest make sense. Except for one: Craven. They didn't bother to get input from the one man who truly understood Krueger, and the one man who had vision. Idiots.

7) I don't want to support this remake bullshit. They fucked up FF13, they destroyed Halloween, the are fucking up Krueger (although I can't fully say this until I see it, which of course I'll end up doing at some point, let's be real, but hopefully for free after my brother buys the DVD) and they have completely destroyed so many others. Black Christmas, Prom Night, Psycho (not that I'm a huge fan of the original), Dawn of the Dead, etc etc etc

8) WHERE THE FUCK IS THE ORIGINAL SCORE?? It's the best damn horror score EVER.

9) CGI. Jesus. The clip of Freddy coming out the wall looks so fucking fake now, whereas the budget shot with no CGI still looks better today.

10) They all know what's going on way too early, and they come to know it way too easily. The original had a slow, suspenseful buildup where Nancy and co. tried to piece together what was happening.

Maybe I'll end up liking it, but I doubt it. The guys behind the project just don't see horror the way I do, and I don't think I'll enjoy what they did to ANOES.

Still, I admit I may be wrong. There's .000003% chance of it :)

And of course, some nostalgia is involved. I freely admit that.

So, as it stands, I don't expect to like this one. I don't anticipate feeling any real emotion while watching it. Like most modern horror, I figure it will be like going through a fast food drive thru. I'll get something that resembles the thing I am looking for, it will go down easy, and it will be forgotten almost instantly......well, it will be forgottent, but it will leave me a nice goign away present, namely, heartburn and digestive issues.

So, ya, as of now, the Platium Dunes assholes can take their overprocessed, unemotive, wooden mass produced, money grab, b.s. 'film' and shove it up their asses. Assuming of course it will fit in there, since we all know there's a lot of shit up their ass to begin with. Namely, the hopes, dreams, and childhoods of 1980's horror fans. Poeple like me, good, honest, hard working, god feari-well, okay, good, honest, hard working people, just trying to get by in life, and hoping to be entertained here and there on the way through this roller coaster of a life. They farted out my childhood when they made this movie, and now it stinks. It stinks to high heav- well, it stinks to high something. It stinks of hollywood, coporatized, assembly line horsehsit that passes for horror these days. They seem to average $1, 400 000 per shitty jump scare, and I am sure they made about $35, 000, 000 thus far off of this travesty. This affront to 1980's, plaid wearing, big haired, MC Hammer liking sensibilities.

Note to Platinum Dunes: I want my fucking childhood back, you assholes. I don't recall putting it on the market, so I have no idea how you fuckers bought and sold it, but I want it back. Now, give it back, or I'll......I'll......kil- no, no, that's not it......I'll, I'll, beat- no, no, that's not it either.....I'll I'll.....su-no, no that's not it.....Ah, Hell. I'll keep blogging about you!!! And you don't want that, trust me. I have a HUGE audience and immeasurable influence. I can get people to boycott your ass, and let me tell you, you'd lose at least $23.00. You want to test me? You want to test me motherfuckers? Go ahead, oif you think it's worth $23.00, go right the fuck ahead, you childhood stompin fart brains.

OH GREAT!! I have just been informed, as I write this, that Paltinum Dune already have 2 MORE NOES movies in the works. Jesus H Christ on a stick, talk about milking.


They took a series that has already been milked to the point of well.....no more milk...ness? I don't know. Point of being barren. Milk dry? Milkless? YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!!!!!!

RAWR!!!

Anyways, the took this already milked series, and decided, "Hey!! Let's redo it all! Let's milk it some more! And we'll do it with less talent, worse leads, and a shitty sounding Freddy! Awesome, we're going to make sooooooo much money! High fives all around!!!"

*sounds of childhoods being shat out, crapped on, farted on, and farted out*

/Cut to scene of magx01 crying in a corner, rhythmically chanting "It's not real, it's not real."

Ha, interesting little aside here. Those last few words called to mind (with no effort on my part) a line from Stephen King's IT (the miniseries, based on the tremendously awesome novel). The line is:

"You're not real!!! You're not real!!!"  
It's delivered by the actress playing Beverly Marsh, and it's delivered in a very convincing voice, fraught with several emotions at once; a woman on the edge, desperately trying to keep it together while she tries to grasp the enormity of the situation in which she finds herself after thrusting herself blindly back into her past, at the whim of a childhood friend whom she hadn't heard from in 28 years.

I heard that line in my head as I typed that line, and I heard it exactly as it's delivered in the movie. And upon recalling the line, I felt a small, but real chill. A momentary shudder, as I recalled the situation this woman found herself in, and the terror I felt as a ten year old boy watching this unfold on my tv (thanks mom, and ABC, primetime tv. As Freddy would say, "Welcome to prime time, bitch!"

Why mention this? Well, simple. This demomstrates the power of film. Sure, horror movies aren't high art, but they do have the fantastic capability to really resonate with you. To burrow into the psyche and lay dormant for years, only to spring forth at opportune moments and elicit the same fear they did when you first experienced them. People say the boogeyman isn't real, but I say he is, in the form of the latent emotion, leftover in my subconscious a result of watching a shitload of horror movies as I grew up. And that, friends, is the power of horror.

And do you know what scenes result in this occurrence? The psychologically weighty ones. Not the stupid LOUD NOISES BOO!!!! nonsense. Too bad Platinum Douche doesnt understand that.

Thanks for fucking up my childhood, assholes.

Last little note: To those who will read this and find themselves wondering how one can be so certain about a movie which one has not even seen, well friends, I fully acknowledge that I may be blogging a nice apology to Platinum Dunes and you, the reader, sometime soon. However, in the interest in full disclosure, I can honestly say, with as little hubris as possible, that, in all my experience, I'm more often right when it comes to preconceived notions on films. That does not mean I am right this time, and I am not saying I am ever wrong, I'm not. I've been wrong many times, some of them for really notable films. I went into the Dark Knight thinking it would suck. WRONG. I went into Iron Man expecting to hate it, and ended up liking it. NOT loving it, but liking it. I went into Spiderman thinking it would suck. Liked it. I went into X-Men thinking it would be shit. Loved it. (Hated origins though. Ugh). I thought I would hate The Matrix. Wow, wrong.
That all being said, I honestly am more often right. I'm usually pretty good with making predictions about my feelings on a movie after just viewing trailers. However, in this case, I have done a LOT more than that, and I have been a horror fan for more than 20 years. I know what I like, I know my dislikes, and I know what I hate in horror. And based on the things I have seen, heard and read, the chances of me hating this movie are high. Almost as high as I'd have to be to love it :)

Thanks for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed it, I enjoyed writing it. And as I said in the beginning, please feel free to comment. This blog took quite a while, and so any feedback would help me feel like I am not totally wasting my time here :)

20 comments:

  1. Paladin Skye God EaterMay 4, 2010 at 1:34 PM

    Its me again, your friendly neighborhood God Eater!

    I would like to state first that I am not a fan of horror movies in general. As I said in my comment on your GT blog, I might watch one for the LOLs, but that's it. They do not invoke any fear, suspense, or similar emotion. Again, maybe the terrifying sleep paralysis with accompanied hypnagogic hallucinations ruined it for me.

    As far as the ANOES movies go... eh. Like most horror films, they leave me asking "uhhh, really?" with a few chuckles. But I suppose that's not really what your blog is about, so onto the meat of it.

    Why do you really care if they made a remake? They aren't crushing your childhood memories. You still have those memories. A remake doesn't automatically ruin them or make them any less important (if anything, it should make them more important). If they're just milking a series, then fine, no one is forcing you to watch it.

    Point is, you're letting them get an emotional response out of you. This type of reaction creates more "controversy" and ultimately more sales on their part. Its like a bully trying to get a response out of their potential victim. The mix of passionate positive and negative feedback only makes people want to go see the movie even more (in general). Your best bet at fighting this is to be passive-aggressive, or just don't care to begin with. You still have your older films that you cherish. I'm sure you have them on DVD's or even transferred to your computer/s.

    I would also like to point out that FF13 is not a remake. It isn't even a "sequel". Its just another game with the same brand name as previous games, and keeping a handful of elements. In essence, take the labels away and they are all stand alone games.

    Also, IT... what can I say? Boring as hell (in my opinion, of course). Well, assuming hell is boring that is. I think it would be. Anyways, sorry, I can't really connect with you on this one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Why do you really care if they made a remake? They aren't crushing your childhood memories. You still have those memories. A remake doesn't automatically ruin them or make them any less important (if anything, it should make them more important). If they're just milking a series, then fine, no one is forcing you to watch it."


    This is a very valid point, and one that I struggle with internally. I recognize the irrationality of my sentiments, but I am folly for them. I guess, though, that one could argue that the shitty remakes represent a lost opportunity. Because we [i]could[/i] have gottent a great movie, and a boon to a lagging, but classic series. Also, poor iterations of a series diminish the chance of getting another one made, no matter how good it may be.

    Still, you raise a valid point.

    "Point is, you're letting them get an emotional response out of you. This type of reaction creates more "controversy" and ultimately more sales on their part. Its like a bully trying to get a response out of their potential victim. The mix of passionate positive and negative feedback only makes people want to go see the movie even more (in general). Your best bet at fighting this is to be passive-aggressive, or just don't care to begin with. You still have your older films that you cherish. I'm sure you have them on DVD's or even transferred to your computer/s."

    I don't necessarily buy this argument. I mean, publicity is publicity, negative or positive, but a series of this stature is guranteed that publicity reegardless of whether or not there is a vocal minority of bitter, nostaligic fans :P

    And the answer is DVD. I have the awesome box set with

    FF13....lol, I was referring to the Friday the 13th remake from a couple of eyars ago, not FFXIII!! Lol!

    "IT: Really? I suppose I could see that. It's certainly not the best adaptation of all time. However, it was an early 90's, low budget, made for tv movie, based on a difficult and extremely lenghty novel that jumps around different timelines, has a shitload of fully fleshed out characters, and has many, many interconnected scenes and storylines. A hard none to adpat, and I think they did an admirable job, all things considered.

    And Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise was AWESOME. I'm assuming you at least agree with that?

    As for not liking the horror genre, I can definitely understand that, and the reasons you might have for feeling that way. Even without your parasomnias hypothesis, there would be numerous valid reasons not to like the genre. It's a genre that is very much steeped in convention, and if you do nto appreciate those conventions, you're basically out from the start.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Paladin Skye God Eater the RemakeMay 4, 2010 at 4:51 PM

    "This is a very valid point, and one that I struggle with internally. I recognize the irrationality of my sentiments, but I am folly for them. I guess, though, that one could argue that the shitty remakes represent a lost opportunity. Because we could have gottent a great movie, and a boon to a lagging, but classic series. Also, poor iterations of a series diminish the chance of getting another one made, no matter how good it may be.

    Still, you raise a valid point. "

    When you compare an original to a remake as such, is there really any way for the remake, regardless of who made it, to be any better? The original is the.. original. The remake is a re-imagining of that. "If it aint broke, dont fix it". Now, if the original was horribly done, yet the plot COULD have been good if the director or whoever didnt fuck it up, then a remake has the potential to be better.

    As you imply in your blog, Robert Englund IS Krueger.. no one else could replace that in many peoples eyes. So anything else but Englund playing him is already diminishing one of the most important aspects of the movie.

    But as I said, you still have the original, so no harm done.

    "I dont necessarily buy this argument. I mean, publicity is publicity, negative or positive, but a series of this stature is guranteed that publicity reegardless of whether or not there is a vocal minority of bitter, nostaligic fans :P"

    Perhaps. But I think youd be surprised how many people would go see a movie simply because of the "controversy", just to see for themselves, even if they dont like the genre. The numbers might not be mind blowing, but I think substantial. Personally I wait for DVD to do so though Im like you where my opinion of a movie is generally correct before seeing it, so I typically watch it just to say "ha ha in your face I was right". Wow, Im kind of mean, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Paladin Skye God Eater the RemakeMay 4, 2010 at 4:51 PM

    added to previous comment... was too long! lol

    Either way, I suppose its best to speak your mind when you feel you should. Its not like those extra ticket sales are going to kill your soul! Or will it....

    "FF13....lol, I was referring to the Friday the 13th remake from a couple of eyars ago, not FFXIII!! Lol!"

    Hahaha, well you can tell whats on my mind! Now I feel stupid. Well, glad you cleared that up.

    "IT: Really? I suppose I could see that. Its certainly not the best adaptation of all time. However, it was an early 90s, low budget, made for tv movie, based on a difficult and extremely lenghty novel that jumps around different timelines, has a shitload of fully fleshed out characters, and has many, many interconnected scenes and storylines. A hard none to adpat, and I think they did an admirable job, all things considered. "

    I think the story was interesting. It was just boring, mostly due to it being a horror film. Hehe. I understand the whole book to film issue.. happens all the time. There is just to much information sometimes.

    "And Tim Currys performance as Pennywise was AWESOME. Im assuming you at least agree with that?"

    His performance Im sure was remarkable. But to me, unappealing.

    "As for not liking the horror genre, I can definitely understand that, and the reasons you might have for feeling that way. Even without your parasomnias hypothesis, there would be numerous valid reasons not to like the genre. Its a genre that is very much steeped in convention, and if you do nto appreciate those conventions, youre basically out from the start."

    There are a handful of "horror" movies I like. Its really just a matter of how its done, and what psychological factors are involved. Monsters and demonic or possessed figures or even just random serial killers.. IE Scream.. ick dont spark anything when Im watching a film I like to kill em though in video games, yay!. I much prefer an unknown ambiguous entity. And surprises shouldnt consist of loud noises and random screaming; that is such a cheap trick to get a response, rather sad.

    But perhaps Im just hyper critical. Ive tried watching horror films to become scared or whatever, even ones that a million other people suggest I watch. Ill watch em alone, in the dark at night, yadda yadda. Nothing. So for me to enjoy most horror films, I have to watch it as if it were a comedy.

    Also, I really dislike most horror films where the ending is basically there is no way for the "good guys" to win. For example, a movie called "They" I believe. What a waste of time.

    In response to your message on GT:
    "So you want to tear me down, do ya?

    ;

    I responded back, if youre interested. Either way, Peace."

    LOL, Im not tearing you down. Sorry. Just wanted to throw in my two cents worth thats probably all my opinions are worth. I did probably come off as rather negative.

    Ill tell ya what, if I get the opportunity Ill rewatch ANOES the original, so I can have a more updated opinion on it.

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  5. I FUCKING HATE Scream. I screamed because of the downfall of Wes Craven.

    "I much prefer an unknown ambiguous entity."

    The unkown certainly is scary. An antagonist shrouded in mystery is always better than one without surprise, intrigue, or mystery.

    "And surprises shouldnt consist of loud noises and random screaming; that is such a cheap trick to get a response, rather sad."

    YES, and as you read in this blog, that is one of my big complaints with respect to the ANOES Remake (based upon what I have read on numerous sites, and inference based upon Platinum Hacks previous works. It's a cheap, manipulative thing to do, and it's indicative of creative bankrupcy.

    Sure, a few jump scares are acceptable (sort of), and, on rare occassions, they can even be utilized in an effective manner (the one near the end of ANOES, in Nancy's bedroom, or the one, again, in her bedroom, in Wes Craven's New Nightmare, were both good, contextually) but to rely on them is a fucking travesty.

    "Perhaps. But I think youd be surprised how many people would go see a movie simply because of the "controversy", just to see for themselves, even if they dont like the genre. The numbers might not be mind blowing, but I think substantial."

    Huh, if this is true, I'm out of touch, becuase I, being the old dinosaur that I am, assumed that people go to see movies they are interested in seeing based upom you know, the fundamentals of the film.

    Ah, but then again, I'm sure a fuckload of people went to go see the 2 Hour Beating of the Christ out of curiosity, or due to the rep it quickly started gainging for both burtality and antisemitism. And I guess the Exorcist probably drew it fair share of curious onlookers in its day. People who ordinarily would have had no interest, but after hearing about some of the scenes, including the fuck me jesus cross masturbation scene, and the fact that someone supposedly died during a screening of the film.

    "Also, I really dislike most horror films where the ending is basically there is no way for the "good guys" to win. For example, a movie called "They" I believe. What a waste of time."

    Have not seen that movie, but I love when the bad guys win. It's more realistic that way. In real life, no one would be escaping these guys!
    Then again, I watched a very well done, and very effective flick a year or so agao called The Descent, and in that one, the protags all die, but you're like NOOOOOOOOOOO because they actually spent a good hour letting you get to know them, and they were real. They had depth, and flaws and pain and joys. They weren't the typical horror movie chicks (it was all females). They were older (late 20's I think) and not snobby or annoying. Not shallow, none of that. They were a long standung group of friends who cared about eachother, and even when shit started oign wrong, it was actually the environment that was the cause (cave spelunking is it called?). The actual antagonsts didn't appear until lter in the film.

    Damn good movie. Maybe one you might not hate lol.

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  6. Paladin Skye the God Eater MasterMay 4, 2010 at 8:19 PM

    Seems like we agree on the first few points. :)

    Yeah, a lot of people go to see movies for the hype or the controversy, etc. I don't. I'll wait until its on a dollar rental, or if someone else rents it, lol. Most movies I don't even bother though. And I'll only go to the theaters if its a movie I REALLY WANT TO FUCKING SEE.

    I don't love it when the bad guys win, IF THE BAD GUYS SUCK ASS. As in, basically the bad guy/s is/are random monsters with no intellect, and no background history is provided, etc etc. In the movie "They", they're basically monsters from a "dark dimension" or some shit that can travel through "shadows" to eat people. That's it. The protagonist is some random woman who encountered these things as a child, they implanted something in here, and when she's all grown up and edible (wait a minute...) they come back for her (as they do with other people supposedly). No one else can see them, so everyone thinks she's crazy. At the end she gets trapped inside the dimension and it implies she gets eaten. The end. They're not even cool monsters.

    I've seen the movie The Descent. Sorry, I dislike. From the get go you basically know they're all out of luck and are going to die in almost all the same way (except that one chick that gets killed accidentally by her friend).

    BTW, they made The Descent 2. Look it up on IMDB.com. The lady at the end actually survives, but she's all crazed. A sheriff or someone finds her and inquires about what happened, but she can't explain. So they take her and go back into the cave. Repeat. Didn't see it, but saw they made it and looked up the synopsis. LOL.

    One movie I did like was The Fourth Kind. Wasn't scary, but the style was rather unique. Of course not without flaws (don't want to say 'em if you haven't seen it, don't wanna spoil the movie), but intriguing none the less.

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  7. Ya, I heard about the Descent 2.

    Okay, here are a few movies that might possibly be up your alley:

    I feel somewhat confident:

    [b]Event Horizon
    Jacob's Ladder
    Rosemary's Baby
    The Exorcist
    The Shining
    Poltergeist[/b]

    Perhaps?:

    [b]Wes Craven's New Nightmare[/b] (you would have read my description above, maybe that piqued your interest siomewhat? The whole metafilm thing? Freddy was shrouded in mystery, and it was very dark.
    [b]Hellraiser[/b]
    [b]The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remake[/b] (I dunno, it's intense and viscious, and the sheriff played by R. Lee Ermey (General Barnaky from Fallout Tactics) is awesome.

    I think you said you sometimes enjoy cheesy, so bad they're good ones, right? If so:

    [b]Jack Frost (frosty the snowman is a killer)
    Jack Frost 2
    Pumpkinhead
    Zombie Strippers
    Killer Clowns From Outer Space[/b]

    And if you want to test your more.....base sensibilites (or lack thereof):

    [b]The Guinea Pig Series (specifically, #2, flowers of flesh and blood)
    [i]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_Pig_(film_series)#Flower_of_Flesh_and_Blood[/i]
    Cannibal Holocaust
    Ichi the Killer
    Salo
    A L'Interieur (Inside)
    Midnight Meat Train

    There's a variety of what the horor genre has to offer. If there's nothing in that list that tickles your fancy, then you're not a horror guy, which it already seems is quite likely the case.

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  8. Paladin Skye the God Eater remixMay 4, 2010 at 9:02 PM

    I've seen Event Horizon. Not a bad film, but I disliked the end. Laid it on too thick at the end there.

    I've seen The Shining, but its been a while, so I can't really say either way.

    The Poltergeist was good; not so much the sequels (but not bad either).

    After I watch the original ANOES, I'll watch the New Nightmare one.

    Seen the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Eh. "Look at me, I'm crazy and with a chainsaw!" LOL. Funny watching everyone die though, as they were all very very stupid.

    Haven't seen any of the other movies. Jack Frost, I've seen a preview for. Looks cheesy, but not sure about it.

    I'll check out a few (starting with ANOES), but it might take me a while. Then I'll get back to ya. :P

    Gore isn't scary, and only relevant if it fits the movie. But it doesn't bother me one bit. Now, things like rape are unneeded (not scary, just would rather not see it); again, only if its relevant to the type of movie, and not so much as a "horror" factor.

    Yeah I'm not so much of a horror fan. At least not for the "horror". If its got a good story and what not, then sure.

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  9. Horror and good story in the same sentence?

    Huh. Sound the alarms, we have an optimist.

    Shoot on sight.

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  10. The God Eater, Paladin Skye. Brought to you buy ninjas are win.May 4, 2010 at 9:23 PM

    LOL, "good" in the sense that its not terrible.

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  11. Did I seriously just type "buy".... I meant "by".... god I suck.

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  12. The only Freddie movie I have seen was the 1st one, that story in it's self is one worthy of adding at least as a comment here and perhaps will make it to a blog of mine somewhere.

    Go back to just when the movie slides from showing in the movies and makes it to satellite tv and a time before even dvd's where being made or movies being downloaded.

    My buddy had a caravan (mobile home) at Loch Earn in Scotland that he shared with all his family during the summer months, they all would take selected weekends .. drive up there to enjoy the beautiful scenery and perhaps the watersports in the Loch (Scottish for lake). This weekend Graham .. my buddy .. had booked all his mates in at the caravan to have a golfing weekend and a piss-up beer party.

    Long story short .. in the wee small hours there was only 3 of the 6 body's still alive and sober enough to breath let alone anything else. Graham at this point mentions the fact that they had this new satellite tv deal going down .. switching on we found NMoES playing and was around half way through, grabbing a few more beers we .. the survivors .. settled down to watch. I not say I was particularly scared by it, nor can I say I was too impressed. However now it's time for this guy to go to bed .. I was the lucky fella who had grabbed the only real bedroom in the place to my self .. settled down on the soft mattress with the sounds and images of the movie still kinda in my head. I just drifted of to sleep when I thought I heard movement outside the van.

    Then it happened .. this rasping noise down the side of the thinly walled caravan .. all off a sudden I was not only awake .. but I was sober .. I then started to think fast .. this has to be my buddies playing a trick on me. Opening the door to the bedroom I peered out into the interior .. all my buddies are fast asleep where they had fallen or at least had found a comfortable spot. Then as I stood there .. there was that noise again, believe me when I say .. this time I am spooked, like .. what the hell is it? Or worse .. who is it? After another couple of breathless moments I start to hear other noises, this time a little more distant from the van .. so I gathers up what courage it could muster and slide as noiselessly I can to the window .. peering in to the dark night I see the sight I shall never forget.

    Two red deer stag's clashing antlers 3 feet away from the van .. they apparently spill out the surrounding forest at nights during the rutting season .. the rub their antlers against posts or anything they can to remove the velvety covering to reveal the hard antlers below.

    Thats my experience with Freddie and NMoES .. and I shall never forget it.

    Thanks for sharing you're blog and reminding this old fella of his touch with nature.

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  13. Ah, Gas, that was one of the best stories I have ever heard! Thanks for sharing that.

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  14. Wow, this is a sick blog. I also love the NOES series, and I did see the remake.....it was fucking TRASH.

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  15. Sadly it seems to be a sign of the times, remakes that is.

    As audiences trend towards action movies with obvious aggression motivators the underlying subtle elements of film and story that address the audience on different levels is going to be lost.

    With NOES much of what made it a great film is of course lost.

    I wanna get you a link to a guy that does film critiques and analysis that you may enjoy checking out.

    http://www.collativelearning.com/

    both his site, and his youtube page are quite good, although I found his bladerunner take to be quite weak, in lue of a book I think he is doing.

    While not horror, another film I enjoyed quite a lot was Sunshine, and in the theme of a horror one cannot really come to grips with most the japanese stuff such as Ringu, or The Ring are excellent.

    In that spirit most the localizations seem to be ok, although I have not seen the US release of Dark Water.

    You mentioned the meta-film with NOES, which is interesting. There is a Thelemic concept dealing with a gospel demon Choronzon, which has been vulgated into the term Corrosion, said to reside within the abyss that seeks form in the material realm.

    Most any horror that borrows from this ancient gospel devil is normally good, and I think we see it in films such as The Shinning, Event Horizon, and perhaps even Sunshine... definately in your Meta-film the concept seems to be in play. For what it is worth.

    On the topic though, perhaps what you said about the missed oppertunity to add to the cannon, rather than take a shit on it in a spaceballs 2 quest for more money mode, I myself, try to enjoy shit for what it is... I like the Bey transformers films, I would of really liked it had it of been done correctly, but I know that shit just aint so...

    Its sorta like that though, look at The Thing, when I first saw the film I was sorta Meh... but today, I see the genius in it, only Good film has that capability, even if the film was for horror. I very seriously doubt I will ever watch one of these remakes years from now and go GOSH, I missed that whole subtle genius... You know why I wont say that? Cause there aint none to see.

    I suppose like anything, buildings are a good example, a building houses people for the purpose of activity or houseing, but when that building brings people together in community, it transcends its gross purpose and becomes architecture. Good film does this too, sure its purpose was to jew 8 bucks off me, but when I get something from the film, or am able to see new things in the film as I gain experience, it transcends its gross concept, and becomes art or literature. That is what is missing, given way to prefab horse-shit.

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  16. What a wonderful comment MFeff, thank you. You nailed the problem with remakes (and much of film today) and I loved this:

    "I suppose like anything, buildings are a good example, a building houses people for the purpose of activity or houseing, but when that building brings people together in community, it transcends its gross purpose and becomes architecture. Good film does this too, sure its purpose was to jew 8 bucks off me, but when I get something from the film, or am able to see new things in the film as I gain experience, it transcends its gross concept, and becomes art or literature. That is what is missing, given way to prefab horse-shit."

    Thanks very much.

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  17. Oh, forgot to say, I will check out that guy's website.

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  18. Glad you got something out of it, look forward to checking out this site more often as well.

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  19. The first ones were very good, real scary, but then it all went to the toilet, the one with Jason is one of the worst movies ever....ever..ever..ever.

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