I always hate when personal horror blogs like my own report on the news. Nobody comes to a site like mine to read news, so I've always felt that there's really no point in regurgitating content from the big news sites, which most people coming here have already read. That being said, there are several big news stories that break every month that I get asked for my thoughts on, and which I sometimes am eager to share my thoughts on. So I've decided that whenever a news story drops that I have something to say about, I'll whip up a quick little post about it, sharing my thoughts on the matter.
I've cleverly dubbed these segments "Thoughts On The News". Inspired, I know.
The focus tonight is on a piece of news which just broke yesterday, and which has quickly become enemy #1 of horror fan hatred across the interwebs ...
THE NEWS :
Originally announced nearly three years ago, David Gordon Green's remake of Suspiria is finally coming to fruition, set to begin filming in September (...providing a female lead is found by then). The remake was co-written by and will be directed by Green, the dude who brought us films like Pineapple Express, Your Highness and The Sitter.
MY THOUGHTS :
Now the main reason horror fans are already hard at work spewing hate about a film that hasn't even begun filming yet is not only because it's a remake of a beloved classic, which is always sure to garner immediate hate, but because it's being helmed by a man who is mostly known for making comedies. My Facebook feed has been inundated with comments like "Greaaaat, I bet the witches are gonna be potheads & Jonah Hill's gonna be in it", which are quite frankly pissing me right the hell off.
This is really much the same thing that's been going on with the Evil Dead remake, which I ranted at length about a couple months back. Much like how horror fans are hating on that remake because it was co-written by Diablo Cody, who's known for films like Juno & Jennifer's Body, the early hate for this one all stems from the fact that the person making it has previously made films that don't at all reflect the vibe of a film like Suspiria. If ya ask me, that's a pretty fuckin' ridiculous reason to be against a movie.
I don't know where people came up with this idea that filmmakers can only make films that are similar to films they have previously made, but it's totally idiotic. A good filmmaker is a good filmmaker, whether they're making a movie about a killer shark or about the plight of the Jews during the Holocaust. So just because David Gordon Green previously directed Pineapple Express does not mean his Suspiria remake will star Seth Rogen and be about smoking pot, nor does the fact that Diablo Cody punched up the Evil Dead remake script mean that it'll be a teen pregnancy movie with witty dialogue. Those were merely films they made in the past, which have little to no reflection on their films of the future. Again, did anybody get on Spielberg when he decided to make a World War 2 movie after doing movies about sharks and aliens? Thought not.
Now the ironic thing here, which totally kills the whole 'he can only do comedy' argument, is that David Gordon Green actually started off making very serious non-comedic films, one of which was a thriller called Undertow and another which was an acclaimed drama called George Washington, the latter of which is part of the Criterion Collection. I admit that I've never seen these movies or anything he did prior to Pineapple Express, but that's proof right there that Green is a diverse filmmaker, as all good filmmakers are. He obviously made the switch from drama to comedy pretty well, so well in fact that everyone now sees him as exclusively a director of comedies, so none of us have any reason to believe that he couldn't pull off a horror movie just as well. And yes, people got all over his case when it was announced he'd be making his first comedy, after coming off a slew of dramas. Since when did it become a bad thing to be a diverse filmmaker?!
Now regardless of who is making the movie, I don't see why so many fans are so quick to hate on it, as is generally the case with remakes. Though Suspiria is a damn fine film, a visually striking horror masterpiece, I personally feel that it could actually benefit from a modern day remake. The original is after all nearly 40 years old. Green is truly passionate about the material and has been working on bringing his vision for it to the screen for years now. I feel like all of us fans of the original are very lucky to have an incredibly talented filmmaker like him at the helm, who genuinely cares about the material, and thus, I see no reason whatsoever to hate on this project. At least not right now, before we even really know anything about it!
Here are a couple quotes from David which should soothe any worries you may have about this remake ...
"I don't want to make the low budget, schlocky version of it; I want it to be beautiful and interesting, and have an elegant quality to it. The original film is such a vivid, artistic creation that it'd be terrible to make a lo-fi, grunge version of it."
"We've got the rights to Goblin's original music, which is a crucial thing. I can't imagine any version of that movie not having that Goblin score."
I rest my case.
Now can we go back to being excited about the genre, rather than spending all of our time hating on it? Please?
4 comments:
I was kinda hoping they'd stay away from Goblin. Use different prog rock... there's so much great stuff to work with and I say this as a die hard Goblin fan. I'm not a happy camper about the remake, but I'll watch it and hopefully enjoy it. Let's see what they can do with blue and red lighting. Maybe they should shoot it in technicolor!
Okay... but still...why remake it at all? The director's comedy background is irrelevant. Why remake a film that needs no improvement? Is there something else to be said about this story?
A large part of what makes Suspiria so special is the cinematography and of course, Dario's direction. Suspiria is a director's film. What can someone possibly add to it?
Green admits that the original Goblin score is perfect and therefore wants to use it again. He also mentions the beautiful visual quality of the original, which he intends to mimic. At this point it sounds like he has nothing to add to the material. It seems more like a rip-off, an imitation that is being made only for the purpose of making the story more palpable to younger audiences.
Remakes have been around for decades. They are not evil by nature. Sometimes a story is worth retelling when a director can add a new perspective on existing material. Some remakes are even improvements over the originals, arguably. If there is something to add to existing material, great. Show us what you got. But if you want to just dumb-down a film and put prettier people in it so you can make money off young audiences (and rip off actual artists), you're going to have to just expect that some film fans may not like it too much. It's sounding like this may be the case with the Suspiria remake. Using the same soundtrack and similar visual style seems to indicate that Green has nothing new to bring to the story. If so much needs to be copied directly from the source I'd ask why it needs to be redone at all.
Tracy - David is a talented filmmaker, who loves Suspiria, and he seems to feel quite passionately about the fact that he can deliver a new vision of it that fans of the original will love. So that's all I really need to know to be on board for this one.
Why be against it, I say? I've personally got no reason to be. He certainly doesn't seem to want to do this just to make money, as you suggest. He's been passionately trying to get this off the ground for years, so it's not like he's just some hired gun who wants a big paycheck.
As for the soundtrack. They got the rights to the Goblin soundtrack, but will be reworking the tunes and changing them up a bit. And he's not looking to recreate the same movie either ...
"To me, what I love about it…. I love the original, but the movie that I’ve written based on that is just very much influenced by that. I think the idea of an isolated setting with a young, naïve girl stuck in the isolated setting is just a field day for what I find to be scary. It’s me responding horrifically to that movie; I was really terrified by that movie. My take is somewhat different from what Argento’s movie is, and it’s really me seeing what I have to offer that genre.
It’s the seed that Suspiria planted in my head, rather than a shot-by-shot remake. It takes that tone and goes into a new place with it."
Basically I'm just hopeful about the project and see no reason to hate on it, especially before we even really know anything about it or anything is even shot. Why not give it a chance?
I hear what you're saying. I can't truly hate on a film I've yet to see. I have seen plenty of remakes, though, that have contributed to why I tend to groan every time a new remake is announced.
I don't really accuse this director of being in it for the money, specifically, as I don't know enough about him either way. I aim that point more towards the studios.
I hold Suspiria high on a pedastal. I guess I react strongly to this remake mostly just for that reason. I just wish more original stories could be told instead of the studios, producers, what have you trying to manipulate what they see as a built-in audience.
I guess we'll just agree to disagree on this one. :) I don't think I can believe that anyone could top the original vision that Suspiria was or really add anything interesting to it (not even Dario Argento in these recent years).
I've seen way more bad remakes at this point, but I've been pleasantly surprised before. I thought I would hate the TCM remake but I actually enjoyed it. It, to me, seemed a good combination of original ideas applied to existing cannon but it still had a very similar feel. (probably b/c of the involvement of some who also worked on the original, but I digress).
You may be right- we shall see eventually. Until then I'll have to keep looking at what's coming over from Europe and back catalog titles that are still trickling their way onto DVD and Blu.
P.S. Thanks for continuing to find fun & interesting genre goodies & sharing 'em here!
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