Absolute Horror Film Forum

That is the question.

I just recently watched the remake of The Omen and had to wonder why they bothered at all. there was no significant difference from the original - Except that the original Damien was a hell of a lot scarier.

Now I'm not a great fan of Greggory Peck's, I believe his acting to be very staid and wooden at times, but he had Thorne down pat. And David Warner as the journalist was better than David Thewlis's attempt - it seemed as though the actors were acting out being the actors in the first film, they brought nothing new to the part. The beheading scene in the original was also better choreographed. I loved seeing David Warner's head bounce down the piece of sheet glass - classic.

Now Rob Zombie is treading on the toes of the great John Carpenter with Halloween. On interviews he's saying that he's bringing something new to the character of Michael Myers - I'll wait and see - personally he's treading on hallowed ground here, with me. the original movie & the sequel I thought were fantastic and I think Carpenter built up the tension and the excitement superbly. Even know I get goosebumps when I watch it and even though I've watched all the sequels and I know the bugger is indestructible - when he fall out the window onto the ground, and she sees him lying prone on the grass and breathes a sigh of relief. then when her & Doctor Loomis look out a second later and he's gone, I still think - Oh, No, He's Alive.

One of my favourite scenes of all time is in this movie. A guy comes downstairs looking for a brew after having a very good-time with his blonde girlfriend, upstairs, and gets pinned to the wall by old MM. But then you get a shot, looking straight on at MM and he slowly cocks his head to the side, like a dog does when he's watching something and is a little bemused. Carpenter holds on this scene a moment too long and that makes it scarier.

So what can we expect - a straight copy like The Omen or a complete bodge-job like Superman - Man of ... (well it wasn't steel was it?).

I think this is worse than filming a sequel - at least in a sequel we get different characters & locations added into the mix - and you see how some characters have grown over time - you also get, hopefully, better kills. Instead of the same thing.

I can see why old movies like The Thirteen Ghosts - Ghost Ship - House on Haunted Hill were remade - the time was right because the special effects and peoples attitudes had moved on. All those three are way different to the originals - of which most were originally played with tongue in cheek, and the story lines were altered slightly to add more to the film.

Anyway that's my rant out of the way - for now.

Let me know what you think on the subject.

Come join me - We ALL float down here.

Pennywise.