During the month of October it is easy to divide your friends into two distinct categories: those who like scary movies, and those who do not. If you are a part of the first grouping, you have a lot of decisions to make as Halloween approaches. It is time to decide which movie to watch, whether to stream or to Netflix, and most importantly, original or remake? When it comes to horror films, Hollywood isn’t always full of new brilliant ideas. Most of your favorite scary movies are either remakes or have been remade. The list spans decades of rewrites, revisions, sequels, (and in some cases shot by shot renditions) but to save you time reading and give you more time watching, lets compare 3 remade horror films to their originals. Warning: spoilers.
1. Halloween
We all know Halloween as that classic horror movie in which the killer attacks a group of stereotypical teenagers and only the virgin survives. The fun of the movie lies within its predictability and textbook plot line. The 1978 version isn’t very bloody but the intense music, dramatic death scenes, and narrow escapes make it an entertaining movie. If you’re looking for something that is going to terrify you to your core, then skip the original Halloween. If you’re looking for a low budget horror film to laugh and scream at with your friends, it’s perfect. I’m sure no one would be surprised to hear that the 2007 version of Halloween is much gorier than the original. It is also 20 minutes longer. The remake stuck to the same basic plot, and we can appreciate them getting the mask right, but overall it falls short of the original. Both plots are based on the antagonist, Michael Myers, killing teens that have sex, drink, and party. However the remake focuses a lot more on the sex. They even highlight young Michael’s interest in sex during his childhood and it’s a little too uncomfortable. Blood, sex, and guts are typical horror movie components but trying to live up to a classic by turning up the exploitation doesn’t push this remake to the top of my list.
2. Carrie
The original Carrie has some great unexpected scares and you’re likely to jump a few times while watching it. The killer, Carrie, is bullied at school and mentally abused at home so it’s definitely a downer. It’s really more of a tragedy than a horror, up until the point where Carrie starts killing all her classmates with her telekinetic powers. The film drags a little in the beginning, but is overall a decent scary movie – nothing that will give you nightmares. It is worth watching just to hear that famous line “they’re all gonna laugh at you.” The remake of Carrie was a little more psychologically disturbing than the original, really focusing on her issues with bullies and at home. It is hard to compare a remake to an original when the original is regarded as a classic, but this remake was entertaining. The cast was a lot more believable as high school students and the scenes building up to the killings are more engaging, I’m not going to knock an original, but I’d take the time to see the 2011 version of Carrie this year.
3. Friday the 13th
If you’re interested in blood, sadistic torture, unnecessary nudity, and absurd plot lines, either of the Friday the 13th films (or any of the sequels) are great for you. These movies aren’t cinematic masterpieces, but they have murder by power tool, they have bloody hockey masks, and they have all of the stupidity and fun needed to make an October appropriate movie. If you enjoy one Friday the 13th then you can’t be judged for enjoying any Friday the 13th, because even the most nostalgic hipster at Emerson has to admit that the original isn’t much different than the remake.
Regardless of whether you prefer old to new versions of Halloween movies, watch whatever gets you into the spirit!