#how DARE YOU Gore Verbinski

[seattlefactsijustmadeup]

Seattle Adjacent Fact #86,970,832:

Many segments of The Ring (2002) were filmed on or nearby Whidbey Island, so naturally you would think as long as the crew were there, they'd use Admiralty Head Lighthouse for that one shot on the cursed videotape but instead they gave the lighthouse's role to that hussy Heceta Head Lighthouse from Oregon!

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

Let’s Try That Again; The 10 Best Horror Movie Remakes

The horror movie remake is a polarizing topic that drives the horror community crazy. You either love remakes, or hate them. Few horror movie re-imaginings have been able to rise above their “remake” branding. Too many fans chalking their existence up to exploiting a film or franchise’s existing fandom, being made purely for profit, being rushed, or re-envisioning iconic characters to a lesser extent.

Despite not being received with open arms, there are a select few remakes that stand above the pack – converting their audiences of naysayers into rabid fans, re-invigorating the franchise they birthed from. Here are our picks for the 10 best horror movie remakes!

  10. Friday the 13th (2009)

Against the advice of locals and police, Clay (Jared Padalecki) scours the eerie woods surrounding Crystal Lake for his missing sister. But the rotting cabins of an abandoned summer camp are not the only things he finds. Hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees lies in wait for a chance to use his razor-sharp machete on Clay and the group of college students who have come to the forest to party.

  Alright, I may get a lot of flack for putting this one on the list. But I really do love the Friday the 13th remake. It’s over the top, it’s got everything you want in a slasher, and there’s exactly 13 kills. While it doesn’t hold a torch to the original from 1980, this 2009 remake directed by Marcus Nispel ain’t half bad. There’s some really fun kills and a bit of back story about Jason.

  9. Piranha 3D (2010)

Spring break turns gory when an underground tremor releases hundreds of prehistoric, carnivorous fish into Lake Victoria, a popular waterside resort. Local cop Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue) must join forces with a band of unlikely strangers — though they are badly outnumbered — to destroy the ravenous creatures before everyone becomes fish food.

  Piranha 3D is the perfect summer film! The original was released in 1978 and was titled simply Piranha. In 2010 we got a 3D remake that took the thriller element from the original and added way more boobs. And humor. And blood. Piranha 3D is a cheesy gore-fest. Directed by Alexandre Aja, it has an all-star cast including Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd and Jerry O’Connell. A great flick to watch in a group while vacationing at a lake. Just make sure to maybe check there’s not another lake under that lake.. filled with ancient piranhas.

  8. Quarantine (2008)

Reporter Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) are doing a story on night-shift firefighters for a reality-TV program. A late-night distress call takes them to a Los Angeles apartment building, where the police are investigating a report of horrific screams. The TV team and emergency workers find an old woman, who suddenly attacks with teeth bared. What’s more, Angela and company find that the building has been sealed by CDC workers. Then the attacks really begin.

  [REC] (2007) is a Spanish found footage film directed by Jaume Balagueró. The film is absolutely terrifying and exactly how found footage should be done. One year later came the American remake Quarantine, directed by John Erick Dowdle. Both films follow the exact same story, so there’s not a lot of surprises watching the American remake. Both films also set up for a bunch of sequels, some of which are really great. The American version stars Jennifer Carpenter in the lead role, who does a great job carrying the story. I won’t say much more because both of these films should be watched with no prior knowledge of the story. The first time I saw the ending was one of the few times I’ve screamed out loud while watching a horror film. I apologized profusely to my neighbors.

  7. Evil Dead (2013)

Mia (Jane Levy), a drug addict, is determined to kick the habit. To that end, she asks her brother, David (Shiloh Fernandez), his girlfriend, Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) and their friends Olivia (Jessica Lucas) and Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) to accompany her to their family’s remote forest cabin to help her through withdrawal. Eric finds a mysterious Book of the Dead at the cabin and reads aloud from it, awakening an ancient demon. All hell breaks loose when the malevolent entity possesses Mia.

  Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead was originally released in 1981. A campy, low-budget film that became an instant cult classic. In 2013, Fede Alverez’s re-imagined the beloved story of Ash and his deadites, creating a darker, more sinister interpretation. One of the biggest changes, was opting for an incredible female lead played by Jan Levy.  The film is deliciously dark, and only embellishes the silly, zany palate of the Evil Dead Franchise.  There’s been a lot of chatter about a sequel being in the works, but nothing concrete.

  6. Willard (2003)

Desperate for companionship, the repressed Willard (Crispin Glover) befriends a group of rats that inhabit his late father’s deteriorating mansion. In these furry creatures, Willard finds temporary refuge from daily abuse at the hands of his bedridden mother (Jackie Burroughs) and his father’s old partner, Frank (R. Lee Ermey). Soon it becomes clear that the brood of rodents is ready and willing to exact a vicious, deadly revenge on anyone who dares to bully their sensitive new master.

  Willard was released in 1973 and the remake came years later to screens in 2003. It stars Crispin Glover in one of his best roles, and a crap tone of rats. Glen Morgan directed this awesome remake and fills it with everything you’d want in a terrifying situation about killer rats. Glover shines on-screen as a total weirdo and carries the film with perfection. If you weren’t scared of rats before, you will be after this flick ends.

  5. The Grudge (2004)

Matthew Williams (William Mapother), his wife, Jennifer (Clea DuVall), and mother, Emma (Grace Zabriskie), are Americans making a new life in Tokyo. Together they move into a house that has been the site of supernatural occurrences in the past, and it isn’t long before their new home begins terrorizing the Williams family as well. The house, as it turns out, is the site of a curse that lingers in a specific place and claims the lives of anyone that comes near.

  An American remake from the Japanese original Ju-On: The Grudge released in 2002. The remake, directed by Takashi Shimizu, the same person who directed the original, is terrifying. Back in the early 2000’s it was harder for North Americans to access J-horror and horror audiences were grateful for an accessible remake. Starring Sarah Michelle Geller in the lead role, she carries the story with grace. There’s so many memorable moments and jump scares. While I do recommend The Grudge, I say go crazy and watch both the original and remake one after the other. Have the pants scared off of you!

  4. The Fly (1986)

  When scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) completes his teleportation device, he decides to test its abilities on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a housefly slips in during the process, leading to a merger of man and insect. Initially, Brundle appears to have undergone a successful teleportation, but the fly’s cells begin to take over his body. As he becomes increasingly fly-like, Brundle’s girlfriend (Geena Davis) is horrified as the person she once loved deteriorates into a monster.

  Originally released in 1958, it was a long time before The Fly remake came around in 1986. The original movie was adapted from a short story written by George Langelaan. The remake was directed by the always impressive David Cronenberg and starred Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. Both brought insane performances to this movie which makes it such a great remake. Of course, it is Cronenberg, so…you know…don’t eat while you’re watching it.

  3. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

When her husband is attacked by a zombified neighbor, Ana (Sarah Polley) manages to escape, only to realize her entire Milwaukee neighborhood has been overrun by the walking dead. After being questioned by cautious policeman Kenneth (Ving Rhames), Ana joins him and a small group that gravitates to the local shopping mall as a bastion of safety. Once they convince suspicious security guards that they are not contaminated, the group bands together to fight the undead hordes.

  The original Dawn of the Dead was a fantastic, beautiful, groundbreaking film from Romero, released in 1978. The remake came in 2004, helmed by James Gunn and Zack Snyder. What stands out about this remake is how far they veer from the source material. But it works! The film boasts a strong cast featuring Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber, to name a few. There’s also some heart-breaking moments and genuine scares. Oh, and zombies. Lots of those.

  2. The Ring (2002)

It sounds like just another urban legend — a videotape filled with nightmarish images leads to a phone call foretelling the viewer’s death in exactly seven days. Newspaper reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) is skeptical of the story until four teenagers all die mysteriously exactly one week after watching just such a tape. Allowing her investigative curiosity to get the better of her, Rachel tracks down the video and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery.

  Another J-horror American remake. Ringu was first released in 1998 based on the book Ring by Koji Suzuki. In 2002, along came The Ring directed by Gore Verbinski. This was a huge deal for us teenagers in the early 2000’s and made us all terrified of our landlines. The Ring is beautifully shot and colored mystery. It’s a wonderfully done film. It stars Naomi Watts as the mother fighting to save herself and her child, played by David Dorfman.

  1. The Thing (1982)

In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. When they take in the dog, it brutally attacks both human beings and canines in the camp and they discover that the beast can assume the shape of its victims. A resourceful helicopter pilot (Kurt Russell) and the camp doctor (Richard Dysart) lead the camp crew in a desperate, gory battle against the vicious creature before it picks them all off, one by one.

  You didn’t think I’d make this list without The Thing did you? Come on! Originally titled The Thing from Another World and released in 1951, the remake was done by John Carpenter in 1982. The Thing is probably the one film everyone will agree on. It’s perfection on-screen. Giant, snowy, cold landscapes filled with unbearable tension and fear. An outstanding performance from all involved – but Kurt Russell stands out on top. Amazing practical effects and a terrifying premise, The Thing is the penultimate remake. They actually remade this again in 2011, but let’s not talk about that..

  Those are our picks for the 10 Best Horror Movie Remakes! Are any of your favorites on this list? If not, let us know what your favorite horror remakes are in the comments below, or over in our Facebook Group!

The post Let’s Try That Again; The 10 Best Horror Movie Remakes appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street - Horror Movie Podcast, News and Reviews.

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[moviecatchup]

Getting started: The Ring

The Ring 2002 Dir: Gore Verbinski Rating: 4 / 5 spooky circles

Let me say loud and clear: I have never liked horror movies. I never understood the appeal of spending two hours a little anxious at best, and straight-up terrified at worst, just to feel lucky to be alive when it’s over. There are so many other things I could do with those hours! And none of them involve being near tears!

So when D asked me if I had seen any American remakes of Japanese horror movies like The Ring, The Grudge, or Dark Water, obviously he got a resounding no. My only previous encounter with The Ring was in high school — I was on a coach bus en route to an orchestra competition (#nerdalert) and someone thought it was a good idea to put The Ring on for a bus of captive high school students. I made it through the first 15 minutes before my fight-or-flight instincts kicked in. I’m always team flight, but since I was speeding down an interstate in a bus, my body took over where my brain was too busy panicking — I fell soundly asleep for the next two hours, and woke up to credits rolling. Thanks, defense mechanisms!

I’ve often wondered, does that mean I will automatically fall asleep when encountered with an actual threat? Is that really the best defense my primordial brain has to offer?

Different thoughts for a different blog.

Anyway! As part of this movie-broadening experience, I am trying to watch more horror movies, and we’re testing how hard I can squeeze D’s hand and how fast I can bury my head in his shoulder when things start to get real. (For the record, it’s a really serious squeeze, and a lightning fast head-bury.) Despite my clearly-stated fear of horror movies, D was shocked I had not even seen The Ring! So on the list it went, and we watched it a couple weeks ago.

Here’s what I thought —

Big picture, I was surprised by how much I genuinely enjoyed The Ring. It was incredibly spooky and suspenseful, but it lacked the kind of “unexpected sh*t jumping out at you at unexpected moments” scares that I absolutely hate. Instead, it messes with us a little — the opening scene dives right into the killer-video-urban-legend setup — but then the scares take a back seat as we get the plot set up, so that by the time it gets REAL SCARY, it feels like the terrifying things happening are natural next steps to the story progression, rather than Scary Plot Points being forced on us and making us jump without really engaging.

I think it’s important for you to know that I never, ever see the twist in movies. One of my best friends majored in film studies, and she and D both see the twist 5–10 minutes into a given movie. I’m left gasping at the big reveal, no matter how clearly it was telegraphed. This might be a choice on my part — I like going for the ride with the characters, learning new things as they do, feeling mystery and confusion right when the director wants me to, with catharsis right on cue. I get more of an escape that way — I’m more in the world of the movie, and less still here in my own.

Given my lack of twist or plot foresight, I went right along with Rachel and her son as things started to go badly, then go worse, people kill themselves horribly, and it becomes clear that they are both inexorably wrapped up in a problem bigger and older than themselves, doomed to carry it forward. I enjoyed the journey, and was scared to the bones without wanting to scream or throw the laptop across the room — I just wanted to know what was going to happen next, which I think is the ideal state of movie-watching, no?

When we finished the movie, the sun was setting (shoutout lazy Saturday afternoons!) and D had to go out. I was INCREDIBLY RELUCTANT to be home alone — what if that effing video started playing on my TV in my empty house with no one to witness me?! — but I felt a little safer after a couple episodes of The West Wing, and that tells me two things: the movie was good enough to get under my skin, but not so terrifying that I couldn’t shake it. I’m not ashamed to add that as I re-read the movie’s IMDb page tonight, alone in my house, before starting this post, I got myself pretty spooked again. But it’s nothing that a couple episodes of Shark Tank can’t fix. (Right? Right??)

Iconic? Definitely — I 100% understand why this movie was a big deal, even without having a wider horror movie context. It plays on essential human fears rather than external scares, which makes it a lot harder to shake. Re-watchable? Maybe. The only hesitation is whether I want to be deeply creeped out for hours again. Favorite moment? The last shot — since I hadn’t anticipated the circular (dare we say ring-like?!) nature of the curse, having it all come crashing down on me as the movie ended was pretty powerful. Hated? The old man bathtub suicide — you know what I mean.