Movie Monday: Haunt Jaunts Begs Hollywood To Be Original and Stop Resurrecting Movies

Has Hollywood’s horror story novelty well run dry? I know sequels and remakes have been around for ages. I understand that some previously good movies made decades earlier find new fans in updated remakes. And I guess remakes are a safe bet. You know the demographics ahead of time. You can better anticipate likely revenue.

But come on. It seems like that’s all that’s coming out anymore. The Hills Have Eyes, Last House on the Left, Prom Night, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and now Nightmare on Elm Street‘s about due for release. All have been recent remakes of “classic” ’70s and ’80s horror flicks. (I put it in parenthesis because I know some will disagree about their classicness. But the remakes? Eeek. The remakes of Prom Night and Friday the 13th in particular were awful. They certainly didn’t do them justice. And if you’re going to remake a movie shouldn’t you strive to make it at least equal, if not better than, the original?)

Then just the other day I read an article about someone planning to resurrect Pet Sematary. That one wasn’t good the first time around. In fact, it was so bad they instantly did a remake (under the guise of a sequel as Pet Sematary II in 1992). Another bomb. Both should’ve been left buried!

Maybe they’re thinking third time will be the charm? (Psst, yo, Hollywood. I’ll tell you the real charm: Find a storyline that’s new and fresh. In fact, I got one for you. It’s called Phasma Ex Machina. Already filmed and ready to go. Get it up on the big screen, why don’t ya?)

Oh, and speaking of sequels, if you’re into them here’s what’s being worked on that you have to look forward to if you didn’t already know:

• Word on the street from Shadowlocked is that there’s an Alien sequel in the works. Coming to a theater near you in 3D, naturally.
• Paramount’s got a short list of directors lined up for Paranormal Activity 2. (Why the original director isn’t good enough, I don’t know. Guess Hollywood thinks they can do it better. Wonder if that’ll be as much of a disaster as the Blair Witch sequel was?)
• Work on (and spoilers about) Ghostbusters 3 are already flying. Will Bill Murray come back as a ghost or a Buster? (I vote work him in as a ghost. He was killed off in Zombieland after all…)

However, for all the remakes and sequels flooding theaters, I did run across mention of one with supernatural promise. Shock Till You Drop reported that Tom Felton (perhaps better known as Draco Malfoy of Harry Potter fame) signed to The Apparition. What little info there is on it sounds like it could’ve borrowed a bit from Flatliners. But that’s just me speculating. I’m hoping it’s something original and fresh.

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.