Tag Archives: ghosts

When remakes go unnoticed.

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We all know about remakes. They take movies we love, make a re-telling, or a modern day version, etc. If there’s anything that can make a horror fan upset, it’s a bad remake, hell, sometimes it’s just hearing that there will be a remake. But what about when you didn’t know a film was remade and it slips through the cracks? What about when you didn’t even realize the movie you watched was a remake? Do we judge them differently the less we hear about them?

I’ve picked out four remakes that didn’t get the attention most remakes get, and I want to know, does the lack of conversation about them change the way you feel?

 Piranha.

Right now everyone is saying ” hold on a second, we all seen the Piranha remake”, and while this is true, I have to ask, did you know that Piranha 3D was the second time it was remade? This remake produced by Roger Corman in 1995 is nearly identical to the original, they just took out the humor. In fact, it is so identical, instead of shooting new special effects, they rehashed the old ones.

It’s Alive.

Not many people I know have seen Larry Cohen’s 1974 killer baby film, It’s Alive. Even less people I know have heard about the 2008 remake. The story is pretty much the same, killer baby, committing murders, etc. The only real big change is the fact the mother defends the baby in the end, instead of the father. When asked about it Larry Cohen told fans of the original, ” anyone who likes my film should cross the street and avoid seeing the new”.


Thirteen Ghosts

Thirteen Ghosts is a remake of the 1960 film, 13 Ghosts directed by  William Castle. Coming out two years after another of Castle’s film remakes ( House On Haunted Hill), this one quite a bit better. The story goes in different directions, but you’d be hard pressed to see any of Castle’s films remade with the same story. A lot bloodier and just as much fun as the original,  it seems to go under the remake radar.

Day Of The Dead

Normally when we think Day Of The Dead, we think Romero, we think shambling undead, and political undertones. This time we have fast zombies, and action heroes. There’s none of the undertones that made Romero a legend, and there’s none of the great special effects and tension that made the Dawn Of The Dead remake in 2004 so enjoyable.

2001 Maniacs (2005)

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2001 Maniacs is a remake of the classic Herschell Gordon Lewis film, Two Thousand Maniacs!, and while I haven’t see that, I do know how Herschell Gordon Lewis’ movies are. He was the godfather of Gore. What does that mean you ask? It means he literary made gore into what we know it as now. Blood, Guts, and more Guts.

How does a remake of a film that was only good for it’s gore hold up these days? Well, it’s pretty much only good for it’s gore, laughs, and breasts. Yes, lots and lots of breasts, from that hot asian Dom, to the two southern lesbo cousins, too that guy trying to fuck the sheep. This movie has alot of it.

The plot revolves around a handful of students off on spring break taking a detour to Pleasant Valley , where the locals are reenacting  a civil war time, or are they? There is of course more to the plot then that, but it is very very loose, alot of weirdness is thrown at you and only explained in the last couple minutes, but that doesn’t matter, it’s not why your watching. Your watching to see blood. guts and titties. I know you are, cause I was.

Speaking of gore, they have quite a few fun scenes, so why I don’t want to give too much of the deaths away, I will say, they are really well done. Take for example the only one I will tell you about, some guy has just witnessed the locals commit murder, so what do they do to him? Why bend him over and ram a pull through his ass out his mouth cannibal holocaust style. Yummah.

I don’t really have much more I can say about this one, Robert Englund plays  the mayor of PP, and does amazing in his role, it’s quite enjoyable to watch an actor really having fun with a role. There’s a cameo by Eli Roth, who also was one of the producers from the movie. And while I can’t say for sure, because it’s been a while, but I think he might be playing the same character  as his cameo in Cabin Fever.

Score – 73%
Gore –  7/10