A Brutal Year in Review: Marc’s Remakes and TV Rundown
Year In Review Part Two: Remakes, and TV
by Marc Patterson – Editor-in-chief
In Part One of my three part year-end wrap-up I formulated a theory that the reigning theme in Hollywood for 2010 was “mediocrity”. We have a country in economic crisis. Horror has always been a great cash cow for Hollywood. Why not just play it by the numbers and create some films that put asses in the seats and keep some dollars flowing into the studio bankroll? Remakes have been popular for awhile, so there was no need to see that trend go away. Whether you like it or not, it is, as they say, good business.
Funny enough, while we got a handful of remakes in 2010 quite a few of them were good. The only one that really truly sucked donkey balls was A Nightmare on Elm Street. Everything else was quite passable as competent and entertaining. Piranha 3D got a lot of crap for its poor transfer to 3D, but was generally regarded as good, dumb entertainment. Though The Crazies never made my top list, it’s made several already and I can at least admit I liked it. Didn’t love it, but liked it. (It didn’t hurt that I never thought much of Romero’s original.) 
Of course there was also the direct to video redo of the 80’s punk rock classic Night of the Demons. You know… I took a lot of crap (and gave it right back in spades) for the review I wrote of it because, even though it was a positive review, apparently I took on a “drunken frat boy” tone. Me, I felt I was just playing it up in the style to which the film called for. (It was, indeed, a drunken frat boy type film). Though it was nothing like the original – almost in any way whatsoever – it still wasn’t entirely bad either.
I Spit on Your Grave (reviewed here) has met almost universal praise (something I never saw coming). In fact, very early on I provided an analysis outlining specific details as to why remaking the film was impossible, and for the most part I’ll stick to that analysis. You simply couldn’t make Meir Zarchi’s film the way he made it in the 70’s and get it shown in mainstream theaters. I’ll argue that point until I’m blue in the face. However, I think we can all agree this new film delivered.
Then then there was Let Me In (reviewed here). Here was possibly the most useless and unneeded remake in every way, and despite the fact that it WAS in fact mostly a remake, as it didn’t make use of much of the unused book material from the first film, it was still a solid film that passed muster with the majority of film geeks I tend to respect and listen to. We went into the film with open eyes, not denouncing it in our early coverage and it proved as did The Crazies and I Spit On Your Grave to be a solid effort. For those of you who just can’t let it go though, we now know that it was the fifth lowest grossing film of 2010 that received a wide opening (2,042 screens)**. I imagine that all you horror hounds crying to protect your precious original (was it really ever under any threat?) can now rest satisfied. It won’t happen again (at least for another six months – Martyrs anyone?)
With the remakes a wrap, I’d like to pause to consider something that happened in 2010 that was just amazing for fans of horror. Our TV programming got significantly better. First, Elvira returned! Just when the boob tube needed some salvation, the woman with the enormous rack.. err.. ratings came back. Sadly, the programs were relegated to obscure channels and time slots that made catching the show rather difficult. Even my DVR hated me for trying. Nonetheless, a hard to find Elvira is better than none at all.
Then, while Dexter’s fifth season fell back into its uninspired season three slump, after coming off a monstrously successful fourth season, True Blood picked up the pieces by delivering a killer third season that flew by way too fast. That show just keeps getting better and better. The big bonus for me was that this was a season where I was rooting for the villains! The expanded universe was well-written and much needed. It was nigh time to blow the doors off Bon Temps and see the larger world at hand. And I LOVED the treatment of the werewolves, especially in regards to using real live wolves in the show. Excellent all around.
The one show that has some fans split (not me), was the short season debut of The Walking Dead, which propelled zombies into the mainstream, and which we covered tirelessly (and enjoyed every minute of doing so). Hands down, I felt this was the best and smartest show to air this past year. Some complained it dragged in the last few episodes, lamented the lack of the undead action, and yes, the finale was slightly underwhelming, but I for one enjoyed the slow pace, the close character studies, and the fact that zombies weren’t the centerpiece for once. I can’t wait for next season, but given it’s not going to be until October, I better hunker down. You can bet I’ll be catching up on all the comics between now and then.
In my final part of this three part year-end review, I’m going to be looking at the best of independent horror, highlighting the best horror shorts of the year and posing some final thoughts. Stay tuned!
