The original is the one you have to see...I hate remakes.. Laurie --- Charles <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > LOS ANGELES (AP) - If slasher movies have said it > once, they've said it a > hundred times: When you're young, lost and weary and > you need a helping hand > ... the other hand is going to be holding a hook, > machete or chain saw. > > It's the standard warning preached in most > survival-horror flicks, starting > with "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in 1974 and > retold in the likes of > "Friday the 13th,""A Nightmare on Elm > Street,""Halloween" and the more > recent "Jeepers Creepers." > > The tale has been repeated so endlessly - and with > so many sequels - why > would anyone want to remake one of the originals? > > Marcus Nispel, the director of New Line Cinema's new > 2003 version of "The > Texas Chainsaw Massacre," has a simple answer: > repetition is part of the > fun. > > He described the slasher genre as modern folk tales, > simple yarns meant to > be told and told again, adding detail and > embellishment as they grow. > > So why not pass the "Massacre" onto a new > generation? > > "This is storytelling in the vein of 'Hansel and > Gretel.' It's age-old," > said Nispel, a first-time feature director whose > previous work includes > music videos for Janet Jackson and Faith No More. > > "The metaphor is a simple one," he added. "If you're > a kid or young adult in > some hick town, some one-horse town, and parents are > suppressing you and all > you can do is get away, how do you rebel?" > > While the original was a $140,000 project that built > an unexpected cult > following ($30 million-plus box office) the remake, > starring former "7th > Heaven" actress Jessica Biel, retains the low-budget > flavor, costing a > remarkably low $9.5 million. > > Biel plays one of five stranded youths who become > the prey of a deformed > lunatic who repeatedly fails to follow proper safety > guidelines when > utilizing tree-trimming equipment. > > Bloody horror films remain so popular - with the > recent box-office success > of "Jeepers Creepers 2,""Freddy vs. Jason" and > "Cabin Fever" - because > teenagers and 20-somethings have a seemingly primal > fascination with death. > > "It just seems so lowbrow, but there's a visceral > thing to it. It hits you > in the gut," said "Chainsaw" remake producer Michael > Bay, who is best known > for directing "Pearl Harbor" and "Armageddon." > > Maybe these movies are metaphors for growing up and > breaking free from the > horrors of adolescence ... or maybe they're just > excuses for two people to > get close on a first date. "In the movies, you watch > these couples just grab > onto each other," Bay said, laughing. > > Most longtime horror fans acknowledge that slasher > films follow the same > pattern. > > But Michelle Inman, a 24-year-old slasher-film > aficionado and student at > California State University, Northridge, said it's > the little variations > that make a thriller great. > > "I like to see people get out of situations, because > sometimes they do. And > then if they don't get out of it, I like to think > 'What would I have done > differently?'" she said, adding with a laugh: "It's > kind of neat to take > note in case you ever come across a psycho." > > Inman loved the original "Chainsaw," but said she > wasn't interested in a > faithful remake. She was more curious about the > alterations: in the remake, > the hitchhiker at the beginning is a victim, not a > weirdo; the audience gets > to see Leatherface's real mug; and there's a larger > family of sickos. > > The original featured a gritty, gruesome visage of > deranged murder that > lived up to its stark name. It helped define the > slasher genre and stunned > unprepared sneak-preview audiences - some reportedly > staggered out of > theaters sick. > > Capitalizing on Halloween and the new remake, a > special edition DVD release > of the 1974 thriller debuted Tuesday. > > Tobe Hooper, the original's director, refused to be > interviewed for this > story, but has said previously that he too was > inspired by folk tales - and > by shopping in a hardware store. > > He fused his chain-saw motif to the true-life story > of Ed Gein, the > Wisconsin grave robber and murderer whose 1957 > exploits, which involved > cannibalism and sewing clothes out of human skin, > inspired the Alfred > Hitchcock movie "Psycho" and the Oscar-winning "The > Silence of the Lambs." > > Scott Kosar, the screenwriter who adapted the remake > "Chainsaw" script, said > he had reverence for the original's signature > senselessness. > > "It's not based on plot or clever construction. > There was no attempt to > explain what was happening," Kosar said. "There's > just a murderous beast > with a chain saw and he just keeps coming and coming > and coming." > > The same can be said of slasher movies. > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > Changes to your subscription (unsubs, nomail, > digest) can be made by going to > http://sandboxmail.net/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
===== I wanted a perfect ending... Now, I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment, and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. --Gilda Radner __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com ________________________________ Changes to your subscription (unsubs, nomail, digest) can be made by going to http://sandboxmail.net/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
