Horror's "Teen-it-Up" epidemic
It's been an interesting few weeks in the horror genre thus far, with more and more news coming out on Ridley Scott's forthcoming "Alien" prequel in 3D, and even news on Dimension Films often-in-limbo "Hellraiser" remake. But with new updates on both films, also comes some bad news. It seems that both studios, 20th Century Fox, and Dimension Films respectively, want to "teen up" their latest offerings, and well...that gets me a bit concerned, and angry. Lets deal with "Hellraiser" first.
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The Clive Barker books, the series was originally based off of, when it first began in the 80's, weren't exactly "teen-friendly". Although teens read them I'm sure, they were geared towards more adult demos, 18-35 for example. Then along came the movies, which were definitely not directed towards teenagers. But rather were the type of movies that teenagers (myself included), snuck around to a friends house, or found some way to watch without mom and dad's knowledge. |
The "Hellraiser" movies were and are very bloody, and contain very mature themes. So for better or worse, they were and are actually...the last bastion of true adult horror left in the genre. Now, with a new sequel on the way, "Revelations"...and a remake on the way possibly in 2012, you'd think that it'd be time to reinvigorate and bring the genre back to more adult themes. But instead, it seems Dimension wants to take the straight-to-dvd sequel in an adult direction, and take the remake in a more "teen-oriented" direction. This leads me to a new conclusion, which I will mention later on in this article. But back to the point, who would want to see a more "teen-friendly" remake of the original "Hellraiser"? A film where the characters are all college students who party alot, a film where Pinhead drops a few lines to his victims, which sound like they came straight from an MTV music video.
And of course, lets not forget the blaring soundtrack which would feature about 15 songs from the Katy Perry's, B.o.B's, and Taylor Swift's of the world. Then there'd be the focus groups, who would want to see a Johnny Knoxville cameo or something. Just imagine how well that would go over eh? Why can't the remake just be made, and stick closer to the books? Or tweak a few things, yet keep the same "Hellraiser" feel, look, and dark tone the original had? The original was one of the darkest, but also one of grossest horror films ever made. Could a remake, in 2010...even get away with half of the stuff the original did, without the MPAA hammer coming down on them? And why "teen-it-up"? Wouldn't the films themes of betrayal, and extremely-poor-decision-making be lost in the shuffle? Upon being replaced by some storyline of a college student named Fred who had too much to drink, and accidentally opened "The Box"?
Or some girl who wanted to get even with her cheating boyfriend, so she opens "The Box", in hopes that Pinhead will teach him a lesson? Only she later learns Pinhead plans to kill her, and so she then seeks help from her large group of friends, which include the token Mexican, the token Black guy, the stoner, the slutty girl, the simple midwestern boy, and the slightly-over-weight yet really good-hearted and supportive male best friend named Tad, or something? Imagine if that is how a classic like "Hellraiser"...is returned to the big screen. Sure, it was easy to bring "A Nightmare On Elm Street" back in redux form, with a whole new set of teenagers, but "Hellraiser" is a far more complex and graphic film. And the idea that you can just "teen-it-up" with the latest it girl or guy in the lead, is an insane idea.
And speaking of insane, lets now move on to "Alien 3D". A prequel to "Aliens", which Ridley Scott plans to direct. Coming in 2012, the film would bring in a whole new group of people, which means no Ripley, no Weyland, none of that. But...now it seems that 20th Century Fox wants to "teen" this movie up also. Only in the fashion of avoiding graphic violence. And doing the whole "cut-away" thing. There's nothing more annoying to a horror fan, than when a bloody kill is amidst, and just as it sets in, CUT AWAY...next scene. And particularly in an "Alien" film, we expect better. The "Alien" movies were nver over-the-top violent like the "Saw" movies eventually BECAME...but, if the prequel is gunning for a PG-13, "Terminator 3" kind of movie, where the violence is non-consequential and suggested, then why even bother?
"Alien vs. Predator:Requiem" to me, worked because it ramped up the violence and the viciousness, when compared to "Alien vs. Predator". I mean in the sequel, the aliens kill hobos, hospice workers, and vsrious other types of people who in most horror films, are labeled as "safes"...people who it's okay to put in danger, or dangle in a perilous situation, but never totally kill off. "Requiem" broke those rules, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Because that's what horror is supposed to do, break the rules. If the prequel decides to tone down the violence, and be one of those films that makes a ton of money, but gets bad reviews and displeases it's target audience...then why bother? I mean after all, the film deals with a species of creatures that have acid for blood, sharp teeth, claws, and are extremely predatory. How can you possibly make a movie about them without an "R" rating?
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And this all leads me to my final point of this article...is this the future of theatrical horror versus straight-to-dvd horror? Is the more true, hardcore, graphic horror...headed for a permanent residence on DVD? And is the more generic, manufactured, superficial type of stuff headed for a permanent residence on the big screen? Are we now flipping things from how work was done inthe 80's and 90's, where slasher movies were all over the place, and the gorier the better? Now, it seems like the less gory, and the less bloody, the more a studio will be willing to back your movie. The less controversial your film is, and the more mainstream it is...the more a studio will be willing to support your film. |
Perfect examples of this are "Hatchet 2", which is now playing and "Red State"...Kevin Smith's horror film which comes out next year. Smith had a hard time getting money together for the film, because according to him...the script scared away potential investors. It was too "real", too "true horror" for their liking. And "Hatchet 2", after opening October 1st...has been pulled from many cinemas around the country. Most likely due to being too over-the-top violent. Oddly enough, anyone who buys a ticket for a film called "Hatchet", and expects "Prom Night 2008", needs to have their head examined. But ignorance is bliss so they say. Bottom line is, "Alien" and "Hellraiser" are both classics, and to return them to the big screen after lengthy absences with watered down and "teened up" installments, will only further embarass both franchises.
And the constant shying away from "true" horror films by studios, in preference of "easier to market and mainstream" tween-horror, will only lower our genre from simple horror, to sorta-scary-sorta-bloody-kinda-thrillery-thriller movies. And the last thing cinema needs is another sub-genre, especially one as lame as that. My 2 cents? What the genre needs, and what we as horror fans need more than anything, is for horror to return to it's roots. And if it is going to share space with another genre such as thriller or sci-fi, the horror side of things, needs to be just as strong as it's counterpart. And not...overshadowed...or phased out altogether.
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