Blood, guts and screams: do horror films need remakes (15 photos)

Are Japanese horror films getting worse if they are remade for the European format?





A remake is a new version of an existing work with changes, found in movies, games, and music.

Usually, remakes turn out to be chaotic and inferior to the original in many aspects, but there are exceptions.

For example, the American remake of the Japanese film “The Ring,” which tells the story of a black-haired girl who crawls out of a TV.



We are, of course, talking about the popular film “The Ring”.





The picture is weaker than the original both in terms of plot and horror elements. But the film is still interesting to watch due to the tense atmosphere and good acting.

Naomi Watts, who played the main role in “The Ring,” got into the character well and it’s a pleasure to follow the developments of events with her participation.

By the way, in cinema there is a tendency according to which remakes of Asian films are usually created. And not only old ones, but also new ones.

This is likely due to the fact that new Caucasian characters and high costs for effects will attract many more viewers to cinemas than cheap horror films aimed at the Asian market. This is exactly what happened with the films “The Damn” and “Mirrors”.

Viewers in the United States considered The Grudge to be a good remake.



Not least of all, this happened thanks to actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, known for the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” where she played the main role.



The film also had a strong detective plot.



“Mirrors” was weaker than the original, but was liked by the public.



The film amazed the viewer with the amount of violence, as well as with a non-boring plot, unlike the original source.





Remakes of classics are also successful, for example, the film “The Hills Have Eyes,” which was released in 1977, had an excellent ideological successor in 2006.



And the story about cannibals and a family who tried not to get into their dinner turned out to be incredibly impressive.



However, there are also opposite cases. For example, the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, released in 2010.



The film about a psychopathic maniac came out exhausted and boring and, unlike the original, did not shine with interesting plot solutions and shocking scenes. It didn’t bring anything new and turned out to be significantly worse than the original source from 1984 (yes, the same one in which Johnny Depp made his debut).





Or also an example of a bad remake of “One Missed Call”, the original of which was released in Japan in 2003, but the remake in the USA appeared on the screen in 2007.



If good remakes introduce new interesting ideas into the story and develop the weaknesses of the original, then the version filmed in America did not give anything new to the plot and did something even worse.

In this case, if you have the opportunity to watch the original, it’s worth watching the original.

As a result, it is difficult to say whether remakes are needed in horror films or not, since there are many successful examples, as well as downright bad ones.

There is also such a thing as taste; critics may trash the picture, but a couple of viewers will definitely like it.

In any case, it’s probably better when they are, because many Asian films are released only on the domestic market, and remakes provide a chance to get acquainted with the original source, albeit in a slightly distorted form.

Do you think film remakes are necessary?