Oh remakes, how you annoy us. Nothing screams "dearth of original ideas" like the announcement of a new remake.
But after we get over the initial rage, we realise that there's often something smarter going on. Updating a pre-existing story can often add new layers and interesting ideas and we've learnt not to let our anger get the better of us.
Remaining on this positive note, here are seven upcoming remakes that could actually be rather good.
HERE ARE 8 UPCOMING SEQUELS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT
Weird Science
Announcing a remake of anything made in the 80s is enough to cause uncontrollable fury in even the most casual fanboy. But often, there are films from the decade that could benefit from a modern upgrade. While there's plenty of goofy fun to be had in Weird Science, it's not John Hughes's finest moment and we think the proposed edgier R-rated take, from 21 Jump Street screenwriter Michael Bacall could be exactly what the material needs.
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Poltergeist
Horror remakes have been difficult to get right with most being blatant cash grabs (hello The Fog, Prom Night, The Stepfather, The Haunting etc), but it's not all been bad news with a precious few (hello Dawn of the Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Let Me In) actually getting it right. Hoping to join that small group is this new take on the 80s supernatural classic. It boasts an intriguing indie cast (Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt and Jared Harris) and is scripted by famed playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, no less. Oh and Sam Raimi is producing. Let's give this one a chance.
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Fletch
This particular remake has been a long time coming but it looks like there might actually be light at the end of the tunnel, thanks in huge part to Jason Sudeikis who is set to star as the disguise-donning investigative reporter in Fletch Won. It's been in development for a while but the new iteration is being pitched as a "gritty action comedy" that will stick to the source novels rather than the Chevy Chase comedy, something we've heard many times before. But still, it's a premise that could work well again, especially with Sudeikis in the lead so we're hoping for the best.
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Death Note
A Hollywood remake of a Japanese film might still give you an understandably sour taste in your mouth but there's plenty of potential for "not getting it all totally wrong and upsetting millions around the world" with this one. It's based on a 2006 thriller about a teen who finds a notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it and, thanks to the nifty premise, it was a hit in Japan. The remake is being directed by Gus Van Sant, who, yes, did rehash Psycho, but at least he'll add some flavour to it, rather than the job being given to a hack. He's also shown himself to be skilled at portraying troubled youths, with films like Elephant and Paranoid Park.
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Amityville
Not a strict remake but something very close to one, it's yet another film about the dreaded house, this time from Jason Blum, aka the producer behind every other successful horror movie of recent years, from Paranormal Actitivy to The Purge to Sinister to Insidious etc. Blum's a steady hand when it comes to horror and coupled with the fact that the original, well, isn't that great to begin with and a cast led by the always reliable Jennifer Jason Leigh, this could be a nice surprise.
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The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Another horror offering from mega-producer Jason Blum, this is a remake of film spoken fondly of in horror circles yet not really known about anywhere else. It's based on the true story of a hooded serial killer in a small Texan town and while it didn't receive many plaudits on release, it's been praised since. The remake will be a low-budget meta take on the material, taking place long after what originally happened. It's also produced by American Horror Story's Ryan Murphy, who knows a few things about the genre.
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Flatliners
Don't get us wrong, we have a lot of time for the original film, which has Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon and their fellow medical students dabble with the line between life and death, but it was far from perfect. Joel Schumacher's desperately "in the moment" direction has aged horribly and the ending could do with a rewrite which is why a remake could work out quite well. It also helps that it's coming from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev and the script is being written by Source Code scribe Ben Ripley.
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(Images: All Star)
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