PopHorror Let's Get Scared
The French extreme horror masterpiece Inside was released ten years ago in 2007. It was the second French horror film that I had ever seen – the first being High Tension – and it solidified my love for foreign horror. I think the original Inside succeeds because it was a simple plot that was executed in a stunning fashion. Fast forward to the present time of horror remakes and, of course, we have an upcoming remake of this cult classic. Not yet released, the American version is going to have a few tweaks to the formula. While the original was heavily gory and a solid horror film, the remake is supposed to be a reimagining that falls into the intense thriller genre. Does this work? Is there a need for it? Here are my unfiltered thoughts.
I give all remakes a chance. I genuinely enjoy them, for the most part. The remake for Martyrs (2015), for example, had one of my favorite actresses in it, Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars), and I was actually pretty excited. Being a fan of the original, I was skeptical but I also was hopeful. Not having seen Troian in a serious role like Lucie gave me an “edge of your seat” kind of anxiousness that I thrive on. Then, I saw the final product and wanted to break my TV. Okay, that’s a little dramatic. It wasn’t that bad, but it did not get the message of the original across at all.
This is what I feel will happen to the remake of Inside. American studios are not daring enough to try and get away with the things that French studios already accomplished. In fact, director Miguel Angel Vivas keeps referring to it as a heightened version of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. The writers, Jaume Balagueró and Manu Diez, have said that they reimagined it into a classy and tense thriller. This is really beginning to piss me off.
Inside is not a classy thriller. It isn’t a film that is even close to being in the vein of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. In fact, this film aside, we don’t need another Hand That Rocks The Cradle. We have enough of them. They reimagine that specific storyline once every two years or so. If they are going to try to breathe new life into the project, then they should keep to the tone of the original. They do not need to water it down and mass produce the same drivel that they have spoon-fed us for years. If you have seen the French version, there is no other way to execute Inside properly. Leave it to American cinema to take a French masterpiece and then substitute the intensity for jump scares and cliché storytelling.
All of the above is merely my opinion. I don’t even have facts for some of them to base my opinion on. However, I do have the track record that we have for American remakes of foreign films. There was The Grudge, One Missed Call, The Ring, Quarantine, and the previously mentioned Martyrs. Did I enjoy some of them? Yes. Were they even close to the caliber of the originals? No. The filmmakers are going to be swimming upstream in order to at least satisfy fans of the original. I hope they are up to the challenge. I really do want them to succeed but I am definitely doubtful.
How do you feel? Where do you stand on American remakes of foreign films? Let us know in the comments! Also, share this article out so your friends can weigh in on it as well.
