should there be a remake?
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knoxfan2008 — 12 years ago(October 07, 2013 03:30 AM)
There are plenty of actors alive today that are up to the standard of these actors, and especially their performances in this film. There should not be a remake, because it simply wasn't that good of a film, the eyes bleeding and the monster was really sweet. If there were a remake, it would need to be drastically different for it to work.
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sami-18 — 12 years ago(October 22, 2013 04:06 PM)
I think it could be remade if the story was respected but also cleaned up. You have to keep in mind that Horror Express was a b-movie and did actually compromise it's own good intentions by messing up the story with evolving (or de-volving) plot twists. If the remake really concentrated on the Satanic aspect and integrated that with the prehistoric alien more than the original did it could be very creepy and compelling. That's what was always wrong with the original - it started with the devil and the religious zealot creepiness to being about a supernatural prehistoric creature, to then being about an alien and then finally a zombie climax. That does't mean it isn't good fun but it still is a b-movie. We can't do b-movies in this day and age unless they are intentionally campy and self-mocking. Anyway, "Horror Express" is practically the same as Carpenter's "The Thing" (shape-shifter in a confined inescapable environment) so it is safe to say it could be remade as long as the central concept and story are tightened up.
Okay, but here are my real questions about "Horror Express" as a potential remake:- Can one still set this idea on a train? It's not like trains are used very much by travellers these days and they are definitely not as creepy as the claustrophobic noisy wood and metal detailed Siberian express depicted in the original. Today trains are slick and mostly used by students on European vacation. That alone makes me fear where a remake would go - a teen slasher flick. So would a remake demand a different transportation vehicle? A plane or Japanese bullet train wouldn't work very well.
- Maybe the location needs to be reconsidered and placed somewhere like India or Egypt where trains are still rickety and old and used quite a bit for long journeys.
- The most important question just may be whether a remake should be set in current times or done as a period piece like the original. The early 20th Century colonial exploration and journeyman aspect is so crucial to this film. You need to keep the "Monster? Were British you know!!" in the film whether in actual dialogue or at least in spirit. That just wouldn't cut it today.
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nelly0042 — 11 years ago(September 14, 2014 07:55 AM)
This is actually a film that might work as a remake.
First, it's not like the original is a time honored classic, except, perhaps, among a handful of cult devotees (not meant as a pejorative since I count myself as one).
The basic story line is almost as intriguing as Five Million Years to Earth/Quatermass the the Pit - paleontology meets age-old evil meets aliens from another world. Horror Express throws in the added twist with cossacks and czarist Russia.
And with the resurgence of Hammer Studios (Let Me In) there might actually be a production company that could tackle the subject matter. As many here have accurately pointed out, lamentably, most recent remakes lack the restraint and good taste to produce much of value. But I have seen a few signs that filmmakers are finally "getting it." The recent Planet of the Apes film, though not exactly a remake, was able to update the story without debasing it.
Someone said there were no actors around anymore like Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (though Lee at 92 is still amongst us as of this writing). True, they leave behind rather big shoes to fill, but names like Ian McKellen, Ben Kingsly, Alan Rickman and Bill Nighy could, I think, find themselves adequate such roles.
In short, this is probably the first film I've seen where I would honestly like to see a remake. Until last night, I had not seen the film, and where I did finally see it was from an internet based channel that lumped this in with the plethora of Z-grade films on some midnight movies channel. The story is god enough to deserve a resurrection from that kind of abysmal fate. -
cifra2-518-82944 — 10 years ago(June 11, 2015 08:08 AM)
Remake? NO.
Re-imagination? Yes. I'm all for it. It's a great film but certainly, despite being a classic, hardly a masterpiece.
Just think of how great and different are both "Dawn of the Dead". And I would add as more than OK, the reimagination of "Piranha".
I don't talk about my fave film, "The Thing", as it is just a more faithful adaptation of "Who goes there?" than "The Thing from Another World".