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What Is Your Favorite Horror Remake?

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Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remake

I know that will start some arguments in the comments and some of you may be waiting outside my house with torches and pitchforks after you read this, but that’s precisely the reason I wanted to write about this today. Horror remakes (or any remakes, for that matter) rarely improve upon their predecessor (and rarely are they any good at all). That being said, there are a few that I think are great films. The obvious answer to my question would be John Carpenter’s The Thing or David Cronenberg’s The Fly, which actually do improve upon their source material. We’ve even has some amazing remakes in the past ten years (The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes come to mind), and while I really like those films, I would be lying if I said that one of them was my favorite remake. No, my favorite remake is 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

This is where the pitchforks are going to come out I think. By pitchforks I obviously mean incredibly mean/offensive remarks in the comments section below, but I digress. I love this movie and please bear in mind that I love the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre and in no way and I claiming that this remake is a better film. I am judging the remake on its own merits and not comparing it to the original in any shape, way or form (though I do believe it shows a tremendous amount of respect for the original). I am a bit biased in my affection for the remake though, as it was the first R-rated horror movie I got to see in a theater with my dad (I’m only 25…sue me), so there are probably a lot of emotional reasons that make me like it more. Enough about me, let’s start with the trailer:

I fully realize that a trailer doesn’t make a movie, but that is a fantastic trailer and I used to re-watch it a lot when I was younger. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The marketing for the film was great and it certainly got butts into seats. It pretty much started the remake craze of the 2000s (so I suppose we can fault it for that one). The remake wasn’t a watered down version of the original (although some may argue otherwise). It was an intense, creepy and brutal film and if I recall, this site gave it 4/5 skulls at the time of its release.

I think the reason I enjoy this remake is because it’s just because it’s clear that everyone involved tried really hard to make this a good movie, and I believe they succeeded. The acting is great, especially from R. Lee Ermey and (dare I say it?) Jessica Biel. Please note that I actually think Biel is a great actress. Just watch The Tall Man or The Truth About Emanuel to see.. She definitely gets an (unwarranted) bad rap. My only real complaint about the film is the deaths. With the exception of Eric Balfour’s face-mask and Mike Vogel’s salting of the wound, non of the deaths are that memorable or creative (looking at you Erica Leerhsen). That is a minor gripe, but it’s a gripe nonetheless.

What always puzzled me about the remake’s critical reception is that, like the original, people seem to remember it as being this incredibly gory film. Roger Ebert’s review of the film just felt like he really had it out for it before he even watched it, in my opinion  It is gorier than its predecessor, but it’s hardly explicitly violent (thought I may be a bit desensitized, as I’m sure many of you are), but this movie came out before Hostel did and I think if it had, people would have thought the remake tame in comparison. Don’t get me wrong, it is brutal, like I mentioned above. But it’s not that gory. In terms of us “normal” people who aren’t professional critics, this movie still seems to get a lot of hate. I get why, since the original is a classic. But  I still think it’s a great movie on its own terms. It’s become one of those movies I can just put on and watch when I’m bored.

At the risk of turning this into another “In Defense Of” article (although it kind of already has), I’ll leave it at that. I love, love love the remake of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. We spend so much time harping about how useless and terrible remakes are, so let’s play Devil’s Advocate and talk about remakes we like. If you had to pick a favorite, what would it be? But if you say A Nightmare on Elm Street or When a Stranger Calls, I don’t think I’ll be able to help you with the verbal beating you will probably receive.

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A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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