And I'll be perfectly honest--you haven't done much lately to dissuade them from that belief, first justifying the microscopic theatrical release of Diary of the Dead, then making the remake of Prom Night the number-one movie in the country.But that's not why I'm writing today. I know that American horror fans aren't dumb--at least no moreso than the general public at large. I know that if given the proper marketing treatment, the Spanish zombie flick [REC] could be a major hit in the U.S.A. In my opinion the finest horror picture in years, yet American distributors just don't have confidence in a foreign language film. But even if they had to--gasp!--dub it into English, it would be worth it.
What got me thinking about this again was last Friday's premiere of [REC] in the United Kingdom, a nation which shares our own native tongue (you can read some reviews from U.K. filmgoers here). After its Spanish run last November, the movie hit Italy in February, Russia in March, and Portugal and Sweden last week. Later this week, it's the Netherlands and Finland. Later this month, France and Belgium. Next month, Germany and Austria. And in June, Japan. Distributors in all those countries have no problem exhibiting the film, yet the U.S. holds firm in perpetuating its cultural isolationism.
After all, why take a gamble on a foreign flick when we can churn out yet another Americanized remake? That's what's happening, in case you haven't heard. Called Quarantine, it looks like a nearly shot-for-shot redo, and it hits theaters in October. On the bright side, the movie will star Jennifer Carpenter, who is excellent on Showtime's Dexter as the sister of the title character.
Here's the trailer, for those curious:
I won't lie, I'll probably go see it. Guess that makes me a hypocrite, since the more successful Quarantine is, the more it will reinforce the notion that American audiences need their entertainment spoonfed to them.