21st Century Terrors, Part 9: 2008

Welcome back, after quite a long hiatus, to the Vault's rather exhaustive look back at the decade of horror cinema that ended last December. It's probably for the best anyway, since the more distance that accumulates, the easier it is to properly judge exactly what it was that went down, and exactly what it all meant. When last we left off, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of the late '00s, right at the moment when the remake craze had truly strapped the horror genre to the speedboat like Fonzie...

One of the decade's most egregious remake offenses occurred this year, when American filmmakers took what had been one of the most talked about foreign films of the previous year, [REC], and turned it into Quarantine, a virtual scene-for-scene English translation of the Spanish original, with Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter in the lead role. It was a very cynical affair, too, with the Spanish version being purposely withheld from home video or theatrical release in America until the inferior remake had had a chance to run its course with a public who generally believed it to be an original work.

Quarantine may have been the most obvious and most cynical of the bunch, but it was far from the only. Alexandre Aja, who had previously given us the admittedly well-made redo of Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes, this time dished up the Keifer-Sutherland vehicle Mirrors, a remake of the 2003 South Korean film Into the Mirror. Jessica Alba headlined The Eye, a vastly inferior rehash of a 2002 flick out of Hong Kong. And the utterly inane One Missed Call, taken from a 2003 Japanese movie, assaulted our senses as well. The bankruptcy of ideas was reaching epic proportions.

But it didn't end there. Cult classics and long-time favorites of American horror cinema continued to be liberally raped, as well. Take the PG-13 version of Prom Night, which took an enjoyable little Jamie Lee Curtis slasher of the early 1980s and turned it into something that could've aired in prime time on Nickelodeon. And then, although it pains me to even bring it up, there was the tragically wrong-headed remake of George Romero's Day of the Dead, undertaken by '80s veteran Steve Miner, who should've known better. The less said about that abortion, the better.

But although the heyday of the early-to-mid portion of the decade was decidedly over, there was still enough original, engaging material out there to keep the die-hard fans entertained, even while the masses were being spoon-fed Hollywood's easily digestible pap. For example, for those savvy enough to seek it out, there was The Midnight Meat Train, a grim and unrelenting adaptation of one of Clive Barker's classic short stories that stands as possibly the finest Barker screen adaptation since Hellraiser (superior in fact, if you ask this blogger.)

And although they divided fans--as most horror films of the recent past always seem to do--films like The Strangers and The Ruins were fresh and interesting enough to provide some relief from the onslaught of garbage. The former, borrowing liberally from the grand tradition of home invasion cinema, was a taut psychological thriller that threw in a sprinkling of torture porn sensibility for good measure. And the latter, an adaptation of the wildly successful 2006 novel by Scott B. Smith (author of A Simple Plan, brilliantly adapted by Sam Raimi in 1998), took the painfully trite teen horror sub-genre and gave it a much-needed supernatural kick in the ass.

On its last legs, the zombie subgenre offered up Dance of the Dead, an endearing take on some well-worn territory that managed to succeed by grafting familiar tropes into a high school setting, resulting in something like a John Hughes-esque response to Shaun of the Dead. And although nowhere even approaching the sublimity that rom-zom-com achieved, this one at least gave us some hot zombie sex, and cemented Pat Benatar's "Shadows of the Night" as one of the most memorable rock songs ever featured in a horror film.

But of course, no discussion of horror film in 2008 would be complete without bringing up Darren Lynn Bousman's Repo! The Genetic Opera, one of the most unique, confounding, and possibly ingenious movies to hit the genre in some time. A bold rock opera with a star-studded cast, it scores major points for effort and originality, even if the finished product is admittedly not without significant flaws. Most impressively of all, however, is the way the film managed to become more of a cultural event than most horror films do these days--even if that status was achieved in a much more carefully orchestrated and less organic manner than with such films as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, for example.

And then, there was Let the Right One In. The film, which for my money, was the most memorable, best-made and most evocative the horror genre gave us for the entire decade. Yes, it was not entirely a horror movie, but whatever it was, this unique Swedish adaptation of the vampire novel of the same name was a damn fine motion picture. Standing out head and shoulders in the crowd of mediocrity that was 2008, Let the Right One In was the kind of film that reminded many--this blogger included--of not only why they love horror film in the first place, but why they love film, period.

The touching tale of Oskar and Eli, the young mortal boy and the otherwordly vampire girl with whom he falls charmingly and platonically in love, LTROI was the finest of all the foreign horror that washed ashore during this period. It may also very well be one of, if not the best vampire film ever made. If the 2000s in horror is remembered for nothing else at all, it will always be remembered for giving us Let the Right One In.

With the decade creaking to a close, the horror genre was stumbling toward the '10s with all the grace of an unraveling mummy. There were gems to be found, no question--it was just taking more and more effort to look for them. But for those willing to trudge through the muck spewed forth by the remake machine, it was still a pretty decent time to be a horror fan. And fans certainly had more than enough movies over to which argue vociferously--and if that's not what being a fanboy is all about, I don't know what is.

Also in 2008:

• Saw V
• Shutter
• Splinter
• Teeth
• Zombie Strippers

Part 1: 2000
Part 2: 2001
Part 3: 2002
Part 4: 2003
Part 5: 2004
Part 6: 2005
Part 7: 2006
Part 8: 2007

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Little Dogs, Big Business

Last week, I was shocked. Well, not so much shocked as disappointed. This week, I’m not the least bit surprised. There it is. BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA still sitting pretty on top of the box office chart. I guess we’ll be seeing litters of little kids dressed like fashionable dogs this Halloween. Their parents can carry them around in little purses while they wear giant sunglasses.


This week’s top debut might come as a surprise for some but not I. QUARANTINE opened stronger than most expected, capturing the number one spot on Friday. It was no match for the family friendly pooches though and it ultimately lost the weekend to the dogs. Still, it does have the highest average in the Top 10 and it did beat out Ridley Scott’s BODY OF LIES, starring Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio. Huge stars, giant director, no interest. The film did solid business but nowhere near what it should have given the caliber of names attached. It did feel like they might have been trying a little hard. Don’t try at all next time, Ridley. That approach worked wonders for the chihuahuas.


The Top 10 saw two other flat debuts and one disappointing expansion. The first is football film, THE EXPRESS, starring Dennis Quaid. After this spring’s dud, LEATHERHEADS, Hollywood will probably spend a little more time in the huddle before rushing any other football picks to the 10-yard line. And Gil Kenan’s follow-up to the Mouton d’Or winner for Best Animated Feature, MONSTER HOUSE, CITY OF EMBER, flickered out in 10th place. Maybe the underground city could have used a few more pint size pups. I’m just saying … Chihuahuas clearly equal gold. It worked for the Taco Bell people and Paris Hilton. Lastly, THE DUCHESS had been playing so well in limited release, it was only natural to go wide but the film failed to connect with the rest of the continent. The trials of beautiful royalty didn't seem to matter much to rural America as the film saw its averages drop from tens of thousands to under $3K.


On the specialty front, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED continued to dazzle. 18 screens were added in the last weekend before it goes wider. While it pulled in a per screen average of over $17K, two other films picked up per screens of over $20K. The first is the seemingly drastic departure for Mike Leigh, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. Well, it’s a departure in the sense that it is supposed to be happy, which Leigh’s films generally are not. The second is a film that so needs to do well in order to save a flailing career. Guy Ritchie’s supposed return to form, ROCK’N’ROLLA, has the highest average of any film in release on just 7 screens. The film goes wide by Halloween and goes head to head with wife, Madonna’s directorial debut, FILTH AND WISDOM, next week. My money’s on Guy; don’t tell Madge.


NEXT WEEK: Are you ready for a painful experience? MAX PAYNE, that is. The video game adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg is the week’s biggest release. SEX DRIVE has the teen sex romp market covered. Oliver Stone’s highly anticipated Bush biography, W. has the controversy market covered. And THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES has the cherished-literature-turned-into-sappy-feel-good-movie market in check.

American Horror Fans, Hollywood Thinks You're Dumb

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.