I mentioned the film Let Me In over in my Two Second Reviews, and that it was a remake of Let the Right One In (a film from Sweden about which you may have never heard) and that it was pretty good, which is was. That said...Let the Right One In is much better. This is seems to be the fate of remakes, and rightly so. I will watch a remake, I have watched a lot of remakes and there are very few that I find to be watchable and nearly as good as the film they are emulating (Dawn of the Dead, The Omen, The Amityville Horror and, as I mentioned, Let Me In come to mind, horror being the most remade genre out there, probably because the genre of Horror is essentially the star itself, it doesn't matter what actors paticipate in them), but then there are films, sadly the majority, that are just utterly atrocious, simply garbage. TANGENT! I brought it up so I'm going to continue with it. Horror is, simply put, the easiest genre to tackle for beginner filmmakers looking to get their name out there, but also one of the easiest to completely ruin by falling into the cliched pitfalls (which happens most of the time.) Another interesting thing to note is that fans of Horror, die-hard fans, are among the most forgiving fans of any genre ( I know, because I am one), it can be horrible, it can be a half step up from crap and they will forgive and more than likely see another by the same director, or another in the same series. Too few actually understand horror as it should be understood, the nuances, the atmosphere, it's not all about the blood and guts (but it can be), it's about what isn't seen onscreen as much as what is. ANYWAY...back on topic.
Even with the decent quality of Let Me In, I'm reminded constantly of how good Let the Right One In was. It was just better. While watching this one I couldn't help but notice how much they tried to make it like the other one while maintaining some sense of originality, but like I said, it was really good, just not the same kind of good as the original film. I've come to really dislike the remakes and re-boots and re-imagining that have plagued our day and age. It seems like all the movies that are made these days fall into those categories. It seems to me that originality has gone out the window (not completely but...) at least for the most part.
For me, personally, it's exceptionally difficult to put up with remakes because I am a firm believer in originality and the quality that comes with something truly original. I will always like an original song or movie, or what have you, better than any cover or remake that is made, even if the new one is better...it's a matter of respect I guess. I respect the artist for making something that hasn't been made before, when someone remakes that, regardless of intent or admiration (you could argue that they are even more of a die-hard fan than I am, which is why they choose to make the remake, OR you could argue that they are just riding someone else's coat-tails and banking on the fact that people like something so they will like the remake...this could all be purely speculation but it's what runs through my head) I maintain my respect for the original work.
It's not that I don't like to see someone else's perspective on something (some people can add an interesting twist or spin on a story), but that's not really the issue. This is actually stemming from some incident I had with a friend of mine (I shouldn't say "stemming" from, but rather "reminds me of") when we were discussing the film Across the Universe (very good movie) and he said he liked some of the songs in the film, sung by the actors, (all Beatles songs) better than the original Beatles songs themselves. I had to disagree. For me, it doesn't matter how good they are, the Beatles are always better, end of discussion, and that's really how I feel about all the others as well...
To summarize, or if you are to take anything from this, I believe the original work or material is the superior product always, without challenge, if not because of actual quality then because of originality, that said, it should be understood that this does not necessarily make the remake "bad" just less than the other.
Thanks for your time.
....and that's it.
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