Lexmark3200
10-24-2005, 12:06 PM
Saw this yesterday with the free admission tickets included in the DVD Special Edition of the original film, and I gotta say, it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be, and I think I know why. Carpenter co-produced this and had his hand in remaking it, along with Debra Hill, and believe me folks, that makes ALL the difference when doing a remake. The ghost effects here regarding the leper colony from the Elizabeth Dane are of course more up to date with CGI, which wasnt available back when Carpenter made his original, and they resemble the "skeleton effects" used in films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Ghost Ship; at any rate, this may be a purchase for me when it hits DVD. The story follows ALMOST the exact same pacing and characterization as Carpenter's original -- and the whole Elizabth Dane story is explained much better, how the conspirators of Antonio Bay (changed from California to Oregon in this version) planned to steal the gold from Blake and his leper colony, and why the ghosts seek revenge. The same character names are used here, too --- Nick Castle, Stevie Wayne, etc. and instead of Adrienne Barbeau spinning oldies in her lighthouse radio station, WKAB, we now have a young, sexy chick (also single with a kid like Barbeau was in the original) spinning house and club music. The same boat is attacked by the fog in the beginning -- the Seagrass -- but this time we have the prerequisite African American member of the crew who talks like an aspiring Rap artist while two white half-naked girls dance with each other on the boat in a drunken stupor; why does every remake or modern-day horror film have to include this cliche? As soon as I saw Busta Rhymes appear in the last Halloween film, and he proclaimed "Happy Halloween, Motha ****a!" I knew horror cinema was done forever. Its just ridiculous.
Anyone else get a chance to see this remake yet?
The ending was dissapointing, as well, as I just didnt get it......it made absolutely no sense to me or my better half. The ending of the original was cool as hell, where Father Patrick Malone (played by Hal Holbrook, and the character returning in the remake) is wondering why "Blake" didnt kill him as one of the conspirators but is hacked to death by the ghost of Blake standing in the shadows with glowing red eyes just before the credits role......Carpenter created an awesome ending there. In this version, I just dont know what happened.
Anyone else get a chance to see this remake yet?
The ending was dissapointing, as well, as I just didnt get it......it made absolutely no sense to me or my better half. The ending of the original was cool as hell, where Father Patrick Malone (played by Hal Holbrook, and the character returning in the remake) is wondering why "Blake" didnt kill him as one of the conspirators but is hacked to death by the ghost of Blake standing in the shadows with glowing red eyes just before the credits role......Carpenter created an awesome ending there. In this version, I just dont know what happened.