Posted by Matt Holmes. Last modified on March 7th, 2008 at 12:41am

David Gordon Green confirms SUSPIRIA remake

I was rather pissed earlier in the week when the news leaked of Michael Bay’s production company Platinum Dunes putting plans in place to remake the horror classic Rosemary’s Baby. I’m so sick of horror remakes, they have basically almost single handily killed the genre as far as I’m concerned.

It’s becoming harder and harder to sell an original and risky horror script these days in Hollywood. If execs don’t have a successful horror film on their desk to bastardize, then they actually have to think about what they are doing instead of exploiting the work of others.

Of course there are a few exceptions to the rule. I loved what Zack Snyder did with Dawn of the Dead for example, and whenever remake discussions come up it’s pretty impossible not to mention how frikkin’ cool both The Thing and The Fly are.

But at least 7 times out of 10, remakes suck. And that number must be way higher for the horror genre.

And here we are with news of another remake. It looks like Dario Argento’s iconic Suspiria will be the next to go through the remake machine and surprisingly it will be acclaimed Indie director David Gordon Green who will take. He is a cult favourite after directing Snow Angels and his next movie Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen and James Franco has those Judd Apatow fanboys buzzing with anticipation.

suspiria.jpg

Surprised that Green would take the helm for this? Yeah so am I, and Green himself it would seem… (from MTV)…

“No, it doesn’t make a lick of sense…“But it’s wicked. I love it, plot holes and everything ”

“Suspiria’ is a classic for me,” he continued. “I want to be scared. I want to be afraid.”

“It’s an opportunity to take all artistic excellence and be inspired by what was a low budget Italian 70’s gore movie,” he said. “Where the art world meets the violent and supernatural.

“I would love to get every geek that loves torture porn and every old lady in line to see ‘Phantom of the Opera’ to come and have this insane experience.”

I can’t claim to be the biggest fan of Suspiria… though it has been YEARS and YEARS since I’ve seen it so I’m a little sketchy on it.

I do like the idea of Green doing a horror movie. Though I’ve yet to see any of his work in full, the bits I have seen have shown a visually creative director who likes to play with some dark themes and situations… why doesn’t he just make something original or in the vein of Suspiria, and not actually a remake of the film itself though is beyond me.

Sharing some of the filmic conventions and ideas that Eli Roth is playing with right now, Suspiria is a film about an American student abroad in Germany who discovers that the dancing school she attends is actually home to a coven of Satanic witches. It’s a little like Hostel in plot terms but frankly I found it far more disturbing and effective as a film.

In fact, I’m sure Eli Roth must have flirted with the idea of remaking. Maybe Green can make a good movie out of it but I dunno, though I do like the comments he has to say about his intentions with the movie. Maybe this guy is the next Zack Snyder?

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3 Comments »

  1. Yuck. Suspiria stands as a really unnerving horror flick both because of its artistic imagination, unconventional features and its numerous flaws. I agree in what you say Matt about it being a better idea to make an original film in the vein of Suspiria, not just a straight carbon-copy.

    I’ve got a feeling that another Hollywood remake would just be straightforward and uninteresting. New ideas? Anyone? Recycling is good for the environment but not good for the movies…

    Comment by James Clayton | March 7, 2008

  2. Suspiria was truly a classic masterpiece of it’s time, and I can honestly say that the first half hour is probably the scariest and truly bizarre, especially with that brilliant underlying score that gets played throughout the film by the german group Goblin. It’s a great film thoughout until it gets to the end, and then it just kind of flakes out because of the cheesy out dated special effects. I think this movie can get remade and done very well by just modernizing it, vamping up the effects, and they should also keep the original score. The music in the film really adds to the errieness of the movie and quite frankly would not be the same without it. Not to mention I’ve never heard a score like it used in any other movie before which also adds to the films originality. Keep the original score, vamp up the ending and the special effects, throw a little spice in and voila you have a good remake for a change. Just those few minor items should be added. I’m not saying make an exact carbon copy either cause thats boring. But fix up those main elements and you got yourself a great movie!!

    Comment by Rachel | May 3, 2008

  3. [...] Back in March it was confirmed that hot up and coming Indie darling David Gordon Green whose latest movie Pineapple Express opens in the U.S. tomorrow was set to remake a movie he adored - Dario Argento’s classic 70’s shocker Suspiria. [...]

    Pingback by Natalie Portman in SUSPIRIA remake? | Obsessed With Film | August 7, 2008

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