We perpetually see remakes of classic films that make us shake our heads and wonder why. Those movies were great to begin with, so why remake them and suffer potential backlash for ruining a classic? However, there are plenty of movies that were good ideas but ended up bombing the first time around. Others just haven’t endured the tests of time, fading from memory. Why not remake those pictures?
That looks to be the approach Evolution Entertainment is taking with its horror division, Twisted Pictures, who formed a joint venture with RKO Productions last week and announced plans to remake four RKO pictures. These are less memorable pictures, despite some big names involved in the originals.
Already selected for remaking: The Body Snatcher, which was directed in 1945 by Robert Wise and starred Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, Bedlam, which also starred Lugosi, and I Walked With a Zombie. The fourth picture is yet to be selected.
Variety noted in its announcement of the Twisted Pictures/RKO deal that these weren’t the first RKO pictures to be remade recently. This year’s Are We Done Yet? was based on the Cary Grant comedy Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. No doubt Grant handled the picture better than the Ice Cube disaster. Hopefully these thrillers will receive better treatment at the hands of Twisted Pictures.
