Alfred Hitchcock remakes are nothing new. They’ve gone from modern day revisions (Disturbia) to shot-for-shot homages (Psycho). But Hitchcock made a lot more movies than just the ones that appear on AFI’s 100 Movies list. Why not aim a little lower and remake one of the Hitchcock thrillers that hasn’t fared as well over time or is less memorable? That seems to be the strategy behind the latest announcement from Sony, the studio that has given a greenlight to an update of Hitchcock’s The Lodger.
The Lodger was Hitchcock’s fifth film and certainly was an important movie in his career, as the story of a man suspected of being a serial killer carried themes and ideas that would carry into other more notable Hitchcock films. Created in the era of silent pictures, the story has been remade several times previously, with endings that stick more faithfully to the original Marie Belloc Lowndes novel than Hitchcock did.
Sony’s remake will take place in modern day Los Angeles and will revolve around a copycat killer. The film will be written, directed, and produced by David Ondaatje. Variety reports this will be Ondaatje’s directorial debut, previously only having worked on short films.
Although this is a remake/update, it’s likely that this version of The Lodger will share more in common with the other remakes than Hitchcock’s original silent picture. Ondaatje plans to use the Lowndes novel as his “jumping off point”, not Hitchcock’s adaptation.
