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http://screenrant.com/gremlins-movie-remake-2013/

I can't help but think this will be a terrible idea. I mean, it already was a light-hearted franchise. Unless they go in a completely different direction - like turning it into an actual horror movie, a la Fright Night - it'll be nothing more than a stale remake.

Thoughts?

Every remake and reboot is a good idea.

Am I missing a sarcasm tag?

Nah! I like seeing new takes on stories I enjoy. Remake everything. If there end up with 8 different film versions of The Thing (this is possible), John Carpenter's from the 80s won't be one iota less enjoyable.

I find your reaction surprising. Truly I do. Just when I think I have Charles in Charge figured out I get a curve ball like this.

Dave said:

Unless they go in a completely different direction - like turning it into an actual horror movie, a la Fright Night - it'll be nothing more than a stale remake.

Thoughts?

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They already did this. It was called Critters and it was... okay. Had some weird sequels. Haven't seen any of the movies in at least 12-15 years.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

Nah! I like seeing new takes on stories I enjoy. Remake everything. If there end up with 8 different film versions of The Thing (this is possible), John Carpenter's from the 80s won't be one iota less enjoyable.

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You know I don't think it really bothers me one way or the other. Best case scenario you get two good movies, worst case you still have the original to enjoy.

Most my rage from adaptations and remakes doesn't come from changes (obviously there are exceptions), but things that get left in and things to break.

It was a wonderfully campy horror comedy that was reasonably suitable for youth. It is, however, outdated by today's movie standards. Why not remake it? Add the fact that every teenager has a cell phone and can text people images and videos. Add a little more pseudo science. Make it campy and funny, and it'll be a hit with its intended audience.

You might not be its intended audience. If you aren't OK with that, please report to the retirement center and complain about it to your dinner companions. The rest of the world will continue to spin. Sorry for the inconvenience.

grumblegrumblegrumbledamnedkidsgrumblegrumblegrumble

Dave said:

Thoughts?

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I think shows like Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and others show that old concepts can still be done in a fresh manner without having to go completely grim'n'gritty or in the opposite direction to outright parody. All those shows have a balance between humor and serious moments, and are a lot of fun despite treading on mostly old ground. Familiar concepts can feel fresh with enjoyable characters mixed with solid writing. Heck, it doesn't even have to be well written characters or flawless writing, it just has to be fun.

That said, a Gremlins remake would be hard to pull off. There'd need to be enough new brought to the table to make it relevant to current society, but that's not an easy thing to pull of. It would take examining why Gremlins resonated so well in 1984, and then extrapolating how to connect that same concept to 2013 (or whenever it will come out). I think that is what's missing from a lot of remakes, they either fail to try to translate the concept at all, or mistranslate it.

figmentPez said:

examining why Gremlins resonated so well in 1984

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Great idea!

Part of it is largely timeless:

- Buyer beware
- Monsters under the bed
- Monsters that appear when you "don't follow the rules"
- Ability to do nasty things to the "bad guys"

But it's been so long since I've seen it, these are surely the very broadest of theme brushstrokes.

What else was that movie made of?

Fear of technology going haywire and killing people. Pretty timeless, especially if you made the new Gremlins computer savvy.

EDIT: Also, it had the whole "China is a land of mystery and weirdness" thing going on, but that probably doesn't need to be repeated.

Gremlins and Gremlins 2 are two of my favourite movies. Except for this past Christmas, I've watched them every year with my niece (this year, it seems, she's "too cool" to watch them).

And honestly, if it gives us a new Gremlins movie, I'm all for it...provided they keep in the spirit. If they went in the way of it being more wacky comedy like the second one, I'd be totally okay with it. It's much more comedy than horror, really. The first one is scary (sure scared the hell out of me as a kid), but it's supposed to be more in vein of the old monster movie drive-in flicks. Similar in some ways, in fact, to Slither, which I know a lot of folk here love.

Most importantly, though? THE REMAKE CANNOT HAVE CGI GREMLINS. It's puppetry or GTFO.

Unless they bring back the electric gremlin. That was fucking awesome.

ThatNickGuy said:

Most importantly, though? THE REMAKE CANNOT HAVE CGI GREMLINS. It's puppetry or GTFO.

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I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to be GTFO then. Asking filmmakers to not use CG is like asking a teenaged boy to not fap.

ThatNickGuy said:

Most importantly, though? THE REMAKE CANNOT HAVE CGI GREMLINS. It's puppetry or GTFO.

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I agree with this. Personally I'm not so down on CGI as to say it will never replace practical effects, but it sure isn't there yet. Use CGI for mob scenes of dozens of gremlins in the background, but use puppets whenever possible.

Yeah, I'd be willing to meet in the middle and have CG gremlins in the background to add to numbers or something. But the whole reason that the movies have stood the test of time (for me, anyway) is because of the practical effects.

Fuck this (probably).

(They've been trying to make this movie for over a decade.)

Terrible idea, because I saw Gremlins when I was 6 and it gave me nightmares for days. Fuck you, Gremlins. Fade into obscurity.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

Every remake and reboot is a good idea.

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I can't wait for Disney's version of A New Hope.

Bubble181 said:

I can't wait for Disney's version of A New Hope.

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This, unironically.

Bubble181 said:

I can't wait for Disney's version of A New Hope.

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Now with more Jar Jar Binks!

To the tune of Mickey Mouse club:

J A R! J A R! B I N K S!
Jar jar binks! (anakin!) jar jar binks! (Anakin!)

I figure if Little Shop of Horrors, made what, 30 years ago, can have one of the best animatronic puppets I've ever seen, there's still a great use for the medium over CGI. Sadly, CGI is likely miles cheaper to produce so I wouldn't be surprised if it takes over.

As for the remake itself, sure why not? It'd be cool to see someone like Sam Raimi take a shot at this franchise, I think his campy-gritty kind of style could be a lot of fun for it.

If The Muppets can be made with little CGI, so can Gremlins.

And no. NO! Gremlins does not need to be dark and gritty.

I'm talking like Evil Dead kind of dark and gritty, not Sin City. Considering how much of the first movie is basically in the dark anyway it's not much of a stretch.

Edit: Maybe gritty was the wrong word choice. I dunno, I'm tired.

So am I. And if by Evil Dead, you mean grittier, gorier, but still camp, then I still say no.

Gremlins not being available for streaming is a goddamn crime.

Seriously, I have a huge Gremlins itch now.

I'm fucking nervous about this remake, it could be fucking glorious or a complete heretical disaster. No middle ground, probably.

I tried watching Gremlins over Christmas Break... Man my nostalgia glasses are broken. I could not watch 30 minutes of it with out turning it off.

I loved it when it was in the theaters, but I have not seen it since.

I really hope they use puppets, but if they can pull off the crazyness of the original film with CG than power to them. As long as one of them is murdered in a microwave, I'm cool with it.

Yoshimickster said:

I really hope they use puppets, but if they can pull off the crazyness of the original film with CG than power to them. As long as one of them is murdered in a microwave, I'm cool with it.

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I'd need one to be shoved into a blender more than the microwave, I think.

Yeah, the blender was better than the microwave.

I'm personally a fan of where she just goes apeshit with a kitchen knife.

The kitchen scene was just awesome in general, that mom kicked ASS!

Also in the remake if they have a scene where the gremlins sing "New York New York" I would be happy.

One of the earliest "oh crap!" moments I ever had watching a movie was when that gremlin burst out of the cupboard at the school, which is also the first full glimpse the audience gets of the little beasts. I need that scene for this movie to work.

The original Gremlins script was dark and gritty and gorey, with the Gremlins eating people.

We don't need Gremlins: Saw Edition.

Quotemander Prime said:

The original Gremlins script was dark and gritty and gorey, with the Gremlins eating people.

We don't need Gremlins: Saw Edition.

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Really? Not that I don't believe you, but this is the first time I've heard of this. Do you have a link where I can read about it?

Gremlins eating people is a TERRIBLE idea, it goes against the whole concept of the Gremlin myth... they're supposed to kill you by making stuff stop working or explode or electrocute you or something... but EATING you? Hell naw.

ThatNickGuy said:

Really? Not that I don't believe you, but this is the first time I've heard of this. Do you have a link where I can read about it?

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Here's one instance

From the article:

ante said, “Chris Columbus’ original script was definitely more of a horror film than what we developed Gremlins into. His original version had the monsters killing the dog and cutting off the mom’s head and tossing it down the stairs. We realized as we continued developing the project we needed to have a different tone.”

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Chris Colombus wrote the script as a horror movie. There was no "good Gremlin" Gizmo. Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg read it and told him they wanted something lighter. It's weird you've never heard of it; I'm pretty sure they talk about it on the DVD extras. But maybe not. The iconic scene difference is the Gremlins filling up a McDonalds, eating the customers. I wouldn't be surprised if that's where Critters 2 got the Hungry Heffer scene idea.

For the record, I loved Critters.

Bowielee said:

For the record, I loved Critters.

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Likewise. The first two, at least. Actually, I don't think Critters 3 is all that awful, but I haven't seen it in a long time.

Critters 4 though... ugh.

Me too. We don't need Gremlins becoming more horror. We just need a new Critters.