Each Tuesday, FANGORIA presents Terror Tuesdays on the streaming service Pluto TV, a triple feature of horror films personally selected by a member of the Fango fam. Each week, one of us will curate three titles with a theme of some sort, and the party starts every Tuesday night at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific on the Pluto TV Terror channel. It's all free!
Remakes and reboots are de rigeur these days, but in the past decade or so some have been dismissed, forgotten or unfairly maligned because they dared tackle a sacred title. William Faulkner, when asked if he was upset about what Hollywood had done to his books, pointed to his shelf and said “they haven’t done anything to my books; they’re right up there.” That’s the kind of energy we should be bringing to films that put a new spin on our favorites, in my opinion. Tonight, we present a triple feature of remakes that are worth another look.
Patrick (aka Patrick: Evil Awakens) (2013)
The ‘70s Ozploitation classic Patrick came from Hitchcock protege Richard Franklin, and this reworking from Not Quite Hollywood director Mark Hartley is full of affection for both Franklin and his mentor, presenting a stylish, heightened, nasty update of the comatose patient who wreaks havoc in a hospital with his psychic powers. Skirting right up to the edge of camp, Patrick: Evil Awakens is ripe for rediscovery ten years on.
Maniac (2012)
There’s an argument that Bill Lustig’s Maniac couldn’t be remade — it’s as much about the time, place, and the casting (especially of Joe Spinell) than it is about its scuzzy plot, in which a crazed loner murders and scalps a series of women. But Franck Khalfoun uses the opportunity to deliver something altogether different, going full Lady in the Lake (or Enter the Void, if you must) to present the happenings from the protagonist killer’s POV. It’s a bold choice (as is casting the title role with Elijah Wood), but boy does it work. Lustig’s film is a grindhouse masterpiece, sure, but Khalfoun’s 2012 film still rips.
Black Christmas (2006)
13 years before people were arguing about the Blumhouse Black Christmas remake, they were arguing about the Dimension Films Black Christmas remake. Again, nothing will touch the original; nor is it erased by a new version. (Especially this one, which was chronically hard to stream or buy for many years.) The team who rebooted Willard three years earlier is back to revisit the tale of sorority sisters being menaced by obscene calls, and along the way they attempt to fill in Billy's previously ambiguous backstory. While your mileage may vary, in the gloomy 2020s the gorgeous cast, oversaturated colors, and gory kills alone might be enough to polish your candy cane.
Join the fun tonight at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific on the Pluto TV Terror channel. Enjoy these creative new swings and come back next week for another trifecta of terror!
