This past Friday, we had news of a remake/reboot/sequel to The Lost Boys. It’s safe to say that the reaction was tepid from horror fans. Depending on where you looked, there were people who were excited that we’re getting more than just a direct-to-DVD sequel to the original film, or you had people who were violently against any sort of remake. Turns out there are lots of people out there who find that work to be a naughty one. As if the history of horror hasn’t shown us that remakes, reboots, and sequels are necessary parts of the genre. For every original film, we want more from those characters. We want more with our favorites. So what does that mean for The Lost Boys?

The “golden age” of horror is the 1980’s. There are multiple documentaries about the decade of horror. It’s where we saw franchises like: A Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, and more start their lives. We saw the slasher boom, the effects boom, and the movies get bigger and more bloated by the end of the decade. It was the natural life cycle of the genre that saw it restart with Scream. I’m guilty of complaining about reboots and remakes, just like the rest of us. There are situations where remakes and reboots are warranted. If you’re going to update the movie to modern times and there’s something new that can be added, go for it.

If you’re using the franchise to just crap out a movie because you need to keep the rights, IE Miramax/Dimension Films in the mid-2000’s, then stay away.

Not All Remakes Are Made Equal

John Carpenter‘s The Thing is a remake. Dracula (1931) is a remake. Some of the best horror movies in existence are remakes. It’s been nearly 40 years since The Lost Boys came out. You don’t think that the story could use an update for 2021/22? The first movie is practically a perfect horror flick, but even then. It would be interesting to see how David and the rest of his vampire crew work out in an age of the internet and cell phones. Are the Frog brothers still such a resource on the occult and horror if the internet exists? Does Sam have internet friends or connections instead of having to seek out people in person like in the original film?

Instead of just crapping all over the people involved without seeing something because there have been some screwups with horror remakes in the past, you could look at the good things in a remake. If it’s a sequel, you might get to see your favorite characters back in a new light. If you’re remaking something, that’s equally exciting, a new face gets a chance to take over a famous character.

It’s not all doom and gloom, especially when many horror projects these days have fantastic filmmakers working on them. The Lost Boys has Jonathan Entwistle directing the remake/reboot. He made the delightfully weird The End of the F***ing World and I Am Not Okay With This. The writer? Up and coming star Randy McKinnon. So that’s safe to say that they have good hands working on the project.

If The Thing was announced today, would people be happy that John Carpenter was remaking the classic The Thing From Another World?

We’re Not In The 2000’s Anymore

Hellraiser: Hellworld can’t hurt you anymore.

The CGI-boom in Hollywood gave plenty of ammunition to people who hated sequels, remakes, and reboots. The effects were overused and quite simply, bad. These days, it’s harder to tell when something is CG or if it’s real. Sure, you can market your film as “USING ONLY PRACTICAL EFFECTS!”, but it’s also been two decades since those terrible CG effects took over.

We want original ideas in horror. Sure. Go watch Malignant. Go watch Werewolves Within. There are plenty of great horror flicks out there that aren’t in the remake category. But you know what drives interest in horror? Those big tent-pole franchises. Those are the ones that get asses into the seats when movies come out. Once you get those people hooked on Halloween Kills, they branch out. So think of remakes like AC/DC or Metallica. You need to start somewhere and it just so happens that people start with the most popular stuff.

So next time you want to crap all over a remake, take a second, get the images of Hellraiser: Hellworld out of your head, and think about the possibilities of a new movie in your favorite series.

For more on horror, check out THS Fright-A-Thon, the month and a half long celebration of horror, or stay tuned to That Hashtag Show.