Binge Retrospective

Nowadays horror remakes are a dime a dozen. But if you were to ask any contemporary horror fan what their favorite remake of all time is, chances are they’ll say John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of The Thing From Another World. Or as he called it, The Thing. But what was it about that first film which made Carpenter want to tackle it at the pinnacle of his career? And what about the 2011 Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring attempt to reboot (retell, sequelize) it? Join myself, Matt, and the returning Mik Duffy as we attempt to answer these questions.

After John Carpenter’s 1982 version of The Thing came and went with a whimper, there were zero plans to bring the nihilistic vision back for another go around. But something happened once Thing killer E.T. exited theaters and the downslide of Carpenter’s career started. The Thing was given more looks, and before pundits knew it, the movie was one of cable tv’s most watched films. It started appearing on horror lists year after year. And, unbelievably, it got a damn video game! So obviously The Thing was primed with popularity. Cut to 2011. No Carpenter. No Russell. Yet, it girl at the time Mary Elizabeth Winstead was cast in a role clearly designed to be different, yet Ripley-esque. How did she do, and is this, like its 1982 predecessor, a movie that was lambasted at the time only to deserve a second look?

Listen in as Matt, myself, and Mik conclude our look at The Thing franchise!

    The Thing (2011) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

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Nowadays horror remakes are a dime a dozen. But if you were to ask any contemporary horror fan what their favorite remake of all time is, chances are they’ll say John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of The Thing From Another World. Or as he called it, The Thing. But what was it about that first film which made Carpenter want to tackle it at the pinnacle of his career? And what about the 2011 Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring attempt to reboot (retell, sequelize) it? Join myself, Matt, and the returning Mik Duffy as we attempt to answer these questions.

Director John Carpenter was in a spot of power in 1982. His first horror film Halloween had already become a bonafide hit, and while The Fog didn’t set the box office afire, it gained him even more respect within horror circles. Then, when fellow horror savant Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) was taken off a project that would have brought Howard Hawks’ vision to terrifying life in the 80s, Carpenter was more than happy to take the reigns of The Thing from his hero Hawks’ hands. But a low box office take would mean that Carpenter’s career cold be in trouble. So how’d he do, and what do we think all these years later? Is its eventual popularity -starting on the home video market- something well deserved? Or were critics like Siskel & Ebert right in denouncing The Thing as trash that shouldn’t be picked up again?

Join myself, Mik, and Matt as we look at the film that helped bring one career down a notch, while Carpenter’s stumbled. Which one was well deserved, and which one was just right? Listen below to find out!          

John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

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Nowadays horror remakes are a dime a dozen. But if you were to ask any contemporary horror fan what their favorite remake of all time is, chances are they’ll say John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of The Thing From Another World. Or as he called it, The Thing. But what was it about that first film which made Carpenter want to tackle it at the pinnacle of his career? And what about the 2011 Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring attempt to reboot (retell, sequelize) it? Join myself, Matt, and the returning Mik Duffy as we attempt to answer these questions.

There have been many filmmakers covered on the Binge Movie Aftertaste. But one which has been left out in the cold is Howard Hawks. Often called one of the greatest storytellers of all time, Hawks had done everything from the original Scarface to Red River. But in 1951, Hawks took it upon himself to enter the realm of science fiction by adapting the story Who Goes There by John A Stewart. But while the directing credit lies with Christian Nyby, ther are people who say it was actually Hawks who directed the film. So what is the real story? And what is it about this movie which has everyone from Ridley Scott to Quentin Tarantino citing it as a major influence on their careers? Listen in as we discuss that very, uhhhh, thing.

The Thing From Another World (1951) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

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Few, if any, slasher villains have made as big an impact on the industry like Freddy Krueger. Initially conceived by an at the time down on his luck English professor turned filmmaker by the name of Wes Craven, Krueger starred in 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street, and its impact has made its studio New Line Cinema to be known as the House The Freddy Built. But Craven quickly became disenchanted with his creation, as other filmmakers came in and made their stamp on the franchise with each subsequent sequel making its own impact on horror culture. So how high do we feel the franchise stands when it comes to horror history? Me, Matt, and the returning Mik Duffy take this series of podcasts to answer that very question.

Not much to say this week other than one of the two films reviewed on this, our (for now) final podcast of the series, 1994’s Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and 2010’s remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street, gets Mik Duffy, our normally jovial Irish co-host, the angriest I’ve ever heard him. We also dissect if they could remake it again, and who of our current crop of actors could play the character of Freddy Krueger if they do?

Our big thanks go out to Mik Duffy for helping host a hell of a fun podcast series to record.

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

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Few, if any, slasher villains have made as big an impact on the industry like Freddy Krueger. Initially conceived by an at the time down on his luck English professor turned filmmaker by the name of Wes Craven, Krueger starred in 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street, and its impact has made its studio New Line Cinema to be known as the House The Freddy Built. But Craven quickly became disenchanted with his creation, as other filmmakers came in and made their stamp on the franchise with each subsequent sequel making its own impact on horror culture. So how high do we feel the franchise stands when it comes to horror history? Me, Matt, and the returning Mik Duffy take this series of podcasts to answer that very question.

After Alice made her triumphant debut entry within the realm of Elm Street heroines in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, producers knew that they wanted to bring her back and once again have her battle with the series’ razor fingered villain Freddy Krueger. So producer Sara Risher came up with the idea of bringing her pregnancy fears to the plot associated with her and teenagers of the era. The result was A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. A movie that isn’t as much debated amongst fans of the franchise as much as derided. So what would the three of us, especially Mik Duffy who hadn’t seen it until this podcast, think of the result?

We then move on to what was thought of as the final film of the franchise, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. After dismal box office returns greeted The Dream Child, the writing was on the wall that maybe Freddy’s best days were behind him. So New Line Cinema hired longtime associate Rachel Talalay to take the directing reigns and kill him once and for all. Is the result as striking as the 3D in the movie wants us to believe? Listen below to find out!

A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

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.Few, if any, slasher villains have made as big an impact on the industry like Freddy Krueger. Initially conceived by an at the time down on his luck English professor turned filmmaker by the name of Wes Craven, Krueger starred in 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street, and its impact has made its studio New Line Cinema to be known as the House The Freddy Built. But Craven quickly became disenchanted with his creation, as other filmmakers came in and made their stamp on the franchise with each subsequent sequel making its own impact on horror culture. So how high do we feel the franchise stands when it comes to horror history? Me, Matt, and the returning Mik Duffy take this series of podcasts to answer that very question.

After the fan and critical reaction to Freddy’s Revenge, executives at New Line knew it was make it or break it time. So they did what they thought was right: bring in original Nightmare writer/creator Wes Craven to weave a new tale and maybe, just maybe, save his character from being just another unmemorable slasher villain. But his script was deemed almost unfilmable, so producer Robert Shaye brought in Chuck Russell and an up & coming writer by the name of Frank Darabont to touch it up and smooth line it for production, The result is almost unanimously looked at as the series’ best film, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. But do we agree? To preview this podcast, one of us doesn’t.

We then look at future Die Hard sequel director Renny Harlin’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Master. Armed with a slicked up camera and a  much higher production budget, Harlin’s resulting film was definitely unlike any other in the series. But a 1988 writer’s strike deeply affected production, so how does future Oscar winner Brian Helgeland’s script hold up? Myself, Matt, and Mik dissect it and wonder if Renny Harlin was actually Michael Bay before Michael Bay.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: Dream Master (1988) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

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.Few, if any, slasher villains have made as big an impact on the industry like Freddy Krueger. Initially conceived by an at the time down on his luck English professor turned filmmaker by the name of Wes Craven, Krueger starred in 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street, and its impact has made its studio New Line Cinema to be known as the House The Freddy Built. But Craven quickly became disenchanted with his creation, as other filmmakers came in and made their stamp on the franchise with each subsequent sequel making its own impact on horror culture. So how high do we feel the franchise stands when it comes to horror history? Me, Matt, and the returning Mik Duffy take this series of podcasts to answer that very question.

A Nightmare On Elm Street was a script that took the journey of many scripts at the time. Wes Craven had written it and shopped it around every studio in town. But it wasn’t until producer Robert Shaye took it on and put each and every bit of his stock into its success. Luckily for him, the movie became just that, kicking off a lucrative franchise. How do we feel it stands the test of time? Listen below to find out.

We then move on to what many have called the gayest horror film of all time, A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge. Listen in on what became a very interesting conversation as Matt takes a stance against the filmmakers’ claims that they didn’t know what they were making that might surprise you. We also judge it as just a horror film, as the sequel has been seen as the least of the franchise’s sequels.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) (?/10, ?/10, ?/10)

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