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!
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)
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)
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)
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)
.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)
.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)
Happy new year from the western side of the globe. To help bring in 2018, I once again brought Matthew Goudreau and Michael Guarnieri on to discuss part three of our Hannibal Lecter Retrospective series, the 2001 film Hannibal.
As always, the journey of bringing this story to the screen was quite the long path. After The Silence of the Lambs was released to massive critical and commercial success, artist friendly film studio Orion went bankrupt. Seeing a chance for redemption after originally giving up the rights to Hannibal Lecter following the box office failure of Manhunter, producer Dino De Laurentiis once again grabbed them and was determined to bring this now beloved character back to the screen. But in order to do that, he had to have Thomas Harris write the sequel in novel form.
Long story short, it would take ten long years to once again see Hannibal killing onscreen. And the world was ready. But despite being a huge box office success, 2001’s Hannibal is not looked back on fondly. Will we agree?
Download below to find out, and be sure to check back next week when we return with Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon.
Welcome to another special Saturday edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. I missed last Sunday due to laying in bed all day after hosting a party on Saturday night. I slept until 3 and then watched the Breaking Bad Binge for eight hours. Save your judgment for somebody else. So instead of making the trip to Chicago for Lawlapalooza, I’m here working. That, and I may have bronchitis and/or pneumonia, but I digress. Today, I’ll continue my trilogy countdown with #8, but before I get to that, let’s get at the phenomenon that has taken over the media for weeks.
ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
This is the scene all over America right now, and whether you like it or not, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the country by storm. From former presidents to actors to the people on your facebook news feed, millions of people have filled buckets with ice and water, pulled out the smartphone and posted a video of dumping the bucket on their head in hopes of raising awareness of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Personally, I have no problem with this. I know many people do, and they’re certainly entitled to that opinion. That’s the beauty of living in this country. I have certain problems with it myself, but I’ve also got problems with people hating on it.
Here’s some of the problems that I have with it. First of all, I don’t think people truly understand what the rules are. I think the misconception is that dumping the bucket on yourself gets you out of donating. This is not the case. The way I understand it is that if you take the challenge, you’re in for at least 10 bucks. If you don’t do it, then you’re in for at least 100. This is where some of the hating comes in. Personally, I don’t like people telling me what to do. But if I were to respectfully decline your invitation, don’t be a dick about it. Maybe I don’t have a hundred bucks. Hell, maybe I don’t have ten. Ask our comic expert, Nick Spears, how his experience was. He wanted to be a part of the charity craze, but he chose to do something different and I applaud him for it, but don’t knock him for contributing to another charity. He chose to give money to kids that need it in his part of the world. Kudos Nick!
Another part that gets at me is people not knowing what the ice bucket actually represents. If you don’t know anything about ALS, it is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons eventually lead to their death, and when they die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. This is what leads to paralysis and death in those that are affected by it. What the ice bucket does is gives people a split-second paralysis due to the insanely cold feeling. It gives people a chance to know for only a moment what people with ALS deal with every day. So, in my humble opinion, if you’re going to do the ice bucket challenge, then make ALS your charity of choice. If you want to bring awareness, state that you are rejecting the ice bucket challenge and donating money to another organization. Personally, I did both. I donated to ALS in doing the challenge and then donated to the American Lung Association as well. But hey, who am I to tell you what to do?
Okay, so you just read all that and are wondering “well, he donated, but where did he go to do that?” That’s one of the biggest problems I’ve had with people. They’re taking the time to put themselves out there on social media and get some attention, but did they actually tell anybody what website to go to? Do they even know? Did they actually donate money? As you’ll see when I put mine up below, I told people where to go (alsa.org and lung.org) and as far as donating, we just have to hope that people are actually doing it.
Are we wasting water? Maybe. Probably. But did you know that the average is about one flush of a toilet? And I’m not directing this next part at everybody, but before this craze started, did you really give a damn about a water shortage? Did you know that the western states are in a drought before someone put that on your feed? Have you ever taken a long shower? Do you reuse the water that melts in your cooler after a night of drinking? . Did you use a bong to smoke weed this week when you’ve got a perfectly good bowl in the house? Hmmm…just a thought.
Overall, I really dig what’s going on with this whole challenge. It’s raising millions upon millions of dollars for ALS and bringing some awareness and raising some money for other organizations as well. The positives far outweigh the negatives here, so for those who are hating just for the sake of hating, just shut the hell up. If you don’t agree with this whole thing, again, that’s your opinion and you are entitled to it. If someone challenges you and you don’t want to do, just respectfully decline and move on with your day. Calling people out for their participation doesn’t make you look like a rebel or a badass. It just makes you look like an asshole.
I’m not pretending to be an expert on ALS or charity or world water problems, but at least I’ve done some research. And that’s all I have to say about that. Oh yeah, here’s mine.
TRILOGY COUNTDOWN
#10-THE INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#9-THE NAKED GUN TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE
#8-THE LECTER TRILOGY
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, HANNIBAL, RED DRAGON
There’s a chance that this could have been higher on the list had all three films been outstanding, but let’s be honest, one was subpar. But the overall strength has The Lecter Trilogy at #8 on my list of all-time favorite trilogies.
I don’t think anyone knew how good Silence of the Lambs could be back in the 90’s, but when it was released, it came on strong, winning every major category at the Oscars. And for good reason. With an amazing performance from Jodie Foster and a “who knew that Anthony Hopkins could do that” portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, the first of the trilogy really sets the pace for the rest of the franchise. This movie is filled with amazing moments and some great dialogue, none of which includes the line “Hello, Clarice”. This actually doesn’t get said until the next movie. But think about some of the jacked up moments that happen in this movie, from Miggs’ toss to the awesome dance from “Buffalo Bill” and everything in between.
Most people will say that Silence of the Lambs is the strongest of the trilogy, but I think we can all agree on what the weakest was. Hannibal just couldn’t match the intensity of its predecessor. It becomes even more difficult when one of the main roles has changed actors, as was the case here. Not wanting to return, Jodie Foster was replaced by Julianne Moore, who certainly did her best in the Starling role, but it’s hard to follow up an Oscar-winning performance, even as great as Moore can be. Hopkins was still good, but not as good as he was in the other two films. But hey, at least we got this out of it.
The third movie in this trilogy is probably my favorite. Red Dragon takes place before the events of Silence of the Lambs and is filled with stars. Hopkins obviously returns as Lecter, but this time is joined by Edward Norton, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Ralph Fiennes, who actually steals this movie. Watching his transformation throughout the film is mesmerizing. For a while, you actually find yourself rooting for him, even though you know he’s insane, much like you feel with Hannibal in the first movie. You can see that he actually has good in him, but his mind just won’t let him be that person. Instead we get this and it’s awesome.
That’s going to do it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with another edition of “Working the Weekend with Luke” as I continue my trilogy countdown with #7. Over at Binge Media Sports, I’ll be bringing you more NFL previews over the next few days. If you missed the first one on the AFC East and NFC East, click HERE. As always, if you have any comments on anything I’ve talked about, leave them below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris. But before I go, here’s another fantastic clip from Beverly Hills, 90210. Remember Emily Valentine?