STRANGER THINGS ...and why Hollywood should never produce another remake. Ever.
It was goddamned refreshing.
It was something new and exciting while remaining entirely familiar and warm somehow; like a fond memory coddling you and comforting you and whispering into your subconscious, "Remember when?" It was this element of Stranger Things that for me, and so many others like me, made this show so incredible and left us wanting for more. I really could go on and on, gushing about this show and how fantastic it is but this isn't meant to be a love letter to Stranger Things. This is a think piece on why Hollywood should start taking note and stop producing remakes.
A bit about me before we continue: horror fan, 80's nostalgist, feminist.
So obviously Stranger Things hit me in all the right spots. It's a horror series set in the 80's with several strong female leads. What more could I ask for? Well, a lot more apparently. I just didn't know what I wanted yet... but the creators knew. They knew that people like me wanted something new but not unfamiliar. That's why they peppered in little references all throughout the show to pieces of our childhood (or adulthood if some of us are being a bit more honest about our age.) I found myself watching and thinking, "I'm getting some serious E.T. vibes right now." or, "This is just like that scene in Stand By Me!"
And. I. Loved. It.
Stranger Things isn't the first of its kind to give a humble nod to its predecessors. Two of my favorite 80's horror films, Fright Night and The Lost Boys both referenced scenes from Salem's Lot which in turn had plenty of its own references to the vampire films that came before it. In fact, one could argue that it's these admissions of inspiration that make these stories so great. They're their own concepts and they stand alone but they don't shy away from the fact that they drew inspiration from others.
Enter the Demogorgon...
Remake, reboot, rehash, retelling; whatever you want to call it, it's garbage. When a studio says they're going to produce a remake all they are really saying is that they're going to take a story which is already valid and great all on its own and try to "better it" for the sake of profit... and they usually fail in this endeavor. Miserably.
Take the Ghostbusters remake, for example. While I didn't hate it I was left with an incredibly bitter taste in my mouth after watching it and the first thought that crossed my mind was that this remake was entirely unnecessary.
Except for maybe Holtzman...
"But it WAS necessary," I can practically hear you saying to me. "It had strong female leads who showed little girls that they can be powerful and brave all on their own and it didn't conform to gender stereotypes and..."
I hear you, fellow feminist. I hear you. Believe me, I do. But you know what? It could have done that all on it's own without the "Ghostbusters" moniker. In fact, it would have been better for it. They could have called it literally anything else and people would have loved it. Instead they alienated the Ghostbusters fan base by taking something beloved and sacred to them and tried to better it when it was already perfect to begin with. There is no better way to anger a fan base than to tell them the thing they love so much isn't good enough and needs to be remade.
“I'm so glad they're taking something I cherish and changing it however they see fit for the sole purpose of making a profit!”
-No fan ever
Would it not have been better for this movie to be a stand alone story about a group of unlikely friends stumbling into the world of the paranormal to defeat ghosts that are wreaking havoc on the city without any preconceived expectations about it needing to be better than the original? Hell, they could have even dropped a "What are we supposed to be? The Ghostbusters or something?" line and it would've been received with an uproar of laughter. Instead it lost the studio money and almost guarantees that more films of it's kind (strong female hero movies) will be passed over. The lack of success will be blamed on the cast or concept rather than the fact that it was a remake that turned many people off and the studio will just continue to do this again and again and again.
Ghostbusters isn't alone when it comes to disappointing fans of a franchise. I recall my own heartbreak when A Nightmare on Elm Street was remade. I stubbornly waited to see the film for an entire year because I was determined the studio would not get my money for what they had done to my beloved Freddy. When I finally watched it, it was everything awful that I knew it would be and I was left distraught. I knew that for some people, this was their first encounter with Freddy Krueger and it did not stand up. It was so bad. Maybe it even deterred these poor people from seeking out the original series of films, thus depriving them of what made Robert England's Freddy so great. Never again, I vowed. Of course that's a vow I can't keep because now there are talks of yet ANOTHER remake and I don't have a say in the matter.
Why?
I won't even get into the fact that my much adored Lost Boys (my all time favorite movie ever) is being turned into a television series on The CW. I can't touch that topic right now. It's too painful... and infuriating. We'll never get out of that spiral of rage.
Just don't...
I digress.
I suppose the point I'm trying to make is this: It's time for Hollywood to take note.
For too long they've believed themselves to be the authority on what fans want when in reality they only end up scaring fans off. They're taking chances on remakes that are more than likely going to flop when they should be taking chances on new, fresh ideas to create new, excited fans. Trust me, Hollywood... nobody wants to see a rehash of their favorite film. We want something new and maybe a bit familiar. We want something that isn't afraid to admit it took heavy inspiration from the greats before it while still remaining its own unique tale. We want something more like Stranger Things. I don't think that's too much to ask for.
And maybe get us all some waffles while you're at it...
Share This Article
