Horror of Dracula (1. IMDb. Edit. Storyline. After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle (apparently somewhere in Germany), the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker's fianc. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. The film premiered at the Warner Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 8 May 1. In Britain, the film opened at London's Gaumont Theater 2. May 1. 95. 8. When Van Helsing and Holmwood enter a short while later, after Dracula's visit, both coats are missing. ![]() Third of May, 1. 88. At last, my long journey is drawing to its close. What the eventual end will be, I cannot foresee. But whatever may happen, I can rest secure that I will have done all in my power to achieve success. Directed by Terence Fisher. With Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling. Jonathan Harker begets the ire of Count Dracula after he accepts a. Join Biography.com in a look at stage, TV and film actor Christopher Walken, 'The Deer Hunter' Oscar winner known for his eclectic, influential body of work.Best and Worst Modern- Horror Movie Remakes. Last weekend, horror fans were blessed (or cursed) with a new version of Poltergeist, the 1. Tobe Hooper/Steven Spielberg collaboration that taught a generation of young, impressionable moviegoers to fear static- y TVs and reflections of themselves clawing their faces off. Whether an update was really necessary is, of course, beside the point; regardless of need or want, we're still getting a movie in which another little girl intones . And if you've always wanted to see a haunted clown doll jump out of the shadows, well, guess who's in luck? Given the love for Eighties horror, as well as the Golden Age of Slasher Flicks and their grungy early Seventies forebears, it's not surprising that filmmakers have been mining this fertile period for remake fodder over the past decade or so. In fact, today's would- be Wes Cravens and John Carpenters have occasionally done some very interesting things with yesterday's name- brand scary movies. So we're taking a look at a baker's dozen of redos, reboots and reimaginings of modern- horror classics (with a landmark Americanized version of a Nineties J- horror title for good measure) and seeing how they measure up, quality- wise. Some are cash- ins and others are creative breakthroughs. Whoever says the second time can't be a charm, however, has clearly never seen Piranha 3. D. The Ring (2. 00. A journalist (Naomi Watts) investigates a series of mysterious deaths and ends up wrangling with the curse of an evil videotape — the kind that, seven days after viewing, causes death by lanky- haired, double- jointed female ghosts. Faithful to the original: Very. This is Japan's Ringu in a highly Americanized version, big budget- ized with a marquee- name star and some suicidal horses thrown in. Nostalgia factor: The U. S. That said, the movie is about a cursed VHS tape — so watching it now, the nostalgia factor is rather high. Treatment of iconic villain: The original's Sadako is a waterlogged ghost in the machine who can't seem to keep her hair out of her face; the remake's Samara is a full- on she- demon who much more believably stops hearts on sight. Level/quality of kills: Samara basically scares people to death so there's nothing too over the top or inventive here. But the distorted face of her victim in the closet is a thing of nightmares. Scary: Surprisingly yes. Roger Ebert said that the story dips into . Still, the unnerving visuals and atmospherics, as well as Watts' bravura performance, manage to bypass the analytical center of most viewers' brains and make skin crawl. Gory: The view from the bar at your average sushi restaurant is gorier. Watts does take a dive into a well full of decades- old little- girl putrefaction, but even then most of the nastiness is implied rather than shown. Rating: 6/1. 0The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2. Young folks on a road trip encounter some rather odd Lone Star state residents — including a big gentleman with a fondness for power tools and masks of dried, cured skin. Faithful to the original: There's a passing resemblance to Tobe Hooper's genre- defining scarefest, but other than the appearance of Leatherface, his sheriff daddy, and their house of cannibal horrors, they're different movies entirely. Nostalgia factor: The remake uses the careful placement of sideburns, weed, and a Skynyrd concert to hammer into the viewer's head that the movie is set in 1. We get it already! Treatment of iconic villain: Leatherface is the inbred saw- swinging goon we all know and love, though it's sad that director Marcus Nispel felt the need to show him without his mask on. Level/quality of kills: The film makes a point of showing blade biting flesh. Worse, though, are the scenes of hopeless agony — a bound boy brutally beaten in a car, a man pulling himself halfway off a meathook only to drop back onto it with a loud thunk. ![]() ![]() Scary: Not really, unfortunately. There's way too much sepia- tone — a regrettable staple of modern horror — to create any real atmosphere. Gory: Definitely, but in clumsy ways that can't compare with the original's stark paranoia and terror. Rating: 4/1. 0Dawn of the Dead (2. A group of poorly matched strangers find all- too- fleeting refuge from the zombie apocalypse inside a suburban shopping mall. Faithful to the original: Hardly at all. Director Zack Snyder (Watchmen) and writer James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) took the bare bones of George Romero's 1. ![]() Night of the Living Dead and ran with it (literally: witness the film's fleet- footed zombies). The result is just about an entirely different movie, but one that works on its own terms. Nostalgia factor: Other than a few in- jokes referencing the original, the 2. Treatment of iconic villain: Slow zombies vs.
No movie more inflamed that debate than Dot. D v. 2. 0, which makes a strong case for the latter. It's undead are quick, brutal killing machines that, while not as well suited for biting social commentary, are way more skilled at scaring the bejesus out of jaded Gen Y viewers than the original's blue- faced slowpokes. Level/quality of kills: Snyder's remake is more about quantity than quality of kills, but the out- of- nowhere moment when a character accidentally maws a female companion to death with a chainsaw is a spark of sick genius. Scary: Absolutely. What it lacks in creepy vibes, the remake more than makes up for in visceral shocks and white- knuckle thrills. Gory: Juicy headshots, bite- induced arterial sprays and innards- baring undead abound. And what's gorier than childbirth? Zombie childbirth, of course. Rating: 7/1. 0Black Christmas (2. Tis the season for a group of sorority sisters to be stalked by an insane asylum inmate who's recently escaped and is on the loose. Faithful to the original: It's more or less a straightforward update of Bob Clark's 1. Andrea Martin) and your basic holiday- themed carnage. Nostalgia factor: Hardly any for the original's time period, though the presence of Buffy regular Michelle Trachtenberg and Party of Five's Lacey Chabert will make you miss the Nineties. Treatment of iconic villain: Iconic should be in quotes here, as the most memorable thing about first movie's killer was his menacing voice on the phone (Black Christmas is credited as pioneering that particular clich. Kudos for the excellent use of Christmas lights as a garrote as well. Scary: If you're comparing the movie to opening presents or being kissed under a mistletoe, then yes. Otherwise.. Gory: It has its moments (see the aforementioned reference to copious eyeball trauma). Rating: 3/1. 0The Hills Have Eyes (2. A family on a road trip is re- routed through a rural detour — all the better for the local mutant cannibals to go hunting for prospective city- folk meals. Faithful to the original: Though a back story concerning atomic testing and forgotten miners is brought in to make the desert- dwellers more horrific, it's the same basic set- up as Wes Craven's 1. Nostalgia factor: Virtually none, surprisingly, though French director Alexandre Aja clearly worships at the altar of late Seventies/early Eighties horror (see his gloriously retro Haute Tension from 2. Treatment of iconic villain: The remake makes the desert mutants irradiated, inbred genetic mishaps rather than just cannibals, which is a nice touch. That said, this version's grotesque- as- fuck take on Pluto still pales next to Michael Berryman's incomparable bald, bug- eyed killer. Level/quality of kills: Like a third bowl of porridge: just right. The murders are still sadistic and twisted, but haven't been made gaudy. There's just enough suggestion to make viewers gasp. Scary: Yes, and a disturbing scene where a mutant with a cleft palette nurses from a woman's breast will haunt you for weeks. Gory: The remake's 2. Rating: 8/1. 0Halloween (2. Young Michael Myers goes on a killing spree on All Hallows Eve — and then returns decades later to finish the job. Trick of treat? Faithful to the original: Like any fanatic worth his salt, director Rob Zombie idolizes John Carpenter's 1. His decision to do an extended beginning about Myers' broken home life, as well as relegating the hunted babysitters to supporting characters, is still more than a little baffling. Nostalgia factor: Yes, Carpenter's score is present and accounted for. But never mind the late Seventies; Zombie's reveling in his love of the Manson Family Sixties here, and wants you to know it. Treatment of iconic villain: Trying to make Myers a sympathetic character by showing his abusive upbringing takes away all the pure evil that Donald Pleasance rants about in the opening of the original. Instead, you just get a mute wrestler. Level/quality of kills: Say what you want about the rock star- turned- retro horror filmmaker: The dude does sadism well, and the murders he stages here are long and painful to watch — in, er, a good way. Scary: It's hard to fear the Bogeyman when someone has explained his motives in extensive detail. But it is brutal as hell. Gory: Most definitely. The murder of scream queen Danielle Harris — who was a child star in Halloween 4 — is especially hardcore. Rating: 6/1. 0Friday the 1. It's the residents of Camp Crystal Lake vs. You know who our money is on. Faithful to the original: Originals, to be precise: This Marcus Nispel- directed remake combines pieces of the franchise's first four films in an attempt to cover the complete Jason Voorhees story, and does so with proper respect for its source material. Nostalgia factor: The setting screams modern- day, but the machetes popping through cabin floors and the chh- chh- chh- haa- haa- haa musical motif are pure Reagan- era horror homages. Treatment of iconic villain: The beauty of Jason is that, unless you make him tap- dance, he's always the same nonstop murder machine. So dropping an original- recipe version of the character in amongst a new group of teenagers is probably the smart way to go, if also the most predictable.
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