Forgive the Friday morning rant.
Remakes of movies is a subject I have conflicted opinions about. I regularly find myself railing against them for being the valueless cash-ins that they frequently are, and yet three of the greatest horror movies of the last fifty years (in my opinion) are remakes – THE FLY, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, and THE THING.
I should explain what’s brought on this fit of irritability. I recently re-watched ADRIAN LYNE’S 1990 classic JACOB’S LADDER for the first time in many years. Then, when I happened upon the 2019 remake shortly after on TUBI, I decided to give it a spin. That’s ninety minutes of my life I’ll never get back. I was left asking myself why and why – first, why did I put myself through it, and second, why did anyone think the original film needed a remake in the first place?
If you’ve not seen the original, here’s the synopsis, the trailer (for an impending 4K re-release to mark the movie’s 25th anniversary), and a few thoughts.
Mourning his dead son, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
To say too much about the story of JACOB’S LADDER would inevitably spoil the experience if you haven’t yet seen it. Suffice to say, it’s far from the monster movie the creatures in the trailer would have you believe. I’ll steer away from plot points, therefore, and give you a few other reasons to watch. This is a smart film, anchored by marvellous performances from TIM ROBBINS and ELIZABETH PENA. Director Lyne came to the project after a run of huge box office successes – FLASHDANCE, 9 1/2 WEEKS, and FATAL ATTRACTION – so there was a wealth of talent behind a premise that doesn’t immediately scream box office certainty.
The original movie has a dour tone, with a very mute colour palette for the present day scenes, and brightness reserved for Jacob’s brutal Vietnam flashbacks. Jacob always looks dishevelled and lost, as hopeless as he inevitably feels given the loss of his son and the breakdown of his marriage. The film is imbued with a sickly sense of disorientation, compounded by Jacob’s paranoia as he feels his sanity slipping away.
Again, no spoilers, but there are no happy endings for lead characters in movies like this. You feel it in your gut from the outset – things aren’t going to go well for Jacob, but he’s compelled to try and understand what’s happened to his life, no matter how awful that resolution might prove to be. As I mentioned, with an anniversary 4K re-release incoming, this is the ideal time to watch (or re-watch) this excellent film.
So what’s the problem with the remake? Again, here’s a synopsis and a trailer.
After his brother returns home from war, Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images.
So, essentially, what we have here is a watered down version of the original (the addition of the brother character simplifies the plot and removes the depth and emotion of the original Jacob’s story), with a couple of instances of box-ticking. We’re now dealing with Iraq vets, not Vietnam (presumably to convince perspective viewers that this is a necessary update), monsters and visions that are given additional screentime to appease gore fans, and some of the most memorable images from the original are recreated (for example, the ice bath).
It’s probably obvious from my tone that I detested this remake, and judging from the reviews online, I wasn’t alone. It occurred to me after watching that I’d likely have been a little kinder if it hadn’t been a remake of a beloved original. It has the look and feel of every other mediocre horror movie and offers nothing new. There’s an over-reliance on jump scares and ghouls and a complete lack of emotional depth. I gave precisely zero shits about any of the characters.
For years I’ve been trying to work out if there’s a formula for predicting whether a remake will be worth watching, and I think I’ve finally found it. Assuming you’ve watched the original of a movie and you’re toying with the idea of watching a remake, ask yourself this:
WAS THERE A GOOD REASON TO REMAKE THIS FILM?
Sounds simple, and that’s because it is. If there’s a sensible, logical, or plausible reason why a film might benefit from a remake, no matter what that be, it might be worth giving the new version a go.
THE FLY – original was a kooky idea, poorly executed. DAVID CRONENBERG is the king of body horror who had a track record of making uncomfortable horror movies where the mutation/enhancement of the human body was a central theme. Also, the premise relies on plausible effects, and the effects in the original were ridiculously awful. It’s similar for CARPENTER’S THE THING. BODYSNATCHERS is an interesting one, because the 1956 original is excellent. However, JACK FINNEY’S original novel deals with themes of alienation, isolation, and fear that play differently depending on whatever social situation is used (and there have been several further BODYSNATCHERS adaptations, to differing degrees of success).
So, I think a valid reason for remaking a film can be anything – technical advances in film, social developments that make the story worth re-telling, the fact the original movie was a dud… Now apply this logic to JACOB’S LADDER and other remake misfires such as NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, THE WICKER MAN, THE OMEN, CARRIE, FIRESTARTER, THE THING (2011) and so on. They’re all (generally) beloved and successful films that haven’t dated particularly, were critically well-received, and didn’t suffer from any major technical limitations in their production that affected the storytelling (no one was walking around with a giant fly head on, for example).
Can you see what I’m getting at? It’s pretty obvious really, but my recent experience with both versions of JACOB’S LADDER really brought this principle home. The remake offers NOTHING that was missing in the original. In fact, it offers far less than the powerful first movie. If the only reason for a remake is to trade on nostalgia and make money, then give it a miss.
There are exceptions to the rule, of course (TOM SAVINI’S excellent but unnecessary NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD remake comes to mind), but I think my logic generally stands.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. Let me know if you think I’m talking crap. In the meantime, if you haven’t seen it already, do watch the original JACOB’S LADDER, but I’d suggest giving the remake a miss.
