Hi again, and welcome to September's subject. This follows on from August's topic a little and is one which runs through my mind quite a lot. As well as watching a lot of horror I also read a lot and have done for as long as I can remember.

There are some fantastic writers out there and horror is making a bit of a fightback in the book market I am very pleased to say. But can you think of a really decent horror film which has been adapted from a book? You most likely have come across a few in your time considering most of the Stephen king library has been turned into film or a mini series at some point, some good, some not so good.

Honestly though, I have never read a Stephen King book simply because I could never avoid watching the adaptations on the TV. I'm somebody who prefers to read the book first and then watch the film and it seemed pointless reading any of Stephen King's work because I knew what was going to happen. Putting that aside, for those who despise reading, the only other method is through film.

The two horror authors who I started off reading were the mesmerizing Dean Koontz and the late, great Richard Laymon. Koontz is one of the most spellbinding writers I have come across who will totally absorb you in the story and have you caring about the characters. Laymon was a master of dealing with the relationships between humans, especially those dark desires which lurk at the back of our minds. Both are genius in my opinion and both have had novel adaptations to film but with very little press or success.

Another 2 supurb writers are Graham Masterton and Shaun Hutson who I can highly recommend. Whereas Kootz and Laymon would often drift away from all out horror and dabble in the realms of mystery/thriller, Masterton and Hutson stuck to their guns much through their careers. It's rare that a writer can spook me with words but the only author who has done that on a few occasion has been Graham Masterton who has a habit of developing intrigueing storylines with sinister villains. Hutson on the other hand is blunt, visceral and a lot of fun to read and pulls very few punches.

Again, both of these have had movie adaptations released from their books but hardly any press or success. So why is this? Why have 4 writers who have churned out some true horror classics not had these made into film like the illustrious Stephen King? I couldn't honestly say, other then, it's a travesty they haven't. Many of the film releases were in the late seventies to mid eighties, a time when horror films were abundant which may of been part of the problem. The directing seemed half hearted as if they had never really read the books they were attempting to make a movie of.

A director needs to come along who strongly believes in a book and is going to remain as faithful to it as possible. Maybe it would be easier to attempt an adaptation of a more modern horror story from the new wave of horror writers who are popping up. These guys write differently from the four I've mentioned but are all excellent authors whose ideas would still make some terrific horror movies.

If, like me, you enjoy a good read and have the imagination to conjure images from words then do check out the four authors I've emntioned above and you will see what I mean. If you want to know who else may make your spine tingle, or are looking for similar work to the four I've already mentioned, check out the names below:

Brian Lumley, Edward Lee, Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, Simon Clark, Gary Braunbeck, Bryan Smith, Guy N Smith and Bentley Little.

I've got stacks of book still unread but I will be getting round to them and some new authors at some point so apologies if you are a horror author and you aren't in this list yet!

If you'd like to know anymore about the authors I have mentioned, their work, or any other info then please email me through the 'Contact' page.

Until next time folks!

S

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Yep folks I've gone for the contentious one to start with! This one splits 50/50 when I ask people this as many like the new wave of horror films being released while others prefer the more 'traditional' titles. If you are like me, you remember the original Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street and also recall the real sense of fear those early titles instilled in the fans.

Unfortunately all of these franchises suffered from a whole string of sequels which slowly lost their originality and, worst of all, their fear factor. Hollywood mainstream poison seemed to creep into many of these which completely killed off (excuse the pun) some very popular and legitamately creepy films.

Each new sequel seemed to hammer another nail in the coffin of these classics. They came in fits and starts in rushed projects that just made a mockery of the genre with either poor direction, poor storyline and just complete lack of imagination.

Then something started to happen...a few of the remakes began to gain some credibility in my view.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was remade in 2003 and had me nodding mildly in approval after watching it. My enjoyment came form the fact that I was never a massive fan of the original and the remake appeared to have a lot more atmosphere about it. Then one of my favourite films, Dawn of the Dead, was remade in 2004.

At first I was horrified...I would very keenly point out that there was nothing wrong with the original and that a remake would ruin it's good name. Reluctantly I watched the remake...and I hated it. Most of my friends knew of my contempt for this remake but still seemed shocked when I said I thought it was rubbish. I began thinking about the remake a lot in the days after I first watched it and couldn't help feeling I'd been a bit harsh on Dawn of the Dead. Partly because most of my friends were loving it, and they couldn't all be wrong!

So I decided to give it another watch...but before I did I idneitified why I had hated it so much. I was thinking about the original so much while watching the new film I just couldn't get my head around this new concept of running zombies among other things. I ignored the title on the DVD case and watched the remake purely as a new movie and actually found myself enjoying it a whole lot more. Afterwards I relaized the only real resemblances to the original was the setting of the mall and the zombies.

I just wish they would of called the remake something other then Dawn of the Dead as it instantly got my hackles up that they were remaking a classic horror film. Eventually I conceded it was pretty good and well worth a place in my collection. The director, Zack Snyder, had dragged the zombie movie into a new age for me, albeit kicking and screaming.

The next one which had a big impact on me was The Hills Have Eyes in 2006. Again, this was another of my favuorites but I was aware that even the original had it's flaws and wasn't perfect. I anticipated that the remake would be superior to the original and I wasn't disappointed. I thought the remake was directed extremely well as it kept the beginning and middle of the film very similar to the original and then went to town in the last part. This is where I felt the original faltered and the remake picked up the pieces.

With my faith in remakes growing I then heard of aruguably one of THE classics and my all time favourite being remade...Halloween.

Rob Zombie had been given the reins on this one to try and recreate one the most creepiest and genuinely scary characters in horror...Michael Myers. I was actually not too concerned about Rob Zombie being appointed with this project as I'd been impressed with his first 2 movie offerings - the slightly zany House of 1000 Corpses and it's gritty sequel The Devil's Rejects. In fact, I was actually intrigued about what he would produce as I knew he would be taking it into a much deeper and darker place.

This was somewhat of a relief as the Halloween franchise had suffered greatly with the likes of H2O...which I always thought was a dumb title anyway. Michael Myers just wasn't scary anymore, the same had happened to other horror icons such as Jason Vorhees from Friday the 13th and Freddy Kreuger of A Nightmare on Elm Street fame.

So did Rob Zombie deliver in my opinion?

He certainly did!

The new Halloween film did something nobody else had attempted before now, it gave us an insight into the childhood of Michael Myers. The film was split into 2 distinct parts...the childhood of Myers and what turned him into a monster and essentially the remake of the original. It's well worth a look if you haven't seen it already, let's hope the second Halloween released later this year is as good.

After the success of Halloween, it was no surprise that 2 more titles were confirmed for release. Low and behold it was Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

I'd hoped Friday the 13th 2009 would reanimate Jason into that same status as the recent Halloween films had done with Michael Myers. Sadly this isn't the case, the new Friday the 13th film lacks anything remotely original and just seems like another pointless sequel tossed into the pile. I hear A Nightmare on Elm Street has completed filming...so I wait with baited breath to see what the final product turns out like. Will Freddy return as sinister as ever or will it truely be a nightmare...we will have to wait and see.

As to my original question...Are remakes any good?...You can probably see why a lot of people are 50/50. Some are and some aren't it all depends on the vision of the director and the effort of the script. It's well worth taking a look at these remakes...but don't be too disappointed if it doesn't live up to the original...many don't.

Until next time folks!

S