Word on the presswire now is that Silent Night Deadly Night is the latest horror flick to get the remake makeover. Apparently its to be a reenvisioning of the original 1984 film, with more of an emphasis on terrifying the audience.
The original will always stand on its own, no matter the outcome of this new film. My parents brought me to see this in the movies around Christmas when I was a teenager and it was pretty cool. The beginning of the original is pretty effective terror-wise, and that crazy old man talking to that kid is cinema hall of fame where Im from. "What about you, boy? You been good all year?"
Here's the original article from Moviehole.net - there's some pretty decent names getting involved with its production.
Santa had a glass to the door at the Sony Screen Gems office just before Christmas, and along with a ride on his most buck-crazy reindeer, whispered in my ear what he heard the suits discussing.
A remake of “Silent Night, Deadly Night”.
Yep, the next old horror classic to get the revamp treatment is the 80s Killer Santa jaunt, which you’ll recall told of a kid, after his parents are murdered, who goes on a murderous rampage dressed as Santa, due to his stay at an orphanage were he was abused by the Mother Superior. (An idea for the redo: Kid dresses up as Killer Santa with a plan to bring home the head of Tim Allen).
The championing producers are David Foster (“The Thing”) and Ryan Heppe. SG’s Nick Phillips and Scott Strauss are also onboard.
You’ll recall that the original was quite a controversial film. Angry parents, not happy to see Santa Claus depicted as an axe murderer, picketed the film to the point where “Silent Night” took a dive at the box office and the film was shelved for another year where it saw new light in an uncut video form.
Joe Harris, of “The Tripper” fame, is in talks to write the remake, which “will not be a remake of the original picture, but a total reimagining using the basic concept as a platform for a new franchise. Extreme attention has been placed on putting together a top-notch, terrifying screenplay as most films in this sub-genre (including the recently released "Black Christmas") have little to no story and very weak scares. The intent is to create a dark and scary film that falls more in line (in terms of tone) with modern released such as "Saw" and "The Descent."”
We’re assured that Screen Gems isn’t just horny to ride the “make a cheap slasher movie that milks a famous title” train, but that it plans to really snap a firecracker under the rear of the “Silent Night” remake – hoping it’ll go ‘right off!’
