In a world of horror remakes, two titles still stand out
It’s Chucky’s turn to get the remake/reboot/reimagining treatment from Hollywood as 2019’s Child’s Play hit theaters this past weekend. Much like 2016’s Poltergeist or this year’s Pet Sematary, this version was neither needed nor desired by anyone; least of all the fans, who continue to happily lap up sequel after sequel featuring their favorite killer doll. But the industry has been stuck in a perpetual loop of revisiting anything with a pulse of past success in the hopes that nostalgia will automatically translate into big business at the multiplex.
Remakes were always a mainstay, but for the most part have never overstayed their welcome. This has changed in the last decade or so, particularly with horror films as studio executives continue to believe that lovers of the genre will totally devour any haphazzardly made update of their favorite classics.
Occasionally though, it is possible to find the rare horror remake which does right by its original counterpart, eventually coming off as loving tribute more than a soulless imitation. Take for example the case of 1999’s House on Haunted Hill and 2003’s Willard for proof that such a theory rings true.
House on Haunted Hill
Based on the 1959 William Castle/Vincent Price classic, House on Haunted Hill stars Geoffrey Rush as a wealthy millionaire married to a sharp-tongued trophy wife (Famke Janssen), who decides she wants to celebrate her birthday in a supposedly haunted, secluded mansion that once operated as an asylum. As the couple and their guests (Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Peter Gallagher, Bridgette Wilson and Chris Kattan) arrive for the party, they soon find themselves trapped by the house and the ghosts from the past who still reside there.
If the original House on Haunted Hill showed how fun Castle and Price collaborations could be, this 1999 update relies on both flair and fatalism in order to see it through. This is a film so totally of the decade in both its aesthetics and its mindset. The movie’s Agatha Christie-like set up is always a welcome treat and the actors have fun chewing the dark scenery in their own ways with Janssen and Kattan both standouts. Yet it’s the movie’s stylish panache which gives it its life, from its opening titles, to music video-like montages (oh so very popular in the late 90s) to the intriguing soundtrack, to the gothic set design. Harsh (and still disturbing) prologue aside, the horror sequences themselves give off the right kind of surreal fright the movie was going for, coming off as more imaginative than most gave it credit for upon initial release. So much of House on Haunted Hill takes its cues from the somewhat cynical decade of the 90s. There’s the pointing to the past sins of loved ones as the reason for the unsatisfying state of present day lives, as well as the blatant opportunism running throughout each of the main characters. Ultimately though, amongst all the style and the scares is House on Haunted Hill’s notion of fate and destiny working against us in one of the most horrific ways the world of horror could possibly conjure up.
Willard
This remake of the cult horror comedy stars Crispin Glover as Willard Styles; an extremely introverted man living with his bedridden mother (Jackie Burroughs), and works for a tyrant of a boss (R. Lee Emery) in a low-level position at the company his family used to own. Frustrated with the way life has repeatedly kicked him around, Willard soon finds himself befriending a sweet white rat he names Socrates and a bigger, less sweet one he calls Ben. When the two rodents introduce Willard to their friends, the shy young man discovers a strength he never knew he had and soon uses it to get revenge on those who have done him wrong.
More dark character piece than outright horror, 2003’s Willard drew on past anti-heroes in order to craft the central character; a complex puzzle of a man who is afraid of the outside world. Willard is someone who is all but invisible to society with most barely taking the time to notice his existence unless they’re belittling or abusing him. It’s because of this that when Willard discovers the power he holds over rats (themselves creatures society feels they have no use for), he discovers not only a kinship to them, but also an emboldened voice he never knew he had. Glover is so incredible as the title character, effortlessly channeling the alienation and suffocation at having to exist in a world he feels he doesn’t belong. As a movie, Willard is somewhat of a slowburn, but when the horror sequences arrive, they bring with them a sense of playfulness as Willard exacts his revenge on those he believes deserve it. When Willard’s friends begin to act out on their own however, a dash of suspense only furthers the dark macabreness of the entire film. Willard is one of those movies whose ending isn’t altogether easy to anticipate, which is probably why a couple of them were shot, one far more operatic than the other. It may not be the most explicit of horrors, particularly for the time, but Willard is about the horrors of existence and the madness that can develop as a result. It’s a theme which may perhaps be one of the most terrifying of all.
Neither film made much of an impact when first unleashed onto the public. While the negative reviews didn’t much work in House on Haunted Hill’s favor, the movie had the even more unfortunate luck of being released so close to the much-maligned remake of The Haunting, absorbing some of that film’s backlash. Willard, meanwhile, managed a handful of slight critical praise, with many claiming it far superior to the more cartoonish early 70s original. However, in the era of Final Destination and Rob Zombie directing efforts, there was hardly room for the kind of psychological horror Willard managed so well. Both films couldn’t be more different if they tried in terms of plot, approach and, especially, scares. However the two titles do possess one commonality; while their original counterparts were made and received as throwaway camp fests by many, the remakes of House and Haunted Hill and Willard were made with an undeniable love; and the results are right there on the screen.
House on Haunted Hill and Willard are both available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Scream Factory.