Wes Craven Picks a Cheap Director for His 'House' Remake
Filed under: Horror, Universal, Remakes and Sequels
We've heard a lot of murmurings about a Last House on the Left remake over the last few years, but it looks like the prolific producer Wes Craven has found his director. After handing his Hills remake over to a Frenchman newcomer (and tossing the table-scrap of a sequel to a German guy), Mr. Craven will allow an inexpensive Greek neophyte named Dennis Illiadis to direct the new version of Last House on the Left.But perhaps Wes Craven has seen something in Mr. Illadis' work (a flick called Hardcore) that fills him with all sorts of confidence. Maybe he's sure this is the guy to re-invent the cult flick's patented brand of unflinching horror and brutal violence. Sure, that could be the case, except that Mr. Craven recently told Fangoria the following: "They are not DGA directors, so we don't have to make the films under DGA guidelines. Productions become more expensive when you have to add on assistant directors, 2nd assistant directors, etc." Well. How very ... pragmatic.
The Rogue (Universal) remake will begin shooting in South Africa in just a few weeks. One can only assume it's cheaper to film a one-location horror movie in South Africa than it is to shoot it in, say, Seattle. On the other hand, perhaps I'm being a whiny little jerk. If it weren't for Wes Craven, we'd have no Hills, no Freddy, and no Scream. (I'm talking about the first Scream, of course.) But as any horror fan can tell you, there's often a BIG difference between movies directed by Wes Craven -- and movies produced (or, ugh, "presented") by Wes Craven.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-04-2008 @ 8:13AM
Billy Sunday said...
You know...I really liked LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. And then I realized it was based on an old Bergman film (THE VIRGIN SPRING) which is based on really really old poem. So there's a shit ton of history behind the basic story here...and while Craven certainly modernized, it felt like it was true to the source material and just updated to give that same feeling to a modern audience. It took a bit more to shock people and give them that punch in the gut feeling in 1972 when LAST HOUSE came out than it did when Bergman did VIRGIN SPRING in 1960. It makes me wonder if this new guy has any idea what kind of legacy he's building on. I love the story and I'm sure I'll see it, but I'm pretty scared that he's going to royally f*ck this one up.
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1-04-2008 @ 10:55AM
dana said...
As someone who's actually seen Hardcore, I absolutely think getting Iliadis is a great decision -- Hardcore is bleak and brutal, something that obviously fits with LHOTL, plus the movie is just really well directed. Good call, Mr. Craven (even if it was motivated by thriftiness).
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1-04-2008 @ 3:29PM
Christopher said...
I guess Wes Craven needs the money "THAT" bad to pay the rent!!! Another horror classic scrwed up to hell!
I.E. Prom Night!
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