Cinematical

When I saw that there was a new Island of Lost Souls coming I mistakenly assumed this was yet another remake of the 1932 film of the same name which starred Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi. That film was remade in 1977 and 1996 as The Island of Dr. Moreau, and I chalked this up to the usual remake madness. Once I actually read the Variety article in question, though, I realized this film is something else entirely. This Island of Lost Souls is a remake of a 2007 Danish film called De fortabte sjaeles, which deals with a teenage girl whose younger brother has been possessed by the benevolent spirit of an 18th century magician and finds herself caught up in a centuries old battle between good and evil. This sounds tailor made to cash in on the Harry Potter audience.

The new film is being directed by Nicolaj Arcel who co-wrote and directed the award-winning original which was heavy on special effects and was one of the highest grossing films in Denmark last year. The new screenplay will be written by Jennifer Okieffe. Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce via their Strike Entertainment banner.


Everybody's down on remakes these days, and understandably so. With mis-steps like Planet of the Apes, The Haunting, and (insert your most bone-crushingly awful remake here) fresh in everyone's memory I can see why people cringe at the word "remake". The original sounds interesting and is probably worth a look on DVD, but since there's no way a Danish language feature is going to get a wide release in the U.S. a remake makes economic sense, and with the original film's director at the helm there's at least a chance his original vision will carry over. Interestingly enough, Strike entertainment was also behind Dawn of the Dead, one of the best remakes in recent years. What does everyone think, can Island of Lost Souls measure up to De fortabte sjaeles?