American Remakes of Japanese Horrors
Is it me or does it seem that the American remake category for classic J-horror movies has exploded at an annoying rate? I am passionate about my J-horror so that makes me quite particular when one tries to duplicate the experience. I find that our American versions of Japanese films are just not holding water compared to their inspiration. It saddens me.
“One Missed Call” Director: Takashi Miike
I was surfing the webs and came across the trailer for the American remake of “One Missed Call” (which released in U.S. on 1/4/08.) I was not impressed, having seen the original Japanese version “Chakushin Ari” (translated – One Missed Call) which was directed by legendary mastermind Takashi Miike in 2004. I could not bare to watch the massacre.
If you are wondering what the Top Ten J-Horror remakes are:
1. “Ringu” By Dir: Hideo Nakata (American remake: The Ring)
2. “Ju-on” By Dir: Takashi Shimizu (American remake: The Grudge)
3. “Honogurai Miza No Soko Kara” By Dir: Hideo Nakata
(American remake: Dark Water)
4. “Akira” By Dir: Katsuhiro Otomo (American remake: Akira)
5. “Jisatsu Sakuru” By Dir: Sion Sono (American remake: Suicide Club)
6. “Chakushin Ari” By Dir: Takashi Miike (American remake: One Missed Call)
7. “Odishon” By Dir: Takashi Miike (American remake: Audition)
8. “Koroshiya Ichi” By Dir: Taskashi Miike (American remake: Ichi the Killer)
9. “Kairo” By Dir: Kiyoshi Surosawa (American remake: Pusle)
10. “Tales from the Dead” By Dir: Jason Cuadrado (Anthology of 4 J-ghost stories)
Top Ten List Courtesy of: The List Universe (listverse.com)
Very rarely are remakes better then the originals, I can’t think of a single one. I can think of some that weren’t disappointing, but those are far and few between. Hell, even when directors remake their own movies it seems like heresy, i.e. George Lucas. I recently watched the original Solaris, I haven’t seen the George Clooney
remake, but I can imagine any American film studio being capable of recreating anything as beautiful as the original.