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Kim Hollis: I agree with David. This one was carefully planned and cultivated. Bay and Co. realized that 2009 is a year with *four* Friday the 13ths on the calendar as it's configured. They could rush together a film and open it on *any* of those dates and find some success with some clever marketing and work at making it an event. The same will happen with the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, I'm sure.

Max Braden: I totally underestimated this one, but come on, even the Saw series couldn't manage $40 million at Halloween. Who were the stars in this? What was the hook? Why didn't The Strangers do this kind of business? I think Jim's kind of right with the marketing as remake rather than sequel. This way the kids get a Jason they can call their own. Though if the demographic was just old enough to see an R-rated movie, they've probably never seen the original(s) to know any better.

Coming soon: a remake of The Strangers

Kim Hollis: Is this the last great horror remake possibility? If not, what remake do you think has the potential to match this?

Pete Kilmer: Nightmare on Elm Street could be a monster of a relaunch if they don't mess it up.





Jim Van Nest: I don't know how big it would be, or how sucky...but I'm shocked that they haven't tried to update The Exorcist.

Brandon Scott: I don't think that there will ever be a "last" title the way this thing is going. Yes, Nightmare seems the most likely to have a shot and Exorcist is a good call, but as time passes the titles that will all be ripe for a rebirth will only continue to grow. I don't see an end to this...ever, at this point. And I continue to be livid about it. There is little hope for mankind. Just take one dip and end it.

Shane Jenkins: I agree with the others about Nightmare, which if done even half right could be huge. I also remember hearing talk about a Poltergeist remake, and, while it would be particularly inessential, I think it could really do well with a new generation that hasn't had a real haunted house movie to call their own. Well, aside from the awesome Monster House...

Jim Van Nest: I think a re-vamped Nightmare would, in fact, be huge. But I also think it would, in fact, be horrible. You're not going to find another Freddy Krueger like Robert Englund. And if they GET Robert Englund, well now...all they've done is made Freddy 9, rather than an actual re-make. (I know, I FEEL like a broken record.)

David Mumpower: I agree with Remlik that Nightmare on Elm Street is the logical candidate in this discussion. I do not, however, feel it will perform as well since it is by nature a less realistic take on the genre, one that does not lend itself well to modernization. All of these recent horror re-makes have been sincere, not an appropriate descriptor for the Freddy Krueger character. With regards to The Exorcist, I think that this is a bit of a tweak in terms anyway since we had an Exorcist prequel just a few years ago. Sure, the shoot was a disaster and the movie a train wreck, but I'm not sure we have gotten enough distance away from that film to have a re-make feel special. This is somewhat tragic since The Exorcist isn't like all of these garbage horror films under discussion. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, for God's sake. In fact, if you want to impress your friends with some Academy Awards trivia leading up to the show on Sunday, get them to bet against you on whether it won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. They'll never believe you that it did.

My wife has the best idea for a re-make. She thinks that Evil Dead is the perfect candidate and I'm inclined to agree with her on the point.

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