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Banishing subtitles

Recent English-language remakes

Matt Reeves has been on the defensive lately over his remake of Let The Right One In, the Swedish horror film that received rave reviews last year, including a rare five star rating in SciFiNow. The director claims that it isn’t another Twilight clone, but a much darker, emotional story that has echoes of a coming-of-age tale. Whether the Cloverfield director’s efforts are successful or not, we decided to look back over the last few years at other English language ports of foreign language films, and at what’s coming up.

quarantineQuarantine

Released: 10 October 2008
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Original film: [Rec] (Spain)

Released almost immediately after the Spanish original, Quarantine received much lower ratings in the press than its predecessor.

the-orphanageThe Orphanage

Released: 2011
Director: Mark Pellington
Original film: El Orfanato (Spain)

Quite why El Orfanato needed to be remade is beyond us, but with Guillermo del Toro’s involvement, there’s a bit of hope at least.

let-me-in-poster-usa-01Let Me In

Released: 1 October 2010
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Original film: [Rec] (Spain)

Matt Reeves’ remake has the blessing of the author, but can it maintain the tension and artistic subtlety of the Swedish-language original?

ring_7The Ring

Released: 18 October 2002
Director: Gore Verbinski
Original film: Ringu (Japan)

Still probably the best J-Horror remake out there, Verbinski balances some lovely camera work with a genuine feeling of dread. Imitations abounded.

eye2The Eye

Released: 1 February 2008
Director: David Moreau, Xavier Palud
Original film: The Eye (Hong Kong/Thailand/Singapore)

The basic premise itself is sound, but some atrocious acting combined with an incomprehensible plot made The Eye a laughing stock of horror remakes.