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Generally I don’t even get surprised by horror remake news anymore. The guy who did* High Tension* is remaking Piranha? Sure, why not? Oh, what’s that? One of the Twilight producers is aiming to remake the recent French horror film Martyrs](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/martyrs/36980/main)? Hey, that sounds {spit take} whaaaaaat? That’s just … ok, breathe. The producer in question is one Wyck Godfrey, who produces not only the Twilight franchise, but also has his names on remakes and adaptations like I Robot, Alien vs. Predator, Flight of the Phoenix, When a Stranger Calls, The Nativity Story, and Eragon. (Also Daddy Day Care.)
According to Bloody-Disgusting](‘Vacancy’ Writer Pens ‘Martyrs’, Latest John Hillcoat Thriller!), screenwriter Mark L. Smith is the one on *Martyrs *adaptation duty, and genre fans may recognize that name from Vacancy, Vacancy 2, and Joe Dante’s upcoming The Hole. The question here is not over Smith’s screenwriting skills (*Vacancy *is rather cool) or even Mr. Godfrey’s inconsistent track record with proven properties … the question here is WHY?
For those who generally avoid the more “hardcore” horror films, *Martyrs *begins as a brutally shocking “home invasion” thriller that gradually turns into something a lot more … disturbing. It’s not a film I plan to revisit very often, but truth be told, I think it’s one of the best horror films of the past ten years. (Seriously, though, it’s a rough one. You’ve been warned.) The idea of remaking a recent French flick is certainly nothing new, but the horror genre has always had a little more leeway where foreign languages are concerned. And by that I mean this: serious horror fans will deal with subtitles and not complain about it, provided the flick delivers the goods.
Continue reading ‘Twilight’ Producer Aims to Remake … ‘Martyrs’?