How To Make A Successful Sequel To A Horror Remake

3. Embrace The Gore

If all else fails, simply embrace the blood and gore and give us an old-fashioned show. I hate to resort to this one so early, but studios are giving me no choice. If they absolutely won’t give us a good script or a director then why not give us all of the blood and gore that we crave? Horror films are supposed to be much more than death and sex, but sometimes we have to settle for whatever we can get. I’d love a Friday the 13th film with Jason matching Rambo or even Punisher: War Zone in terms of body count. I’d also love a little creativity if we’re dealing with Freddy and the dream world.

Myers and Leatherface deserve the same attention, but let’s make sure all of this violent fun is experienced with practical effects and not shoddy computer animated sequences. One thing I’ll give credit to Platinum Dunes for is their ability to mostly stick with practical blood and effects, but occasionally they stray off and make a shameful and unforgettably bad one (see Freddy coming from the walls in the Nightmare on Elm Street remake).

A good example of a reboot embracing the gore and the over-the-top ideas is Alexandre Aja’s Piranha 3D. Not only did he insert my #4 idea, but he also fused it brilliantly with #3. He knew what kind of film he was making and he embraced all elements of it.

The bad acting only helped the hilarious story and the insane and highly creative kills only catered to the 3D format.

4. Jump Shark And Add 3D

This idea used to be considered as jumping the shark, but now it’s actually common place. Remember when either taking your series into space or adding the 3D meant that you’ve completely ran out of ideas? Now it simply means you want to make as much money as possible, but the idea of still making a fun 3D film isn’t completely dead. Horror has always mixed perfectly with 3D, because of the kills and how you can incorporate the added dimension.

Nothing says date night like a severed head flying off of the screen and into your lap. The same can also be said for building your set pieces. If you specifically shoot for 3D then that opens up a whole other layer of detail, because you now have to cater each and every shot. Most simply disregard that cardinal rule and shoot the film however they want, but some directors really take the 3D shooting seriously and it shows.

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