Thursday
Assault on a cult classic
Why would anyone think it is a good idea to remake Assault on Precinct 13? The original is an extremely low budget suspense/action cult classic. The story is minimal, the acting is just adequate, but John Carpenter's direction is outstanding. He provides a textbook study of how to build suspense, ingeniously keeping tensions boiling. But since the main virtue of the original is the director crafting this tight and exciting film without any budget, it can't be a good idea to make it with a different director and a much higher budget. The title doesn't have enough name recognition to attract the general public, and most people who are fans of the original are the sorts of people who get angry about remakes and understand that the reasons the first was good aren't going to be preserved in the new version. As the trailer makes clear, all of the claustrophobia, and most other virtues of the original will be lost. What will be left is a weak action movie thrown on top of a bare bones plot and a bunch of talented actors wasting their time.
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