Last night, it was revealed that MGM had hired a screenwriter to work on a remake of Carrie. While remake announcements usually get a mix of comments on our Twitter feed, I didn't see any positive comments this time around. You know who also agrees with you? Stephen King. While talking with EW, he tells them he's not sure why they are planning a remake either:
“I’ve heard rumblings about a Carrie remake, as I have about The Stand and It. Who knows if it will happen? The real question is why, when the original was so good? I mean, not Casablanca, or anything, but a really good horror-suspense film, much better than the book. Piper Laurie really got her teeth into the bad-mom thing. Although Lindsay Lohan as Carrie White… hmmm. It would certainly be fun to cast. I guess I could get behind it if they turned the project over to one of the Davids: Lynch or Cronenberg.”
He makes a good point, which I usually bring up when discussing remakes with friends. The initial reaction most people have when they hear a remake announcement is negative, because of all of the horrible remakes that get spit out each year. The right director announcement, however, can change the project from a generic remake you'd hate to a project you're completely behind. For all of the bad remakes over the years, horror fans can always bring up The Thing and The Fly as remakes from talented directors that put a new spin on the original material.