Thanks to Darthlocke for the heads up
A&E is ready to Let the Right One In.
The network is teaming with Teen Wolf showrunner Jeff Davis and actor-screenwriter Brandon Boyce to adapt the Swedish vampire story, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
A&E landed the story, about a bullied teen boy who befriends a young female vampire — based on the best-selling Swedish book by John Ajvide Lindqvist that was subsequently adapted into the critically acclaimed 2008 movie directed by Tomas Alfredson — following a bidding war with Showtime.
The drama follows the boy and female vampire, who lives in secrecy with her mysterious guardian. When a series of strange murders pops up in their small Vermont town, it attracts the attention of a federal marshal with a mysterious past of his own.
The network is teaming with Teen Wolf showrunner Jeff Davis and actor-screenwriter Brandon Boyce to adapt the Swedish vampire story, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
A&E landed the story, about a bullied teen boy who befriends a young female vampire — based on the best-selling Swedish book by John Ajvide Lindqvist that was subsequently adapted into the critically acclaimed 2008 movie directed by Tomas Alfredson — following a bidding war with Showtime.
The drama follows the boy and female vampire, who lives in secrecy with her mysterious guardian. When a series of strange murders pops up in their small Vermont town, it attracts the attention of a federal marshal with a mysterious past of his own.
Source:
A&E - Be Unoriginal
ReplyDeleteBecause their current remake of The Returned is such a booming success?
ReplyDeleteWhy, WHY are people only adapting shitty kid-friendly horror? The swedish movie had some eerie elements the US remake just made me cringe completely.
ReplyDeleteCan someone PLEASE turn Salems Lot into a series?!
Can someone PLEASE turn Salem's Lot into a series?!
ReplyDeleteTHIS^^^^^^
I don't think we should jump the gun on that until we see how the ratings do when the plot deviates mid season.
ReplyDeletePlus, like the more critically acclaimed Bates Motel, this would be based on a film and novel, not a series. IMO the Swedish version had a good dark atmosphere and little boy was excellent, where the American version humanized the vampire girl more and made the story more relatable. The story is so short, it def has room to expand...I personally always wanted to know how they survived after they leave...
The first film and the novel wasn't really that kid friendly. It boarder lined a lot of inappropriate-looking relationships and child or child-looking killers I think are still pretty controversial and make interesting conversation pieces.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem expanding on that material, the way Bates Motel has. However I would love to see Salems Lot or Anne Rices vampire chronically on TV (currently films are in the works again)....
Wait...The Returned is an A&E show? Why is it already on my countrie's Netflix? There are so many shows missing but they have random A&E shows?
ReplyDeleteA monster befriending a child is usually what I would consider light horror. Especially since Let Me In posed a very genuine friendship there.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, young looking killers have become a cliché that has been exploited to no end at this point.
The last creepy kid that actually scared me was in Silent Hill (and that only because of the imagery).
The problem might be that I would've taken this story even further down the rabbit hole. The story couldn've tackled plot points that would've made it a better and more full experience however the story itself as well as the basic outline was fairly weak
It was a tame story
As for Salems Lot, it still holds incredible weight on both a real world context (small towns slowly dying and being bound to big industries to survive, mob mentality) and for the art of storytelling itself (having read the book multiple times: you truly feel that atmosphere).
Unlike Let Me In, Salems Lot has an immense ammount of layers to it. Layers you could use to write hours worth of television. Unlike Let Me In...wich really poses as a tame vampire-fairy tale
Maybe you're mistaking the US remake with the french original?
ReplyDeleteWe're talking the network that spawned Duck Dynasty, Storage Wars, Beyond Scared Straight and other crap. I don't think that the people running this network care about originality
ReplyDeleteA&E made a deal with Netflix to have episodes released 24 hours after they air on A&E outside of the US and Canada.
ReplyDeleteDisagree completely with the idea either of the movies are kid-friendly or light horror.
ReplyDeleteThe original was darker in tone and simply brilliant! The US remake was a bit lighter, but it had many dark themes in it..
Honestly both would be on my list for best horror movies of that decade.
I agree it is a little premature to write off the Returned until we see what the show like after episode 5 or 6. Also unlike the networks where they have several pilots based on films that are going to be network procedurals (Minority Report, Limitless, Rush Hour etc) that just happen to be based on a movie for name brand recognition, A&E might actually be interested in as you saying expanding on the story of an interesting and unique film/book.
ReplyDeleteShe's not necessarily monster, she's a child who somehow became a vampire, who probably has the mind and experience of an adult and is trapped, force to kill in order to survive...and she has to befriend broken people, a bullied boy and a school teacher in order to get anywhere, let alone potentially remind her, or renew her faith in humanity by learning how to be friends...
ReplyDeleteAs I Said, Let Me In was tame because of the humanization of the vampire girl and watered down in some spots in COMPARISON to the ORIGINAL Let The Right One In...
But Stephen Kings work is much more horror dystopian, where as this was more nuanced psychological thriller. neither is bad IMO, but different genres. One is more about facing harsh realities of greed, the other is about the subjectivity and limitation of the self.
In order to make the story truly dark the more underlying themes should've been explored.
ReplyDeleteThe issue Let me In had was that it explored its villain, it exposed thoughts, vulnurabilities and hopes for that character until they took over and turned this villain into someone relatable completely killing the lines between villain and hero. Turning the narrative from horror to romance. This is why the movies and book are categorized as romantic-horror.
Now, humanizing a villain can work (Saw) however if you go overboard to kill the original purpose and form a cross-genre. If it's wanted this can work, however Let Me In still presented itself as if it was still horror,wich it wasn't at this point.
If I'm being blatantly honest here I wouldn't call the story a horror story to begin with. Rather a character study.
As for best horror film of the decade. I disagree. I have no idea wich I would place as best but according to my set bar for horror flicks (based on creepiness, scares and story) this isn't even eligable.
As Above, So Below wasn't a good film but stilla better horror flick that Let Me In
I dont know if I regard the American remake as highly as you, but it is a very well done remake that is well cast (both child actors are very good) by a very good director.
ReplyDeleteThe original story, the vampire only seemed like a girl, it was a teen boy who had been horribly castrated in more ways than one. I can see how the new show will go with a real girl instead.
ReplyDeleteI think it might be a good show. I will check it out. The basic story is very good.
In this aspect I'm actually inclined to agree here (as you can read in a comment below).
ReplyDeleteIt's less horror as it is a character study for Eli/Abby. The thing is: I approached the franchise with expectations in horror. The fact that I was presented with a storyline that pretty much bases itself on romantical elements paired with a huge focus on the kid/monster aspect is not something I either wanted or expected.
The story didn't give me chills and turned the villain into a humanized protagonist. Wich goes against the horror theme (a theme that Saw brilliantly outmaneuvered) and turned the film into a....fantasy-thriller. Horror isn't applicable here. It doesen't scare you, it rather embraces you with fascination for the protagonists species and persona.
It all comes done to what a person looks for in a horror movie I guess...
ReplyDeleteI can see some wanting more blood, more menace, or more disturbing visuals etc... but it's very rare I find myself thinking "Wow, that was a great movie" after seeing a horror film. Both films left me saying just that. I do agree the original was better, but like you said, the remake was good in its own way and overall one of the better remakes out there.
To me, it's scarier to see the subjectivity of perception of reality and or see ones reality change based on various experiences than just seeing something that has no real demension be inherently evil and just force its way through something. Most psychological thrillers have horror as an element, because it can come from unfair or socially unjust places.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you were mislead, but that is not necessarily the films fault or make the film bad, just not what you prefer or what you had anticipated.
Have to admit that I never read Salem's Lot or seen the TV movie. How about a 10 episode a season show on either TNT or USA since both channels seem serious about changing their brand and doing darker, edgier serialized fare, and see no reason that the show would not work on either channel.
ReplyDeletetheir motto is Be Original, yet all they have are remakes and adaptations
ReplyDeleteHhhhmmm... I'll put this in the "wait and see" category...
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of the original. Like I said the remake is very well done. Favorite horror film is Suspria (big fan of 70's era Argento). Havent really kept up with recent horror films.
ReplyDeleteOk but what is really original anyways in this day and age? You have mass media and marketing with tons of things getting published and produced at a rate never seen before in our history...and lots of things that continue to inspire from other previous things with people who want to jump on bandwagons. Humans learn by comparison and often we make them when explaining and classifying to others.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I think A and E should consider changing their tag line, but when it gets down to it, I don't think its the thing that will keep viewers away.
better remakes then an endless ammount of stupid reality shows
ReplyDelete"As Above, So Below wasn't a good film but stilla better horror flick that Let Me In"
ReplyDeleteThat is where I find issue....
I do not separate being a good movie from being a good horror movie. Most horror movies are just not good movies overall. I say this as someone who has seen hundreds of horror films since my childhood friend's dad ran a video rental place and we watched horror movies almost every week/ weekend. I enjoyed them for what there were, and still do to a lesser degree, but it's rare to find a great movie in the Horror category.
I can appreciate a film being more grotesque or more shocking, more blood-cuddling, but those traits alone do not make a movie good to me. It has to stand on its own merits regarding story, performance, and directing.. Both Let Me In and Let The Right One In did that.
I personally thought As Above, So Below was mediocre... more of a B-Movie type of horror than a good movie. More style over substance.. Although some of the cinematography did bring out my inner
claustrophobic! XD
Each to their own.
*Shrug*
Thanks! That explains everything.
ReplyDeletejohnhelvete just revealed the explanation.
ReplyDeleteHmm.. I think I saw that...
ReplyDeleteHad the ballet school dreamscape thing going on?
Been so long since I saw it. I think I could appreciate Argento's works more now than I did then. Maybe a re-watch is in order!
Yes the movie takes place at a ballet school but it does have an otherworldly feel to the entire film. The film has a very stylized color palette where the reds are really RED and the blues are really BLUE. That and the music score by the rock group Goblina re what the film is best known for. The plot of course is like a lot of giallos, is a little bit nonsensical. Deep Red is probably his second best film and was made the year before.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Didn't every iteration of this story bomb?
ReplyDeleteIF by bomb you mean having over 100 award show nominations and 76 wins from around the globe... And being on many critics' best film of the year lists...
ReplyDeleteThen yes, Let the Right One In bombed. XD
Let Me In only had about 40 global nominations and 15 wins though....
Whoa, when did all of that happen?! All the impressions I'd seen some time seemed to very heavily imply that each iteration was not very well revered at all...
ReplyDeleteI only ever watched the US movie, which I thought was pretty bad. The general consensus seemed to agree with that.
I think the pool of people you know has quite different taste than the masses.
ReplyDeleteRottenTomatoes.com positive ratings for both films:
Let The Right One In - 98% critics and 90% audience rating.
Let Me In - 88% critics and 76% audience rating.
So consensus was very good for the US remake and great for the original. Not that RT is the end all be all of ratings, but it is a nice peak into the masses mindset usually.
Wow, guess I'm in a minority here! Thanks for showing me the reception I was unaware of. I guess I can see the merit in a US tv adaptation now. Still not too enthused about it, though. But oh well, if it does happen, I could always just not watch it.
ReplyDeleteYeah like many movies it was not for everyone...
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of the movies, but how they transition over to a weekly episode format could make or break it.
I think there is a lot of themes to explore in more detail than the movies, but I'm still not exactly looking forward to the series on A&E. That network is really hit or miss for me... Mostly miss.
I guess I could see potential in a tv adaptation, but only as a one-time mini-series. I can't see this story having enough material to become a multi-season series.
ReplyDeleteA&E's reality series' are awful. I thought the first season of Bates Motel was great, although it's since become another run of the mill basic cable formulaic borderline soap. I also thought the first two episodes of Those Who Kill were fantastic, although it immediately worsened from there. The Returned is doing nothing for me right now.
So yeah, I'd call that hit & miss with mostly misses.
I might have more faith if this were on FX, Showtime, Cinemax, or HBO...
I don't watch reality shows, but I feel the same way about the other shows you mentioned... Sadly.
ReplyDeleteGood point about it being better as a mini-series....
I really don't think a multi-season thing sounds good at all. Then again I think a lot of shows could have been great or better as one off mini-series.. Bates Motel for example
Aren´t the characters kids? How do they picture it? No word about miniseries and kids grow up very visibly.
ReplyDelete