Is the World Ready For the Return of the Highlander?

Cult movies have a few things in common: they are hardly ever understood by the masses, they usually fail to make their costs at the box office, and they become revered pieces of cinematic art later on (this sets them apart from simple “bad movies”, by the way). Continuing a cult film is usually a risk, and remaking them most likely turns into a disaster—most of the time, their secret to success is being made by the right team at the right time, with the right cast and the right soundtrack, with little to no chance for this synergy to happen more than once. But Hollywood is a different world—this is probably why it tries to repeatedly remake cult movies (and usually fails). Just think of how bad the modern-day version of Psycho was in 1998, and you’ll see what I mean. Yet this doesn’t stop it from trying—this year, we can expect several classics to see the light of day again. Will they fail or did Hollywood finally give us a generation of directors meant for greatness? We’ll see.

Highlander is one of the many cult movies set to be remade in the near future. The original movie was a commercial failure at first but it had two things not many movies have today: a relatable mythology and an amazing soundtrack. It has spawned several sequels (with a limited success themselves) and a French/Canadian TV series that has lived on for years, shot almost entirely in Vancouver. Which is, by the way, among Canada’s most beautiful places you need to see. The adventures of Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) created a basis for Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) to thrive, and it was good. Now Chad Stahelski, the director of the pretty successful hitman movie “John Wick,” wants to revive the immortals again—this time, in turn, with no Christopher Lambert, no soundtrack by Queen, but with a lot of amazing action scenes and a new mythology. Will it be a success or should we simply leave the MacLeods resting?

Another cult classic that’s getting a modern-day reboot is “The Crow”. The original movie was based on a pretty unknown graphic novel—a noir with supernatural elements. While it wasn’t a blockbuster (it barely made twice its $24 million budget at the box office) it has managed to capture its audiences and gather a cult following. Part of its success is probably due to the tragedy that will always be tied to this film: lead actor Brandon Lee died during filming in a freak accident involving a firearm, so the movie had to be finished by his stunt double. The story of “The Crow” has resisted sequels to this day (all of its continuations were failures) and its TV version was also short-lived – none of them managed to recreate the atmosphere, the dynamic, and the deep emotions of the original. Now Corin Hardy, known for his work on the 2015 horror “The Hallow,” will direct a revival of “The Crow” starring Jason Momoa. Does he really think this is a good idea, considering the opposition not only from the fans but from Alex Proyas, the director of the original?

After mystery and mythology, let’s take a look at another, more realistic, cult classic that’s getting a remake in the coming year: Scarface. The “original” Scarface movie, starring Al Pacino, was based on the 1932 film with the same title, loosely based on the life and misadventures of Al Capone. The 1983 film tells the story of Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee coming to 1980s Miami and rising to power as a powerful drug kingpin. It has become one of the best mob films ever, with the famous quote “Say hello to my little friend” showing up in a variety of places ever since. Now it’s being remade—Diego Luna is set to play the title character, and the Coen Brothers are set to write the script (there’s no word on who’s going to direct, which is a surprise given that the film is set to be released this August). Will it ruin the memory of the original or can it give us a new cult classic to revere?