2000-2008

2000: The Exorcist (1973) is given a cinema rerelease.

2002: US studios begin to look to Japan for ideas. The first product of this trend is The Ring, a remake of Ringu. Zombie videogame Resident Evil is made into a film and sparks a new interest in zombie movies. 28 Days Later is the British update of the zombie apocolypse theme. A virus turns it’s victims into fast moving flesh eaters.

2003: Freddy vs. Jason brings together the two main protagonists of the Friday 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises in a 1940’s Universal style monster mash. A remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is released.

2004: Another Japanese horror is ‘Americanised’ when The Grudge is released. Dawn of the Dead is ‘re-imagined’ by Zak Schneider, following the lead established by 28 Days Later the slow shuffling zombies of the original are now sprinting, screaming horrors. British comedy Shaun of the Dead affectionately lampoons the zombie genre. Saw an ultraviolent movie franchise is launched it is to be the first in a series rumoured to be stretching to six films and a videogame. It also sees the advent of a new sub-genre of extremely violent splatter movies called by some critics ‘torture porn’.

2005: George Romero returns after a twenty year hiatus with Land of the Dead, the fourth film in his zombie cycle and his slow moving zombies are back. Hostel becomes the newest and one of the most successful entries into the torture porn sequence. It contains scenes of sexual violence and torture and is banned from release in some countries.

2006: The Hills Have Eyes is remade.

2007: Halloween becomes the latest 1970’s horror movie to get the update treatment.

2008: It looks as if the trend for remakes will continue for some time to come. Films currently in production or pre-production include new versions of I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scanners, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play, The Birds and Hellraiser. In the UK a low budget horror movie Killriculum begins.