The prospect of a remake of I Saw the Devil with Adam Wingard (The Guest, You’re Next) at the helm is far more compelling than the idea of Oculus helmer Mike Flanagan taking on a remake of I Know What You Did Last Summer. Not because Flanagan is a bad filmmaker or anything like that, but merely because who cares about a new I Know What You Did… movie? Scream 4 was a bust in 2011 and I Know What You Did… was riding on the original Scream‘s coattails, so who thinks a new one is a smart business decision?
Now, the idea of Wingard taking on Kim Jee-woon‘s I Saw the Devil with The Guest screenwriter Simon Barrett is a different story. The Guest begins hitting theaters this week and even with You’re Next, Wingard has shown a knack for mixing small doses of dark humor within his terrifying tales, and while the original did contain it’s own kind of dark humor (I referenced one such instance in my review) it is very dark humor.
Personally I wasn’t a fan of Jee-woon’s film, feeling it mined the depths of depravity for little reason other than to be depraved. As I said in my review:
This isn’t to say this is a film without intrigue. What captured my attention most was the search for the meaning of it all. My mind was racing throughout the entire film, trying to figure out what I should takeaway. Why was I watching it? Why was it made? Therefore it was unfortunate once I got to the end and found there really wasn’t much of an answer to any of it. To go by Jee-woon’s expressed intentions I should have been happy I simply managed to watch it and still felt good about myself. In that case the film is a success, otherwise it’s pretty much a morally corrupt, well made film that could have been much, much more.
Wingard’s approach to this film will be interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go the same dark route, but I wonder if he will go as dark or if he’ll try to make it a little funnier. If you’ve read Variety]
