Episode 31 Remaking The Monolith Monsters (1957)
"From outer space they came! Meteor borne, meteor strange! Now these amazing Monolith Monsters reveal powers! Shocking beyond belief! The most shocking science-fiction concept ever brought to the screen! Stranger than anything science had ever discovered!" These are the words that accompany the trailer for the 1957 Universal Pictures sci-fi classic The Monolith Monsters. Arguably the most unique invasion, disaster movie to ever grace the silver screen that you probably have never heard of.
Episode 32 Oldboy (2003) Vs. Oldboy (2013)
The best thing about South Korean films is that they are really, really insane! Chan-wook Park brought the fan favorite manga to the big screen in 2003 with great success. Fast forward a decade and director Spike Lee remakes Oldboy for an English speaking audience starring Josh Brolin to mixed reviews. Often found on worst film remake lists, is the Spike Lee version really that bad? Listen to this weeks episode as we discus this tale of revenge, violence and incest!
Episode 33 Remaking Ghost Story (1981)
In 1981 John Irvin brought many elder statesmen of Hollywood together to bring Peter Staub's novel Ghost Story to the big screen. Hollywood legends like Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. are joined by the highly expressive Craig Wasson and the gorgeous Borg Queen Alice Krige in this dramatic, supernatural, mystery film. Join Jason, Trish, and Sam as we remake this movie with today's audiences in mind. Who would we cast? Listen to this week's episode to find out.
Episode 34 Thunderball (1965) Vs. Never Say Never Again (1983)
Sean Connery is the original James Bond and after Diamonds are Forever he said he would never play Bond again. Never say never. Those are the words that became the title to the 1983 remake of Thunderball (1965), Never Say Never Again. The Invaders sneak into the files of MI-6 to see which of the Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory inspired stories can defeat the evil S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and is the best of 007.
Episode 35 Remaking The Wraith (1986)
Long before his "tiger blood" drove him completely insane (allegedly), Charlie Sheen shot a low budget sci-fi, supernatural, revenge flick called The Wraith (1986) along side Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn, Randy Quaid, and Clint Howard. Does this ghost with a really cool car hold up? This week the Invaders with comedian Brittany Lyseng are in the driver's seat and rework this movie to make it worthy of a remake...Invaders style.
Episode 36 Point Break (1991) Vs. Point Break (2015)
Breaking the goofy type-casting Keanu Reeves had fallen into from two Bill & Ted movies, he starred in his first action film, Point Break (1991) from Director Kathryn Bigelow. Co-starring Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, and Lori Petty, Point Break became a cult hit of the 1990's. Flash forward to 2015 and a new take on the concept by Director Ericson Core and Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer starring Edgar Ramirez, Luke Bracey, Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer, and Delroy Lindo. Strap on your parachutes as the Invaders pit these films against each other and see if a beloved original can still stand up and if a remake no one wanted can actually ride the wake of the original.
Episode 37 Remaking Rawhead Rex (1986)
When an old god-monster is resurrected, a grieving family seeks to stop it before it kills everyone in the town. Clive Barker's short story from the Books of Blood, Rawhead Rex (1986) also became his first story to hit the silver screen and he hated it! This lead him to take a more controlling roll on the Hellraiser film. On this episode we take a look at what went wrong, how we might bring it back to the silver screen and do honor to the source material.
Episode 38 Point Blank (1967) Vs. Payback (1999)
Two movies based on The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake under the pen name Richard Stark brought Westlake's most famous character, Parker, to the silver screen, but they wouldn't be actually called Parker. Westlake famously protected the character and the name Parker wouldn't be used until after his death when Jason Statham starred in a movie title after the titular character.
Point Blank (1967) with Lee Marvin starring as Walker/Parker in a very ethereal adaptation of the novel alongside Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn, Caroll O'Connor, and John Vernon was the first to adapt the novel, although now in a contemporary late 60's setting. Near the dawn of the millennium Mel Gibson would star in another contemporary take on the novel in Payback (1999) co-starring Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, David Paymer, Deborah Kara Unger, William Devane, Lucy Liu, Kris Kristofferson, and James Coburn.
While adapting the same material, these two films are very different. Invasion of the Remake is the only place where Lee Marvin will be fighting Mel Gibson to see which is the better Parker
Episode 39 Remaking Ladyhawke (1985)
Richard Donner could do no wrong in the 1980's cultivating many hits like Lethal Weapon, The Goonies, Superman, Scrooged, and The Omen. In 1985 Donner directed Ladyhawke with Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern, John Wood, Ken Hutchison, and Alfred Molina. While loved and appreciated at the time, the film was not a hit and has become a largely forgotten romantic, fantasy classic. That's where the Invasion of the Remake hosts come in, because they think it is ripe for a remake! Download now to find out how they would do it and who they would cast in a potential Ladyhawke remake!
Episode 40 Conan the Barbarian (1982) Vs. Conan the Barbarian (2011)
In 1982 a retired body builder relatively new to acting got his big break as one of the the most iconic literary characters of all time. That character was Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian, and that man was Arnold Schwarzenegger! Director John Milius co-wrote the script with Oliver Stone and had an all-star cast to support Arnold, like James Earl Jones, Max Von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman, and Mako. The movie is now considered a fantasy classic.
In 2011, after a failed sequel and many more failed attempts to get more Conan starring Arnold off the ground, a remake / re-imagining finally hit the big screen starring Jason Momoa, who, after a major role in HBO's Game of Thrones was no stranger to playing a barbarian. He was joined by Ron Pearlman, Rose McGowan, and Stephen Lang in this Marcus Nispel directed summer blockbuster. It didn't do so well...like really, really not well.