Ho ho uh oh

They say there's no such thing as "bad" publicity, that if people are talking about you or your product, it's always a good turn. Did the controversy surrounding Black Christmas (releasing it on Christmas day- the nerve!) get people into theatres or has word-of-mouth about the flick's overall suckitude kept audiences away? I have no idea. I can't find numbers for the film's budget anywhere, but the gross so far has been about $12 million. Is that good or bad? What am I, an accountant? I have no idea, but I'm sure DVD sales will help the movie, stinker though it is, turn a profit.

Whatever the dollar totals turn out to be, the controversy surrounding the release date did get people talking about the film. It seems Sony Screen Gems is hoping to ride another controversy train to jewels and riches:

They're remaking Silent Night, Deadly Night.

Yup, the nasty 1984 slasher about a rampaging Santa Claus, the mediocre flick whose biggest contribution to the genre is the fact that it got Mickey Rooney's panties in a twist, is the lastest horror movie up for a "reimagining". Moviehole's got the scoop:

The championing producers are David Foster (The Thing) and Ryan Heppe. Nick Phillips and Scott Strauss are also onboard.

Joe Harris, of The Tripper fame, is in talks to write the remake, which “will not be a remake of the original picture, but a total reimagining using the basic concept as a platform for a new franchise. Extreme attention has been placed on putting together a top-notch, terrifying screenplay as most films in this sub-genre (including the recently released Black Christmas) have little to no story and very weak scares. The intent is to create a dark and scary film that falls more in line (in terms of tone) with modern released such as Saw and The Descent.

We’re assured that Screen Gems isn’t just horny to ride the “make a cheap slasher movie that milks a famous title” train, but that it plans to really snap a firecracker under the rear of the Silent Night remake – hoping it’ll go ‘right off!’

Silent Night, Deadly Night is indeed a sleazy little movie, and that's one of the biggest things going for it- that mean-spirited approach to "the most wonderful time of the year". Otherwise, I can't say it's a great horror movie or even a scary one, although I do adore Will Hare's turn as the miner 49er-esque, sometimes catatonic, crazy old grampa ("You see Santa, boy, run for your life!").

I don't care much one way or the other about the original, so I can only shake my head at the fact that there's yet another remake coming down the pike. I shake my head far more vigorously, however, at the notion of turning a movie as tasteless and cheesy as Silent Night, Deadly Night into a movie as mature and well-crafted as The Descent. How odd. It's like trying to transform White Castle sliders into filet mignon...is it even possible? My gut says no (especially to the sliders), but only time will tell. Either way, people will be talking about it.