THEM! Remake

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mikelcho
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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by mikelcho »

LSD Jellyfish wrote: Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:59 pm
Handsome Shrek wrote: Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:33 am Just because they aren’t connecting a remake to an obscure 50s movie about giant ants to the Monsterverse doesn’t mean they lack confidence in it.
Huh, you’d consider THEM! obscure?
Other than Godzilla or Kong, I see it typically held in high-regard amongst monster flicks. People typically consider it the best film of that era and a classic.

A lot of movies over the years have parodied and referenced it at well.

Then again, we’re in a bubble on here, but I don’t think it’s obscure at all.
You're right. It was the first of the big bug films of the 1950s (a subgenre of the monster-on-the-loose films of the 1950s) and along with Tarantula (which was made by Universal (Them! was made by Warner Bros.) and came along one year after it), one of the best. The rest of the big bug films (few though they may be) at best never quite equalled those two and at worst were terrible.
Last edited by mikelcho on Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:29 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: THEM! Remake

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LSD Jellyfish wrote: Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:59 pm
Handsome Shrek wrote: Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:33 am Just because they aren’t connecting a remake to an obscure 50s movie about giant ants to the Monsterverse doesn’t mean they lack confidence in it.
Huh, you’d consider THEM! obscure?
Other than Godzilla or Kong, I see it typically held in high-regard amongst monster flicks. People typically consider it the best film of that era and a classic.

A lot of movies over the years have parodied and referenced it at well.

Then again, we’re in a bubble on here, but I don’t think it’s obscure at all.
Maybe it's not obscure among cinemaphiles or monster/horror fans, but the general public? You'd be lucky if they knew about The Day the Earth Stood Still, or The Creature From the Black Lagoon, let alone one random giant insect movie that sits among countless others.
Last edited by Spuro on Sat Jan 07, 2023 1:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: THEM! Remake

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Shame this won't be connected to the Monsterverse ; remember Lt. Marlow ( John C. Reilly )'s offhand comment in '' KONG : SKULL ISLAND '' ? - '' They sound like birds , but they're frickin' ants ... ! ''

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Mac Daddy MM
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Re: THEM! Remake

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Yeah, THEM! is no doubt a classic. But let's not pretend the general public really knows it exists today. I'm 100% on board. I love the original, but of all the '50s bug movies that could really benefit from a modern reinvention with Hollywood spectacle, this is it. Especially the third act when the ants reach LA, in which we were limited to just seeing the nest underground and in the darkness of the sewer system. Now, with any lucky, we'll get a full on ants vs. military warzone. I can't help but grin at the thought of lines of ants scaling skyscrapers as helecopters and other weapons of war unload on them.


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Re: THEM! Remake

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Mac Daddy MM wrote: Sun Jan 08, 2023 4:35 am Yeah, THEM! is no doubt a classic. But let's not pretend the general public really knows it exists today.
This. Older people that remember the heyday of classic monster movies, sure. Plenty of twenty and thirty-somethings might have caught it on TV at some point. Younger than that, though, and the odds of familiarity probably plummet. It's not the kind of thing streaming services promote (if they even have it), and now that CGI has fully taken over, older practical effects movies like that are becoming irrelevant and forgotten fast.
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Re: THEM! Remake

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Werewolf by Night was a ton of fun, so I'm definitely up to see what Gianchino brings to the table with another retread to 50's horror. I wouldn't actually be shocked if the movie itself was entirely shot in black-and-white.

Also wonder if this'll start a chain reaction in Hollywood. If this movie does well, Warner could try bringing back more of there old school monster movies like The Beast From 20'000 Fathoms and other companies might try to bring in others like The Deadly Mantis or The Giant Behemoth. (for better or worse) Dare I say this might actually lead us to a remake of..

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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by edgaguirus »

We can be sure that the remake will likely have the original showing on tv and/or streaming if only for nostalgia.
Last edited by edgaguirus on Sun Jan 08, 2023 2:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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John Pannozzi
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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by John Pannozzi »

Spuro wrote: Sat Jan 07, 2023 1:34 pm
LSD Jellyfish wrote: Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:59 pm
Handsome Shrek wrote: Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:33 am Just because they aren’t connecting a remake to an obscure 50s movie about giant ants to the Monsterverse doesn’t mean they lack confidence in it.
Huh, you’d consider THEM! obscure?
Other than Godzilla or Kong, I see it typically held in high-regard amongst monster flicks. People typically consider it the best film of that era and a classic.

A lot of movies over the years have parodied and referenced it at well.

Then again, we’re in a bubble on here, but I don’t think it’s obscure at all.
Maybe it's not obscure among cinemaphiles or monster/horror fans, but the general public? You'd be lucky if they knew about The Day the Earth Stood Still, or The Creature From the Black Lagoon, let alone one random giant insect movie that sits among countless others.
Well, The Day the Earth Stood Still had a remake around the mid-to-late 2000s, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of the Universal Monsters, so I don't think either film is too obscure among today's general public.
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The One and Only
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Re: THEM! Remake

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Seems like news of this particular remake,at least to me, comes as no particular surprise. Always was on my personal list to see remade with modern special effects. Back in the late Eighties, after making the 1986 supernatural, revenge ,racing flick ,THE WRAITH, director Mike Marvin, said he had been approached by Warner Brothers to direct a THEM ! remake even back then. Maybe due to the original's desert setting the original's beginning,and thinking Marvin was an expert in filming in the region. So it seems the nuclear ant classic has always been something that the studio from time to time wanted to be revisted. With the positive talk with director Michael Giacchino's work on Marvel's WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, this particular remake seems like it's good hands.
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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by Gigantis »

Reviving the thread because we got an interview! Nothing entirely new, but yes, the movie is still alive. They're currently looking for a screenwriter after the WGA strike paused everything.
https://collider.com/them-remake-michae ... -comments/
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Re: THEM! Remake

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dagarah wrote: Sat Jan 07, 2023 4:16 pm Shame this won't be connected to the Monsterverse ; remember Lt. Marlow ( John C. Reilly )'s offhand comment in '' KONG : SKULL ISLAND '' ? - '' They sound like birds , but they're frickin' ants ... ! ''
Not a shame, the opposite of whatever shame is. It's a good thing. Not every big monster needs to be in the MonsterVerse,
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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by edgaguirus »

I agree.

THEM is just as classic as Godzilla, so it can stand on its own.
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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

When the MV was first announced, like when it wasn't purely a Godzilla and Kong Vehicle, people suggested THEM! might be interested in incorporating into the MV. Now things have clearly changed and I don't think people care much either way.
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HeiseiGodzilla117
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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by HeiseiGodzilla117 »

Yup. I distinctly remember people discussing in the various speculation threads about THEM!, Beast From 20k Fathoms, and various other creature features being added to the Monsterverse. I wouldn't mind if something like that happened. It would be kind of cool. But since it appears Legendary isn't involved with this project, I don't suppose that will be happening.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

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Mac Daddy MM
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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by Mac Daddy MM »

I'd be open to the idea, but don't really expect it. It would be something if the third act introduced a male MUTO-sized queen that does a lil rampaging before being taken down, however.
Last edited by Mac Daddy MM on Sat Nov 04, 2023 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by edgaguirus »

I really hope they keep the scene with the little girl crying out in fear. Not only is it a good title drop, but also adds to the suspense of the story.
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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by Al Diplodocus »

I wonder if there will be a nonbinary character in the remake and have a They/Them joke in it.

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Re: THEM! Remake

Post by Angilasman »

Al Diplodocus wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2023 7:12 am I wonder if there will be a nonbinary character in the remake and have a They/Them joke in it.
Every LGBT monster fan online has made that joke. It's only funny when they include a gif of that opening title. That elicits a chuckle.

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