Rob Zombie proved he was an interesting director of remakes with his two Halloween movies. Not only did he remake them, he also updated them so that the films were in sync with his vision of unhinged rednecks and graphic violence. Like Quentin Tarantino, Zombie pays tribute to the films that influenced him, something he also finds in his own films, videos and music. Zombie’s aesthetic is similar to splatterpunk horror legend Edward Lee, an author whose book White Trash Gothic perfectly sums up the vision of both Lee and Zombie in the title. Zombie would even be perfect to direct the deranged Edward Lee classic The Big Headmixing perverted monsters with equally perverted people.
In fact, there are many titles that would benefit from a Zombie remake, especially as Zombie continues this trend and shows how adept he is at modernizing classics with his own unique style. He has adapted the popular TV show from the 60s The Munsters in a movie, proof that he enjoys the challenge of recreating or re-imagining a cult horror movie or show.
his remake of Halloween was great because it was true to the original movie, but also wildly inventive and exemplary of Zombie’s unique style. It also gave him the chance to cast Sherri Moon Zombie in a great role, that of Michael’s mother, and she plays a lead character in all eight Zombie’s feature films. However, she is not his only muse; Zombie’s influences are obvious, so it’s not hard to predict which movies and series he could beautifully remake or reimagine. The following titles are perhaps the most interesting.
Beavis and Butthead
Rob Zombies Beavis and Butthead would be a hilarious movie. One of Zombie’s least known projects is The ghost world of El Superbeasto, a super raunchy animated film. Zombie has a wicked sense of dirty humor and an obvious love of animation. In addition, he worked on the Pee Wee Herman Show as a set designer, he clearly understands material that is both funny as it would appeal to a child, yet subversive and bizarre enough to keep adult fans watching.
With that in mind, who better to have one Beavis and Butthead movie (except of course the original animator Mike Judge, who already gave us a pretty funny movie, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America)? There could even be a scene where the guys watch a white zombie video and joke about it! Rob Zombie even has a song on the soundtrack to Beavis and Butt-Head Do Americaso there is already a connection.
caligula
If there’s one thing Rob Zombie loves, it’s good, sloppy X-rated fun. Few mainstream films have ever given us so much exploitation and sleaze as Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione’s masterpiece caligula, a film big enough to attract major mainstream stars like Hellen Mirren, Peter O’Toole and Malcolm McDowell. Zombie is a big fan of McDowell and threw him in Halloween, Halloween IIand 31and shows his admiration for A Clockwork Orange in one of his videos.
caligula was extremely controversial for its use of sex, depravity and torture, three things that dominate most of Zombie’s work. The Devil’s Rejectionsfor example, has borrowed torture scenes from Last house on the left, such as in the motel room scene where Sherri Moon Zombie has a victim violently beaten and abusing another hostage. Since Sherri Moon Zombie always stars in every Rob Zombie movie, we can assume she would play Drusilla (previously played by Teresa Ann Savoy). Sherri Moon has shown in Zombie’s films that she can be a dangerous and sadistic madman, capable of violent and extreme behavior, while still maintaining her attraction, and would truly elevate it. caligula.
Carnival of Souls
Carnival of Souls is a 1960s gothic cult horror film best known for a sequence in which the lead actress goes deaf and there are more than 15 minutes of silence in this highly symbolic film, which has already given rise to an unfortunate remake. Again, Rob Zombie loves to cast his wife of 20, Sherri Moon Zombie, in great horror roles, and Carnival of Soulslike Zombie’s Gentlemen of Salemrevolves around a woman going through a nervous breakdown.
Sherri has never let us down and would do a great job as a lead in Carnival of Souls, one of the first horror films to have a female lead only. Zombie would appreciate the creepy and cult character of the film and its unique craziness, and like Halloween it looks like he could make a pretty original remake that is both loyal to the original and represents his own dark, twisted vision.
Ilsa, She-wolf of the SS
Ilsa, She-wolf of the SS is an infamous exploitative film about a female SS leader who engages in cruel torture and sexual abuse of the women and men under her command. In Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’ double feature film grind houseZombie did a fake trailer called Werewolf women of the SSand Sherri Moon Zombie plays a sadistic Nazi SS werewolf.
Zombie is clearly enamored with this small subgenre of ‘Nazisploitation’, which is just as trashy and offensive as it sounds. So would be a perfect movie to remake for him Ilsa, She-wolf of the SSor, in fact, any of the others Ilsa movies, like Ilsa, harem keeper of the oil sheiks. Whatever movie she’s in, Ilsa is perverse and sadistic. These movies all have a devoted cult following because they are simply insane! Obviously Zombie would cast Sherri Moon Zombie as Ilsa as she has a major lead role in all of his movies, and she is a great exploitative actress who would deliver an extraordinary performance.
The last house on the left
The last house on the left is such a clear influence on Rob Zombie and his directing style. In that movie there is cruel and perverse torture, sadistic behavior to make you cringe, and a lot of violence. As stated before, Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejections repeats part of Last house on the leftwhen Sherri Moon Zombie forces an innocent victim to physically assault another hostage.
Last house on the left was arguably the quintessential 1970s exploitation film, and Zombie pays homage to and shows the influence of such 1970s exploitation shockers as The last house on the left The Texas Chainsaw Massacreand The hills have eyes. Zombie even has The hills have eyes star Michael Berryman in many of his films. The last house on the left has already been remade, but that shouldn’t stop another remake that would presumably be better than the mediocre others.
freaks
When asked why his dialogue is made up of gross white garbage, Zombie has defended it by referencing the usual “write what you know” trope. Zombie grew up in a world of carnivals and sideshows, and that kind of redneck talk is where he grew up listening. Growing up surrounded by sideshows and human quirks, he’s the perfect choice to direct a remake of the original. Dracula director Todd Browning’s exploitation horror classic freaksfeaturing the oft-quoted song “One of us! One of us! One of us!”
Zombie is at home in the world of so-called ‘freaks’, which can be seen in his films. For example, the character Tiny Firefly from House of 1000 corpses was one of the greatest men in the world and was in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the tallest actor. Wearing a bizarre looking mask, he appears as a truly terrifying character, intimidating due to his size. In the movie 31, tiny people (including a miniature Hitler) attack the traveling show members who are the protagonists. Zombie has compassion and love for these people and puts them in his movies, and he would be great at directing the savage revenge movie freaks. Zombie could even have done a great job with the recent remake of the noir classic nightmare alleytaking place at a fair.
Two thousand maniacs!
If there’s one thing Zombie is known for, it’s his white trash villains, and one of the most infamous movies about the southern redneck evil is Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Two thousand maniacs! The film follows a group of northeastern Yankees on a journey south, where they come across a village all set to kick off their annual festival and which warmly welcomes the Yankee tourists. It’s a big ruse, though, and the festival involves torturing and executing the Yankees in the most macabre and gruesome ways.
HG Lewis movies are ripe for remakes – they have great ideas, but are filmed on such a low budget that it looks like they could be updated to make them less cheesy. A few years ago, Jeremy Kasten made a remake of HG Lewis’ The Wizard of Gore with Crispin Glover and the result was an amazingly over-the-top modern grindhouse classic. Rob Zombie can update in the same way Two thousand maniacs!making it more gory, macabre and realistic, and the themes of the south versus the north would fit perfectly into Zombie’s body of work.
Helter Skelter
Rob Zombie has always had a fascination with Charles Manson. The title of his song Cease to exist comes from a song by Charles Manson, and Zombie narrated a documentary called Charles Manson: The Last Words. Helter Skelter is the made-for-television film that was made about Manson and the Manson family, yet was inaccurate and inflammatory, based on the bizarre book by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi (dubbed the “Bug” by the members of the Manson family). At some point in the book, in an attempt to portray Manson as the epitome of evil, the author ridicules the fact that Manson glared at him and caused his watch to stop. He uses this questionable story to make Manson almost supernaturally evil.
A more realistic film about the killers needs to be made, and Rob Zombie is the right person to do it, as evidenced by his attachment to the documentary. Zombie likes to mix violence with trippy psychedelia, which is very evident in his music, and there is no better story of violent psychedelia than Helter Skelter. Another reason was that Zombie, from his documentary, seems to know the objective truths about the case, while Helter Skelter was little more than a propaganda film that made Manson America’s boogeyman. Zombie can be trusted to tell the story as it really happened, and in a psychedelic way.