There are sacred cows, and then there’s . The original movie version of James O’Barr’s supernatural comic book series became a cult classic the instant it was released in 1994, and the love for it has only grown over the years. It’s easy to see why.
The movie, directed by Alex Proyas, had it all: a doomed love story at its heart, a timeless goth aesthetic that has inspired everyone from HIM’s to Ice Nine Kills’ Spencer Charnos, and a killer soundtrack that stands as one of the greatest the 90s had to offer. And then there was the heartbreaking death of star Brandon Lee as a result of a horrific on-set accident with a gun, instantly adding him to the pantheon of doomed big screen icons alongside James Dean and River Phoenix. Such was the impact of the original version of that even a string of increasingly godawful sequels couldn’t tarnish its reputation.
But now, director Rupert Sanders – of and fame – had decided to give it a go with new version of that’s being touted as a “reimagining of the original graphic novel” rather than a remake of the classic movie. In the credit column, it had the chameleonic Bill Skarsgård – aka coulrophobics’ nightmare Pennywise from the fantastic two-part remake – as strung-out anti-hero Eric Draven and acclaimed avant-pop singer FKA Twigs as his doomed girlfriend Shelly. In the debit column was, well, pretty much everything else.
The initial trailer was greeted with derision, with even original director Alex Proya.