Alfred Hitchcock Classic Getting Remade Because That Worked So Well For Psycho
What if one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous films could have been a bit more like Scream? It may sound like something out of The Twilight Zone, but Universal Television has hired Scream scribe Kevin Williamson to produce four major projects. One of those projects is a television remake of the famous Hitchcock film Rear Window.
If Rear Window Has To Be Remade, We’re Glad The Scream Writer Is Making It
Even if you don’t recognize Williamson by name, chances are that you recognize some of the famous movies and shows he has worked on before being hired to remake Rear Window. In addition to Scream, he has worked on the major box office hit I Know What You Did Last Summer. On television, he has worked on iconic shows including The Following, The Vampire Diaries, and Dawson’s Creek.
Rear Window Remake Is Only Part Of The New Partnership
Kevin Williamson’s early writing success led to him developing his own production company, Outerbanks Entertainment. This company will produce the shows he is working on for Universal, including the Rear Window remake. So far, the business relationship is going well: in an official statement, Williamson said he was “thrilled to be part of the Universal Television family” because he now has “partners who believe, support, and inspire” him as he does “what I love to do.”
A Made-For-TV Remake Starred Christopher Reeves
Many film lovers have reacted to this news by declaring it downright blasphemous to remake Hitchcock at all, much less to remake one of his most famous works for the small screen. Interestingly, though, this isn’t the first time Rear Window has gotten a television remake: back in 1998, Superman actor Christopher Reeve starred in a made-for-TV Rear Window movie. In that TV movie, he played Jimmy Stewart, a paralyzed man who witnesses a terrible murder.
The earlier made-for-TV-movie notwithstanding, the notion of transforming a film like Rear Window into a television show may seem a bit jarring. However, you could say this idea has been in vogue for a while, especially when it comes to horror movies.
Not All Remakes Are Horrible
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for example, is an early torchbearer for the idea that a television remake can exceed the quality of its cinematic forebears. Other shows like Bates Motel and Westworld have been hit genre adaptations even as quirkier fair like Hannibal and What We Do In the Shadows have shown how thin the borders between adaptation, remake, and reboot are.
Horror Remakes Have A Good Track Record
The most common element among successful TV remakes is that they have creators with a real vision. He may be disgraced now, but there is no denying that without Joss Whedon’s boundless creativity, a Buffy TV show wouldn’t have been much better than the disappointing Buffy movie. Similarly, the Hannibal show would have been dead in the water without the brilliant mind of Bryan Fuller, and that series proved to be so good we’re looking forward to his Camp Crystal Lake show despite how crazy the idea of a Friday the 13th prequel show is.
A Scream-Inspired Rear Window Might Be Good
Given his string of successes in multiple genres, Kevin Williamson has certainly earned a place among those other major creative geniuses. We’re hoping that his horror auteur sensibilities will help make the Rear Window remake that much scarier (the original movie was more of a thriller). With any luck, it could eventually become a go-to answer if anyone ever hits us with the Scream-inspired question, “What’s your favorite scary series?”
