Sequel, and Requels, and Reboots; Oh My!
February has become one of those months where my brain has been pulled in several directions. Where my researching has been hyper focused on at least three things at a time. So, when trying to decide what my next article for Hanging would be I was torn, literally, because I felt that while my research has been so different there has also been a lot of overlap. It’s funny how that works, take my sleepwear article I did for Fango that came out at the beginning of the month. After living in that headspace, I found that that knowledge was becoming applicable into other spheres, the podcast, lectures, etc. How fitting in this new surge of remakes, requals, and reboots, that I was becoming one in my own work. Wanting to speak to what has been occurring on social media and commenting on this love/hate speech we like to propose forward. Arguments and debates abound. I started to wonder what these new designers tackling major franchises felt on the matter. How do you come into something that has been held so dear to the fans hearts and still make it your own?
Any horror fan, or movie fan in general now, will tell you that fan culture has significantly shifted from what it was for our parents. “Fan service” or the outcry on social media when things don’t go their way can be very disheartening for the artists involved. I’m sure these people wouldn’t want someone telling them how to do their jobs, so then why does it become okay for you to tell me how to do mine? I understand that when a movie becomes that comfort food for you and a personal connection is made you feel entitled to hold onto it so tight because you don’t want that image of it to be tarnished. I can’t say I’m totally innocent as I feel the same way about a few films, however I would never take these plights to social media and complain “en mass”.
The challenge of being a designer has always been how do I tell the story effectively through the costumes that I am presenting. Where do I scale back and where to I push the boundaries of who these people are? You want the audience to feel as if these characters could and do exist in our world. But how do you accomplish that with 4-8 movies that have come before it within its universe. The route that filmmakers have taken is to scrap every sequel and pick up from square one, basically saying that they could “do better” then the risks and choices made by those sequel filmmakers. I still haven’t landed on whether that choice serves the story or is an ego slap from newer filmmakers. But whether or not they are in this world they still exist in OUR world, and artists put their time and energy into making something that they felt needed to be told. The fans would like to keep this space tightly sealed in a vacuum of only that one film to hold precious to the thoughts and ideas established within that world, but unfortunately art does not exist that way nor do the ways in which we design.
As I think about the costume designers who have now been tasked with these newer adaptations of classic slashers, I wonder what hurtles they had to jump, beyond the normal ones, to create these characters. They are entirely of their own time and space, Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) in the new Candyman is different from Tony Todd, yet they can coexist in the same space and lore. Costume designer Lizzie Cook had the great task of paying homage to who we know the candyman to be but allowing the voice of Anthony to come though and be uniquely his own. We still had that beautiful brown suede coat with the fur collar, while modernizing the character and adding different textures and layers to his garment on our side of the mirror. Emily Gunshore is another example of a designer who has not only been given one franchise but two different near and dear slashers. She is responsible for Halloween (all of David Gordon Green’s work) and the new Scream. Two iconic worlds fandom twitter has been significantly more vocal about. While Halloween followed the system of scrapping its sequels and starting back at square one, Scream fully acknowledges its predecessors. The whole world is built upon what came before and we’ve had a different designer for each of them. Those are big shoes to fill.
Coming down from the high of the new Texas Chainsaw and the uproar this movie has caused, it has shown us just how tightly these fans are holding onto these films, dangerously so, that they don’t allow for breath. No two Texas Chainsaws have been consistent. So why is this one causing such a stir? Honestly, I don’t know, and I can’t put the blame in any one direction. What I will say is that when filmmakers are tasked with big shoes to fill, and they rise to the challenge. That right there is half the battle. No two fans will feel the same about a film and everyone will read it or take away from it very different themes or ideas. Olga Mekikchieva created a gritty space for these characters to live in, starting again from the place of the first film only. She built up contrast with the victims of Leatherface and created a world that is entirely its own but still feels familiar to us.
I guess wherever you land on the spectrum of love to hate with these films just remember the designers and artists behind them are humans. They felt the need for this story to be told in this moment in time, be it money or artistic integrity. If my ramblings have taught you anything is that remember how daunting it must feel to fill the shoes of those that came before you. Each of these women and many others have fully stepped up to the plate and allowed the voices that were establish be there while they brought their own vision into the mix. Art does not exist in an echo chamber for your individual enjoyment. How will the genre grow if we continue to “preach to the choir” so to speak?
