The Mummy
Again, another tricky sell, but not too tricky. Joe Public will not remember the Boris Karloff original, but everyone will remember the uneven IndianaJones-knockoff franchise. To be fair, the first is fun, but Universal kind of shot itself in the foot with the sequels (Stephen Sommers is just a bad luck charm for them, if truth be told). So, the trick here will be to have fun, but not make it a swashbuckler. The general idea is absurd, and you would need a director who didnt see The Mummy as either a zombie or a wizard. This shouldnt be some CG-fest, but rather in the vein of something like The Evil Dead. Have a constant sense of dread, but play around with gore a bit more- this should be something that will make people jump and then laugh. Scare them, but dont make them lose sleep over it. Again, I think having it in Victorian times would give a director a (excuse the pun) sandbox to mess around with themes of british imperialism and ancient Mythology- after all, what better inspiration than the ill-fated discovery of Tutankhamen by Carter? Perhaps have some obsessed museum curator resurrect a mummy he thought to be a king, but turns out to be a less impressive Egyptian. Then have that mummy take his revenge on the team of British archaeologists who unearthed him? It can supernatural, and play on the effective horror trope of picking the team off one by one. Thrilling and contained. You need someone with less of a horror background as there is no real literary background or gothic tones to proceedings. Someone who can focus on characters, but understands the setting and mythology- Someone like David O. Russell, who has desert experience with Three Kings, and almost with Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, but has a dark sense of humour, as evidenced with Spanking The Monkey and The Fighter. As for the mummy itself, someone under prosthetics with a distinctive look? Someone in the vein of Arnold Vosloo, who was excellent casting, but someone with more gravitas? Perhaps Mark Strong? Team Russell and Strong with a composer who does excellent and familiar horror scores, like Christopher Young, and you have some gory entertainment with plenty of shocks and black humour to show the series isnt dour and humourless.
Again, another tricky sell, but not too tricky. Joe Public will not remember the Boris Karloff original, but everyone will remember the uneven IndianaJones-knockoff franchise. To be fair, the first is fun, but Universal kind of shot itself in the foot with the sequels (Stephen Sommers is just a bad luck charm for them, if truth be told). So, the trick here will be to have fun, but not make it a swashbuckler. The general idea is absurd, and you would need a director who didnt see The Mummy as either a zombie or a wizard. This shouldnt be some CG-fest, but rather in the vein of something like The Evil Dead. Have a constant sense of dread, but play around with gore a bit more- this should be something that will make people jump and then laugh. Scare them, but dont make them lose sleep over it. Again, I think having it in Victorian times would give a director a (excuse the pun) sandbox to mess around with themes of british imperialism and ancient Mythology- after all, what better inspiration than the ill-fated discovery of Tutankhamen by Carter? Perhaps have some obsessed museum curator resurrect a mummy he thought to be a king, but turns out to be a less impressive Egyptian. Then have that mummy take his revenge on the team of British archaeologists who unearthed him? It can supernatural, and play on the effective horror trope of picking the team off one by one. Thrilling and contained. You need someone with less of a horror background as there is no real literary background or gothic tones to proceedings. Someone who can focus on characters, but understands the setting and mythology- Someone like David O. Russell, who has desert experience with Three Kings, and almost with Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, but has a dark sense of humour, as evidenced with Spanking The Monkey and The Fighter. As for the mummy itself, someone under prosthetics with a distinctive look? Someone in the vein of Arnold Vosloo, who was excellent casting, but someone with more gravitas? Perhaps Mark Strong? Team Russell and Strong with a composer who does excellent and familiar horror scores, like Christopher Young, and you have some gory entertainment with plenty of shocks and black humour to show the series isnt dour and humourless.