Picture this: A room of extremely rich movie producers sit down around a table. Their only goal is to make money. One of the filthy rich producers says, “Guys, what if we just remade a classic movie that already exists?” This is obviously the easiest way to profit off of the nostalgia of innocent movie-goers. The producers laugh and agree: what an easy to way to make money!

Of course, I’m not saying ALL remakes are awful. Some are amazing and actually provide a new sense of style from a new director. One of the best examples is the original IT (1990) and its remakes, IT Chapter One (2017) and IT Chapter Two (2019). The remakes use modern film making technology and a bigger budget to make a truly terrifying movie that definitely outshine the original.

Remakes of movies that were made before decent film equipment was standard issue on any Hollywood set are also acceptable. The original Scarface (1932) is an excellent film. However, some people may see it as “outdated” due to it being in black and white and poor audio quality. The remake, Scarface (1983), does all the things the original does amazingly, but with a more modern feel.

Sadly, the majority of film remakes are shameless cash grabs that should be considered a capital crime. Some movies have been remade three, even four times. And Hollywood has no intention of stopping the seemingly endless flow of remakes and reboots. American Psycho,  The NeverEnding Story, War Games, and Scarface have all been announced as upcoming remakes.

Remakes play on an easily manipulated human emotion: nostalgia. The remake of The Lion King (1994) was falsely advertised as “live-action”, when in reality it was just very impressive CGI. However, most people were eager to overlook this lie just to see one of their favorite childhood movies remade with prettier visuals. The remake does absolutely nothing to deviate from the original.

Two genres suffer the most from remakes and reboots: horror movies and superhero movies. Horror movies are almost always followed up by two sequels, a prequel, a remake of the original, and a “soft reboot” of the series. Typically after the first sequel the message the movie had originally been trying to deliver is completely forgotten and profit is prioritized. Superhero movies also follow a similar format, with an endless army of sequels and prequels that ultimately confuse the average movie fan.

“There are too many versions of the same movie,” said junior Ryan Kennedy, referring to the superhero genre. “It makes enjoying the movie difficult.”

Junior Matt Curry expressed his frustration about unnecessary remakes.

“I haven’t even went to the theater in awhile because all the movies coming out are movies I’ve already seen, Curry said.

The only way to stop the production of cash-grabbing remakes is to stop supporting them. Don’t go see them in theater, don’t buy them on DVD, and don’t rent them from the video store. If they don’t make money, which is their only purpose, then they will stop being made. Then Hollywood may be forced to focus more on making quality, original films.