VIDEODROME, David Cronenberg’s body horror satire about television and media, is going to be remade by Universal. Award winning commerical director Adam Berg will take on duties behind the camera. The remake will be produced and written by Ehren Kruger (THE RING, REINDEER GAMES, TRANSFORMERS 2 and 3).
The original film starred James Woods as the CEO of a small cable station who stumbles upon a broadcast signal featuring extreme violence and torture. The layers of deception and mind-control conspiracy unfold as he uncovers the signal’s source and loses touch with reality in a series of increasingly bizarre and violent organic hallucinations. It is memorable for the image of Woods’ head being sucked into a television as well as the weirdest place anyone has every hidden a handgun.
Adam Berg has produced some visually stunning commercials, which are at the bottom of this article for your enjoyment. This could be an interesting remake if handled correctly. According to Deadline, Kruger’s script will modernize the concept, infusing it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller.
Part of what made VIDEODROME work was the claustrophobic nature of the movie. Sure, the conspiracy was widespread through television broadcasts, but the movie felt closed in and haunting. Making this into another TOTAL RECALL would be a mistake.
What do you think of remaking VIDEODROME?