On the heels of my earlier comments about some commercial dude directing THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON remake instead of Breck Eisner, I can report that, according to the L.A. Times, Eisner will be directing another remake:  David Cronenberg's THE BROOD.

Eisner's remake of THE CRAZIES has been getting lots of love on other horror sites of late, but I'll reserve my comments on the film until I see it (and if it lacks the social commentary of George Romero's original, those who criticized Zach Snyder's DAWN OF THE DEAD remake for eschewing Romero's commentary on consumerism should be equally upset with Eisner). 

The one comment I will make is about a new type of director that's emerging in horror of late:  the sequel king.  Guys like Eisner and Marcus Nispel threaten to throw themselves into a horror ghetto where all they will be known for is remaking the works of true auteurs.  By attaching themselves to other legends' names, and continuing to make remake the works of others, they rob themselves of any original voice they should have as directors.  Snyder wisely moved on;  Nispel came back for more, and now it seems Eisner will too.  Any film is supposed to be the director's vision;  but do these directors have any vision of their own, or are they just the thieves of true visionaries?

Also, it doesn't help these young guns that Romero, Cronenberg and Tobe Hooper all wrote the classics they directed.  They were auteurs, and that's why their original films were so daring;  whereas even the people who genuinely enjoy the remakes never say that the new breed of directors is breaking any ground.

Read the full Times article here.

--Phil Fasso