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Lord Of The Flies Remake Update Makes It Sound Like A Full-Fledged Horror Movie-TGN

September 27, 2023

Summary

  • The new Lord of the Flies remake will be a scarier adaptation that leans into psychological horror, according to the movie’s screenwriter.

  • The previous adaptations of Lord of the Flies didn’t fully explore the brutal and gory moments present in the original book, which the new remake aims to do.

  • The challenge for the new adaptation will be maintaining the original novel’s themes of power struggle and justice, while also delivering on horror and gore.

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The new Lord of the Flies remake will be scarier than the original adaptation based on a claim from the movie’s writer. With the original novel released in 1954, the story of the anarchic governance fledged by desert-island-stranded British boys has long permeated through high school English class reading lists. Lord of the Flies has been adapted into two American movies, in 1963 and 1990, which were both met with mixed reception. Now, Lord of the Flies is being adapted yet again by director Luca Guadagnino.

Screenwriter Lindsey Anderson Beer opens up to Collider about the nature of this adaptation. Anderson Beer referred to The Lord of the Flies adaptation as a “psychological horror” whose “whole approach has been very fresh and refreshing.” Check out the full quote from Anderson Beer below:

“It leans so much into psychological horror and it’s so rich in character drama, as you would expect from somebody like him (Guadagnino). But it’s scary. It gives you so much unease reading it, and I think it taps into a more current version of it than we’ve seen before.

I think some people have tried to tackle that property in a way that doesn’t really resonate to now, and I think that the whole approach has been very fresh and refreshing.”

Lord Of The Flies Could Work As A Horror Film (On Some Key Conditions)

Anderson Beer is a newer name in Hollywood, but based on her upcoming credits, a horror-esque update of Lord of the Flies is not surprising. Anderson Beer co-wrote the screenplay for the upcoming horror sequel Pet Semetary: Bloodlines, which will have its fair share of gore. As the screenwriter indicates, Guadagnino is also no stranger to the grotesque after directing his cannibalism movie Bones and All.

Updating Lord of the Flies in this way seems like a reasonable approach based on the source material. While the previous versions were not as horrifically gory as they could have been, moments from the book, including Piggy’s death by a boulder and the sexual torture of an island Pig, lend themselves to more brutal takes. As a bold and unafraid director, Guadagnino can lean into these beats, and it seems the latest remake will fulfill the scarier style.

RELATED: Lord Of The Flies 1963 Vs 1990 – Which Movie Adaptation Is Better?

In making a “psychological horror” movie out of Lord of the Flies, Guadagnino and the cast should take great caution not to dilute the original novel’s themes. The book’s lasting impact came not from the individual moments of bloodshed but the allegorical horror of the struggle for power and justice within chaotic and corrupted government systems. Lord of the Flies’ premise is still intriguing, so long as the remake is careful not to prefer horror spectacle over thematic resonance.

Source: Collider