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So, confession time here: I spend an odd amount of time watching the 1986 film Labyrinth, considering I'm a twenty-two year old woman who didn't technically grow up watching it or anything. I checked it out for the first time when I was around sixteen, and although I didn't think it was a perfect movie or anything like that, I came away from it with three distinct impressions: 1) it was a perfect adaption of a standard fairy tale or fantasy storyline, 2) David Bowie was awesome, and 3) Jim Henson's style and the film's set designs were positively gorgeous, making it quite possibly the most beautiful movie I have seen to date. From that point on, I'd watch it fairly regularly, and it eventually got to a point where it's just become a comforting movie for me. Nothing can be wrong so long as Labyrinth is on, so if I'm having a bad day, I can just pop the movie in and come away feeling a little happier and a little bit more inspired.
So when I heard that Labyrinth was going to be rebooted, of course I had an opinion on the matter. Personally, I found the idea a little bit odd, and I wasn't sure I liked it. There are two huge reasons for why I like the original film, and these are Jim Henson and David Bowie. They made the movie what it was, because let's face it, the story isn't the main draw for the film. I'm not even sure the original film cared about the story. If they did, they wouldn't have meandered off to random subplots about creatures whose heads pop off and bogs of eternal stench. No, the whole film was just an excuse for Jim Henson to show off what he could do to create a magical setting and memorable characters, and it turns out that he can do a lot. Without Jim Henson or David Bowie, what does the film really have? Besides some stock plot about a girl trying to get her baby brother back from goblins, I mean.
This was my opinion for a long while, until my most recent viewing of Labyrinth (and by that, I mean last night) when I began to realize that maybe, just maybe, there were ways that this reboot wouldn't completely suck.
And before I begin, there has actually been some promising news as far as the development of this reboot, and by that I mean that Helmer Fede Alvarez has been signed on to direct the film. For those of you who don't know, Alvarez is best known for horror films like Don't Breathe - a very atmospheric film that does a great job of evoking emotion. Alvarez isn't Jim Henson, of course, but I think that's the point. If Alvarez has been cast on to direct, then I think that the intention is to take it in a similar but different direction altogether. And let's face it: the original Labyrinth had an eerie feel to it that I think a horror director could really do something with.
But there is something else that has been hinted at that absolutely must happen if I am going to approve of this reboot: it cannot be a remake. There is no way to remake the original Labyrinth. The original Labyrinth was built on Jim Henson's vision and David Bowie's awesome, and now that both men are sadly gone, there is no way to recreate that. However, that being said, I wouldn't be opposed to a sequel - something that has been suggested, but as far as I can tell, not quite confirmed.
And I don't mean a sequel where we catch up on what Sarah has been up to since 1986. I don't care what Sarah has been up to since 1986. In fact, the reboot can even steal the premise from the original movie for all I care: a young girl wishes for Jareth to kidnap her baby brother, Jareth obliges, and she's forced to travel through the Labyrinth to recuse him. But everything that happens from then on, all the creatures that she encounters and all the lessons that she learns all need to be original. I don't want to see Hoggle. I don't want to see Ludo. The only character that I want to return from the original is Jareth.
And when I say that, I don't want the reboot to try to replace David Bowie. They can't. It's impossible. I want to Jareth to return, but I don't want him to be some cheap look-alike. After all, Jareth is the Goblin King, isn't he? He's a fairy creature, and because of that, I'd totally buy it if everything about his appearance and demeanour were changed.
In the reboot, I want Jareth to be recast as some other iconic celebrity. The original intention for the Jareth character, after all, was for him to represent the id - he was hedonistic and ideal, and Jim Henson wanted to cast a rock star specifically because he thought that a rock star could capture that best. After considering which modern celebrity would best fill the role, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to see Lady Gaga in the role. While she might not be quite as iconic as David Bowie, she does capture that same sense of bigness, that same love of style and fairy-like androgyny, and she would be my perfect choice. However, that being said, I wouldn't be opposed to other suggestions - just so long as the reboot tries to take the character and the story in its own direction, while still capturing the magic and strangeness of the movie that I have come to love over the years.
Published by Ciara Hall
