Perusing the shelves at Blockbuster the other day, I noticed that quite a few remakes of horror films from the late 70s and 80s have appeared in the past few years. Halloween, Friday the 13th, Prom Night, Black Christmas, Last House on the Left, and When a Stranger Calls, among many others, have been remade or reimagined in the mid-to-late 2000s. And remakes of Fright Night and Nightmare on Elm Street are in the works. My question that day in the video store: Why this particular cultural phenomenon, why now, and what does it all mean? Why are these stories being reintroduced into popular culture at this moment in time? How might we interpret this trend?
One way to read the original versions of these films is as a commentary on generational failings. 80’s slasher flicks focus on teenagers who are typically killed soon after their ethical/moral transgressions. For these celluloid kids, having premarital sex, doing drugs, or shirking job responsibilities will result in some kind of blood-and-guts punishment. Many of these films similarly feature an elderly character who tries to warn the teens not to go into the house, or into the woods, or into wherever, but the kids always ignore that elderly person. Read against the backdrop of the Reagan era, these films become an interesting commentary on the unsuitability of the rising generation to take on adult responsibilities. The films essentially rearticulate a 1980s moral majority critique of the reckless, immoral sixties hippies who “ruined” America. I realize it’s odd to think of horror movies as conservative, but arguably there is a consistent ideology embedded in these films that reflects the broader society’s culture wars and generational divides in the late 70s and 80s.
Given this particular interpretation, what does it mean that these films have been remade in the 21st century? Is this generational critique being recycled? Perhaps these films resonate with our current discourse about “Generation Me,” or the “entitled” generation that supposedly populates our high schools and colleges today. According to some social scientists and cultural critics, this rising generation is narcissistic and discourteous; a whole slice of our population currently believes—as a result of permissive parenting and schooling—that they are all “special” and deserving of anything they want, whether they work for it or not. Hence the popularity of slasher films redux, depicting the slaughter of the self-important youth of today, with a new slew of ignored warnings from old folks telling them not to go in the woods. But I deserve to go into the woods, these kids seem to say. Perhaps this explains, in part, the currency of slasher remakes right now.
... and everyday life 
“80’s slasher flicks focus on teenagers who are typically killed soon after their ethical/moral transgressions.”
While this is certainly a particular characteristic of slasher films, horror traditionally deals with transgression and the punishment of the transgressors. Dating back to films like the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Freaks, horror films have often dealt with characters “straying from the path” as it were and partaking in unsavory or taboo behavior.
Overall I think you raise an interesting point about the nature of “generation me” and why these films might resonate with teenage and young adult film goers. However, you must also take into account the industrial aspect of these films. Slasher films are traditionally incredibly cheap to produce. The recent Friday the 13th remake cost $19 million. Considering advertising and other non-production related budgetary concerns, the film probably cost anywhere between $30-40 million to release. It grossed $91 million worldwide and I’d assume it has done decent numbers in rentals (despite DVD sales and rentals both declining). The numbers for other slasher remakes are similar. In addition, most of the directors of these films are young up and comers who work on the cheap–on time and under budget, as the old adage goes. For the studios, these films represent a low risk/high reward investment.
Now, your post gets at the question of why these films result in a high reward. While I think your conclusions are interesting and certainly play a part in the answer, it must also be taken into account that horror movies historically play well, capitalizing on a desire to be thrilled and shocked that dates back to the grand guignol and even further back to Greek tragedy. Horror and the horrific seem to speak to the human soul, allowing for traditional catharsis. Generation me’ers gaze safely as their proxies are slain on screen. The ritual is little removed from watching Oedipus come to the earth-shattering realization that he has slept with his mother and murdered his father.
Very thought provoking post.