Strangers On a Train Jump Off

It is regrettable that a classic is only recalled when there is a dowdy spin-off, bit that’s the way things are. Hitchock ’s classic Strangers On a Train is now being remade in a teen avatar. The original novel by Patricia Highsmith on which Strangers On a Train was based, had two strangers who both had been spurned by their lovers, plan a criss-cross kill so that neither could be implicated with a valid motive.

The title for the new version is Teens On a Train. Hitchock buffs who are already cringing should stop reading here, the rest is a gross butchering of the beloved film. The teen movie has a boy meet girl oh so fresh plot where they meet on a train and they become star crossed lovers. Yawn. And the big fat twist is that the guy is a homicidal lunatic.

Looks like the only loon out here is the Teens On a Train who would make any Hitchock aficionado jump off a train in despair. Should have the man sued for culpable homicide. They are also stealing a smattering of ideas from Before Sunrise by Richard Linklater. Obviously their scriptwriter bolted screaming in despair and since then the producers have been doing an autopilot job with the storyline, savaging classics relentlessly.

These guys should look at the stats which say that every Hitchock knock off so far has bombed, and been panned and mauled by the critics to boot. So, lay off.