Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk Eyed to Write Teen Horror ‘Idle Hands’ Remake, with Jason Reitman Producing

The teen horror genre has offered us a series of different titles. Some of which were good, some of which were horrible. But even among those horrible ones, let alone the good ones, there have been several cult classic titles, and Idle Hands, which came out in 1999, is a great example of such a movie.

Back in 1999, the film received mostly negative reviews and bombed completely at the box office ($4.2 million on a c. $25 million budget), but has since gained a cult following and is considered to be one of the classics of the genre, despite all of its shortcomings.

Well, as you can assume, in light of the remake mania that’s been hitting Hollywood in the last decade, Idle Hands is poised to get a remake, and some very interesting names are attached to the project. Which is why we have decided to report on the project.

Idle Hands was directed by Rodman Flender, written by Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer, and starring Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, and Vivica A. Fox.

The movie was projected to be a hit among the targeted demographic, but the movie flopped completely. In 1999, a budget of $25 million was a solid one, and when the film earned just $4.2 million at the box office, it was declared a failure. Still, Seth Green and Jessica Alba soon rose to stardom after this movie, while the other main cast members also ultimately managed to have solid careers.

As for the reactions, no one was satisfied with the movie then. The critics mostly panned the movie, with the two rare positive reviews coming from Gene Seymour of the Los Angeles Times, who wrote “what ‘Idle Hands’ lacks in originality, it makes up for in energy and insolence. It takes guts for a movie to indulge as much as this one does in proto-hippie humor and you find yourself tickled, in spite of yourself, by the movie’s nerve, if not its jokes.”

Jeremy Wheeler of AllMovie.com said that “It’s definitely a case of better than you think. This horror comedy is high on gags and giant doses of marijuana… as is the love for gore and decapitated hand insanity to entertain any happy horror fiend.”

But, in the decades after its release, the movie has gained a cult following, being loved for its quirky plot, the outrageous costumes, but also its great soundtrack, which contains some memorable tunes.

Of course, with the remake craze still holding Hollywood, such a cult classic also came into the spotlight and it seems that some interesting people might work on the project.

Variety confirms that Sony is working on a remake and that Jason Reitman is attached to produce it. As for the writers, the studio is eyeing duo Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk, who are poised to write the script but potentially direct the movie as well.

The duo is coming off from their festival hit, Hell of a Summer, a comedy horror that they co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in. Based on the success of that movie, the Idle Hands remake might be in good hands, and we know that Reitman is a skilled and experienced producer, so we might actually get a proper movie that will be received normally upon its release.

As for any other information, we are sad to say that there are none. There are still many open questions, but nothing has been revealed about a potential release window or cast members, knowing how these things work, it is possible that some of the original cast members return in one way or another.

This seems like an interesting project, so we are certainly going to keep you updated with all the news and information we get about the movie. Until then, be sure to keep following us!

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