First, you should know that the title is not a massive typo brought on by any outside influences or brain farts.
Yes, the Syfy Channel has a history of creating “B-” movies and airing them on Saturday nights. With heads that roll like bowling balls and blood that squirts out in bucket loads, Syfy actually intends for them to be popcorn-like, B movies. They aren’t mistakes, they’re calculated marketing tools. They’ve consistently brought in almost 2 million viewers each Saturday night that they air. Of course on occasion, they surprise me with a real movie that plays on Saturday night, but come on, who can beat giant sharks leaping out of the ocean to bit airliners in half?
Now it seems as if Syfy is going to try and capitalize on real movies with stories that darken up classic stories or fairy tales.
They’ve done fantastic jobs with their twisted takes on Alice in Wonderland, aka Alice and The Wizard of Oz, aka Tin Man. Now we’re going to get some reworking done to a few more classics from our past!
Red — A young woman who is a descendant of the real Little Red Riding Hood brings her fiancé home, where he meets the family and learns about their business – hunting werewolves. He’s skeptical until bitten by a werewolf. When her family insists he must be killed, Red tries saving him.
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Hansel — Twenty years after his encounter with the witch, a grown-up Hansel returns to the haunted forest, seeking revenge. But there’s a surprise waiting – his sister Gretel (who he thought had been killed) is the witch’s protégée.
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8TH Voyage of Sinbad — Sinbad searches for the golden head of the long lost Colossus of Rhodes and, instead, discovers an island where the mythical Minotaur still rules, protecting a vast treasure. Sinbad and his crew have to battle the creature and its minions to get the treasure and save their own lives.
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Aladdin (working title) — After accidentally releasing an evil genie from an ancient lamp, Aladdin must find a way to imprison the genie again before it wreaks havoc on the world.
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Black Forest — A group of naïve tourists take a sightseeing tour into a supposed enchanted forest, where they encounter evil creatures from the world of fantasy. Trapped in the Black Forest, their only hope of survival is fighting their way out.
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I think the cheesy Saturday night movies that Syfy brings to us are actually brilliant forms of marketing strategy. If you’re just looking for fun stuff, they’ve got that. If you’re looking for the classic hot chick in a wonderfully tight tank top, you’ve got that! Sometimes you get the guys with big pecs too. But amongst the gripping tales of unbelievable whoa, are ads for all their other shows from throughout the week. These productions cost roughly $2 million a piece via international co-production. Syfy works with around 10 indie film studios who also distribute the DVDs.
It really is a no brainer, not to mention that by making these original movies puts Syfy on top with the title of being the most prolific original content creator. That has got to beat endless reruns for sure.
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Saturday, February 27th brings the first of these 5 originals to the air with
Beauty and the Beast, starring Estella Warren (Planet of the Apes), Beauty and the Beast is not the traditional Disney fairy tale. In this gritty celebration of Valentine’s Day, a young Beauty (Warren) with a gift for healing helps a deformed Prince (Rhett Gilles, Wraiths of Roanoke) regain his throne and defeat the ruthless nobleman who wants to be king — and then together they try to destroy a power-hungry witch. Beauty and the Beast was directed by David Lister and written by Gavin Scott.
Sources: Syfy Press, Hollywood Reporter.
