Fan rewrites of bad movies seem to be becoming increasingly common - see the spate of Youtube videos rewriting one or more of the recent Star Wars sequels. It can be interesting to see what fans would do if given similar setups without the studio restrictions and pressure.
One such rewrite was uploaded to fanfiction.net last fall completely redoing the oft-delayed New Mutants film. The premise is the same - five mutant teens trapped in a facility with a morally dubious doctor while their fears come to life - but the execution of the story and the writing is much better.
When this fic was recommended to me, 3 big changes were pointed out. The character of Magik was rewritten entirely to be comics accurate, the Demon Bear was made real instead of being another one of Dani's illusions, and Emma Frost replaced Cecilia Reyes as the villain. Each of these changes greatly benefitted the story, but one thing that surprised me was the way elements which were just random in the film were reworked to great effect and the small changes to characters. For instance, the lie detector goes from being a pointless way to force exposition in one scene to an important plot device used in multiple scenes. It now makes sense in the story in a way it didn't in the actual movie.
Actions and events have consequences and are brought up again, unlike in the movie. Sometimes it's small, such as Roberto's offer of a million dollars to Sam being brought up again in a later scene. These small changes add a lot of character to the characters. Other times its big, such as the pool scene affecting how Roberto acts for the rest of the story. This creates a sense of flow to the story which was entirely absent in the movie. Characters also have more agency than in the movie, especially Roberto, and stronger arcs, especially Sam.
Making the bear real adds much-needed tension throughout the story, and Emma is a much more effective villain than Cecilia. The changes to Magik are perhaps the most important, as the increased focus she gets takes the burden of carrying the story off of Dani's shoulders. Her being a teleporter who could leave at any time is now a plot point instead of a plot hole and her powers are no longer a jumbled mess. Her new scenes with Dani are the best in the story, and the mystery is stronger as a result as well. Instead of a racist making bad jokes and pop culture refences, she's an 'enigma' nobody can understand. Dani is still the main POV character, but having more to look at from her point of view really helps.
If I had a complaint, it would be that the horror, while better, might still be weak. The bear's presence adds a nice sense of dread to certain scenes, but the scares remain lacking. Still, as a complete package, this fan version is far superior to the official product in every way, from the characters to the dialogue and story.
FanficRecs When the fans do it better than the professionals
Fan rewrites of bad movies seem to be becoming increasingly common - see the spate of Youtube videos rewriting one or more of the recent Star Wars sequels. It can be interesting to see what fans would do if given similar setups without the studio restrictions and pressure.
One such rewrite was uploaded to fanfiction.net last fall completely redoing the oft-delayed New Mutants film. The premise is the same - five mutant teens trapped in a facility with a morally dubious doctor while their fears come to life - but the execution of the story and the writing is much better.
When this fic was recommended to me, 3 big changes were pointed out. The character of Magik was rewritten entirely to be comics accurate, the Demon Bear was made real instead of being another one of Dani's illusions, and Emma Frost replaced Cecilia Reyes as the villain. Each of these changes greatly benefitted the story, but one thing that surprised me was the way elements which were just random in the film were reworked to great effect and the small changes to characters. For instance, the lie detector goes from being a pointless way to force exposition in one scene to an important plot device used in multiple scenes. It now makes sense in the story in a way it didn't in the actual movie.
Actions and events have consequences and are brought up again, unlike in the movie. Sometimes it's small, such as Roberto's offer of a million dollars to Sam being brought up again in a later scene. These small changes add a lot of character to the characters. Other times its big, such as the pool scene affecting how Roberto acts for the rest of the story. This creates a sense of flow to the story which was entirely absent in the movie. Characters also have more agency than in the movie, especially Roberto, and stronger arcs, especially Sam.
Making the bear real adds much-needed tension throughout the story, and Emma is a much more effective villain than Cecilia. The changes to Magik are perhaps the most important, as the increased focus she gets takes the burden of carrying the story off of Dani's shoulders. Her being a teleporter who could leave at any time is now a plot point instead of a plot hole and her powers are no longer a jumbled mess. Her new scenes with Dani are the best in the story, and the mystery is stronger as a result as well. Instead of a racist making bad jokes and pop culture refences, she's an 'enigma' nobody can understand. Dani is still the main POV character, but having more to look at from her point of view really helps.
If I had a complaint, it would be that the horror, while better, might still be weak. The bear's presence adds a nice sense of dread to certain scenes, but the scares remain lacking. Still, as a complete package, this fan version is far superior to the official product in every way, from the characters to the dialogue and story.