Movie titles

Every time I go to the video store I seem to find a movie that I know of, but with a title that is very different. Take for example the Quebecer film : Saints-Martyrs-des-damnés. Here it is titled as Saw: zero. This makes no sense , since both pictures have nothing to do with each other and there is no Saw zero movie. Furthermore, the Quebecer film came out years before the Saw franchise even began assaulting theaters. I just find it funny, how some companies release a motion picture in another country and give it a title that connects to a known franchise without it being a part of it. Now, this is not a new thing at all. You can find many examples of this, like Zombie by Lucio Fulci was marketed as a sequel to George R. Romero’s Dawn of the dead. But, sadly these two pictures have no connections other than the fact that they have zombies in them. I thought that such a practice of making people believe that a particular picture to another had ended, guess I was wrong.

Still, when you go to your local video store, you can find low budget rip-offs of the latest blockbuster hitting the cinema. To the undetermined eye, the two movies will look the same and some people most probably get fooled by this lie. I don’t get fooled, but I am an avid filmgoer who keeps himself informed and I did my degree in film. So, it is normal for me to know such trivial things and find it important.

I know this entry is not only about Japan, but I find it interesting how some movies are promoted here. Especially, when I see one from back home being connected to one from the States when they have nothing in common other than both being horror movies.