Nollywood Remakes: Now A Current Trend
So far, we've had successful remakes of classic 'home videos' such as the 2020 remake of Zeb Ejiro's 1994 Nneka The Pretty Serpent, Idia Aisien filling Ndidi Obi's shoes as the evil seductress Nneka, with Ndidi Obi also appearing in the film as the Queen Mother, directed by Tosin Igho and written by Baruch Apata.
There's also the remake of late Amaka Igwe's 1995 Igbo film Rattle Snake (her first feature length film), which had 2 sequels, and starred Okechukwu Igwe as the main character, Ahanna, who falls into a life of crime but tries to go legit afterwards. Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story , released in 2020, starred Stan Nze as Ahanna, comedian A. Y (Ayodeji Makun), Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and veteran actor Chiwetalu Agu.
According to recent reports, the rights to Tade Ogidan's 1998 two part film, Diamond Ring has been acquired by Play Network studios, a remake on the works. Play Network boss, Charles Okpaleke emphasised on his Instagram handle it would be a remake and not a sequel like Living in Bondage: Breaking Free.' The original fim starred Teju Babyface (Olateju Oyelakin) as Chidi who gets into spiritual trouble after he and his fellow cultists invade the tomb of a deceased wealthy woman and steal her valuables, RMD playing his embattled father who raced against time to find the most important item or lose Chidi forever, Sola Sobowale as Chidi's mother and the late Bukky Zainab Ajayi as Chidi's clairvoyant aunt, with Liz Benson as the infuriated ghost bent on getting her precious property back.
Nigerian directors, producers and screenwriters should be highly praised for finally thinking out of the box and striving to actually rebuild the country's film industry rather than only embarking to sell as many films as possible via poorly written, poorly directed and predictable films. However, if they want to revisit more classics, they should be selective. The best way to do this would be the classics, while with interesting plots, could do with some reworking, especially if they were some plot holes, continuity issues or those completely or half forgotten.
Examples...
The President Must Not Die (2004), directed by Zeb Ejiro, definitely needs a remake because the film was just TERRIBLE.
The plot? The president (played by the late Enebeli Elebuwa) is kidnapped and the film's three heroines- apparently Intelligence agents- played by Marie Eboka, Ibinabo Fiberesima and Sonia Obiajulu are sent to rescue him. The film lacked character development, made use of stock footage (seriously???) and the film beginning with one of the heroines landing some whoop ass on a man and ended with her leaving the same bar and threatening to repeat what she did to another guy. The military uniforms used were not authentic looking, two heroines wore skimpy outfits while on the rescue mission, the dialogue poorly written, the fighting sequences not bad but could do with some improvements and even the brains behind the president's abduction ended up shooting himself, without the authorities even knowing why he arranged the abduction. Zeb Ejiro obviously had a poorly written script in his hands, it's a miracle anyone sat through it at all.
Zach Orji's debut film Unforgivable Sin (1991), is the story about a young man who runs afoul with his community over his choice of a wife, the situation leading to murder.
True Confession (1995) starred Liz Benson, Sola Fosudo and Zach Orji, directed by Kenneth Nnebube. The film focused on an aged woman narrating a damning story to her grown-up son after his political career is ruined by a scandal. Her excuse for what she did to her daughter in law (played by the late Jennifer Ossai) was ridiculous and despite the happy ending, the audience tend to forget Mabel got away with two murders.
Homeless, (1995) starred Francis Duru as a troubled young man constantly in and out of prison, who goes on a mission to force the society to pay attention to orphans and orphanages but went about it the wrong way, leading to a tragic ending.
The Blood Brothers also starring Francis Duru, played a young man who is constantly picked on by his stepmother (Obiageli Molube) and his spiteful half brother (Bob Manuel Udogwu), who was angered by their father's (late Sam Loco) favouritism. When the young man gains success in the city, the older half brother plots his downfall. This drama, which also featured Ejike Aseigbu, ended in a cliff hanger and a sequel never materialised.
Violated and Violated 2, was Amaka Igwe's second and third full length film, featuring 'Checkmate' alum Ego Boyo, RMD, Kunle Bamtefa, late Toun Oni and Mildred Iweka, along with veteran actress Joke Silva and Funlola Aofiyebi Raimi. Released in 1996, the story revolved around Boyo's character-Peggy- whose sad past may affect her future with her husband Tega (RMD). However, there two people from her past she can't let go of and a devious couple set out to destroy her. The plot was excellent but shot in very poor audio and visual quality.
Raging Storm and Raging Storm 2 (1997) were directed by Tade Ogidan and starred Francis Onwochei, Ronnie Dikko, the late Zainab Bukky Ajayi and Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey Inyang.
Onwochei played a man who joins a cult to obtain wealth after squandering his inheritance. However, the cult's master demands two very impossible tasks from him as payback after he obtains what he wants. The film's storyline was great with excellent visual effects, except for a scene that was irrelevant and ran a bit long- Dikko's character visiting the widow of the man who sexually assaulted her teenage daughter. The film ended in a nail biting climax but was followed by a rather disappointing sequel which ended via a deus ex machina. Hence, these two need reworking.
The Reign of Abiku (1986) or more commonly remembered as Abiku is not a full length film but a one-off short T. V drama that aired on NTA. Written by Sola Osofisan and produced and directed by Tade Ogidan, former child actress Farida Sanusi played Omotara, an only child of a couple who, unknown to them, is an abiku, (the Yoruba word for 'a child born to die' - a changeling who dies, then reborn, only to die again, constantly repeating the circle), visited at night by her fellow abikus from the spirit world. After she's unable to prevent her father's death, her time with her mother draws closer to an end, but she's rescued via a timely intervention. Winning several awards at the 1986 editon of the Nigerian Festival of Television Programmes (NIFETEP), this classic can be remade as a full length film today with additional characters and scenes and of course up to date visual effects.
Hostages and Hostages 2 (1997) was Tade Ogidan's first full length film, released in 1997. Tope Idowu and Ofuafo Otomewo played Tony and Fatima; an orphaned boy and a daughter of wealthy parents (Yomi Obileye and Ebele Okaro), who fall in love. When Fatima tells Tony her marriage to another man is being arranged, Tony abducts her out of desperation and a long chain of events begins. Idowu and Otomewo had zero chemistry, and Otomewo's acting was mostly wooden. Antar Laniyan's villainous character was over the top, the late Mohammed Danjuma was, in retrospect, played a not funny stereotype, even though his character was supposed to be the comic relief and several scenes were unnecessary dragged, which should have ended up on the cutting floor. The final scene was nail biting but the final shot left open ended, we could have at least been treated to a wedding!
After School Hours (1998) which was directed by Ifeanyi Onyeohor and released in 1998, starred Zo Queen Nwanga, a possessed school girl who murders several classmates and a teacher, causing panic and fear in the school. The horror mystery ended in a cliff hanger, Sandra giving her chilling last line, "when it is 1 p.m, I will tell you everything you need to know...after school hours." but a sequel never materialised.
There are many more 'home videos' that need a remake outside this list. However, with a new generation of writers, directors and producers and veterans ready to rebuild Nollywood, hopes of them making a wise selection to remake are very bright.
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