Nostalgia for the ‘80s is gradually making way for a longing for the ‘90s, with the produce of the reboot mill following suit. Devon Sawa, the star of one of the most entertaining films of the decade, the horror comedy Idle Hands, has now put his backing behind a fresh take on the property if it’s updated to the present.
Released in 1999, the story follows Anton (Sawa), an almost unfathomably lazy stoner whose inactive nature leads to his hand becoming possessed by a demonic force (“idle hands are the devil’s playthings”) and begins acting independent of his will in order to kill anyone who comes near it. He tries to battle the hand’s new homicidal behavior with the help of his two best friends, the cute girl next door, and a foxy druid priestess, as violence and hilarity ensue.
Of the prospect of the film being remade, Sawa had this to say:
“I know it’ll never happen, but to reboot Idle Hands and have a new, young Anton and see what somebody does with the hand stuff. There’s such young, fresh talent nowadays, I would love to see what a non-‘90s version of Idle Hands looks like. I’m all for that stuff.”
Many actors are precious about certain movies they starred in, but Sawa is clearly interested in the possibility of reintroducing Idle Hands to a new generation. He previously expressed pre-emptive interest in a sequel being made as well, so he’s clearly eager to return to the properly in whatever capacity it would appear as.
There’s something quintessentially ‘90s about Idle Hands thanks to its style, aesthetic, tone and music (it even has a cameo by The Offspring), as well as the demon hand being played by Christopher Hart, a professional magician who performed as Thing, a quite different disembodied hand, in The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values. Were it to be revisited, its core audience would doubtless be people who were teenagers in the decade of its release, but updating it to account for the 20+ years since it first hit theaters might make it more appealing to younger viewers.