There are many films out there that can tastefully take inspiration from its successful predecessors and then there are films that attempt to ride a powerful box office wave such as the tidal wave of amazing films J.K. Rowling helped create and bring to life. In the varied case of the films on this list it would seem that the metamorphosis of the Harry Potter concept has taken it through dystopia, added vampires and other supernatural creatures, attempted to retell a fantasy story in a science fiction setting and continues to rehash the coming of age story tied to a chosen one concept believing it will hit Harry Potter levels of pay dirt.
J.K. Rowling is a phenomenal writer and story teller. She crafted these characters when she had nothing. Molded her personal life’s moments into some of these characters, like the dementors who represented a time in her life filled with depression. Most of the books the films in this list are adapted from are decently solid books with great characters and stories, some of which came long before Potter graced the pages of literature and the wrinkles of our brains. But most of the has above already been done…and done extremely and definingly well in Harry Potter! Transcending the genre.
With the onset of a new generation of Harry Potter spin off films I imagine other studios will continue to jump on the band wagon of making crappy Potter-Clones. With the recent vacancy of True Blood and Twilight I expect a continued bastardization of all three to continue to recur in new ways to waste our time and money. There are more films out there that have tried and failed, less than a handful have done well.
Filmmakers! (Yes I’m talking to you!) Go ahead and make your movies, but be original…take risks! But make them your risks not a rehash of someone else’s gamble that you’re repackaging. Trying to ride the mammoth wave, that is Harry Potter, is only going to wipe you out. Let alone trying to hide the obvious…that movies, like the list above are trying to use gimmicky concepts and steal ideas, masked as inspiration to attempt at winning over audiences. It doesn’t work. This audience is far more intelligent and discerning. Harry Potter set the standard and it is exceptionally high.
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Manny Camacho is a Miami, Florida based award winning writer and independent film producer whose current novel, I Think? No, I’m Sure…God Hates Me, is currently sold out of its first printing but will be available again on Amazon soon.
Follow him on @EmanuelFCamacho and on Facebook
Originally published October 28, 2014. Updated April 15, 2018.
