It's no surprise that Rebecca, Netflix's doomed 2020 adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Gothic novel, is getting slammed by critics: the project was a terrible idea from the very beginning. Even if Netflix's remake, directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Lily James and Armie Hammer, was a well-made movie, it was always going to struggle to live up to Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 adaptation. Unfortunately for Rebecca 2020, early reviews suggest that - not only is Rebecca not as good as the Hitchcock film - it's not even a good movie.

Rebecca tells the story of the unnamed Mrs. de Winter, the young second wife of mysterious widower Maxim de Winter, as she moves into his home and slowly realizes that her husband and the members of his household are haunted by the memory of his ex-wife, Rebecca. Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 adaptation has become one of his most celebrated films and trying to remake Rebecca was always going to be an uphill battle in comparison. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Netflix's adaptation is, by all accounts, a failure.

The problem with remaking Rebecca, one of the greatest films of all time, is that Rebecca 2020 is never going to live up to the 1940 film, and was going to be a disappointment in comparison no matter what. Director Ben Wheatley tried not to let the Hitchcock film impact his work, saying that, "the thing I fear is the book, it's not Hitchcock," (via CBR). Even if Rebecca 2020 was a competently made film that could hold its own (which early reviews suggest is not the case), there is no situation where it wouldn't have been unfairly compared to Hitchcock's masterpiece.


Netflix's new release could have made an attempt to avoid such comparisons if it had tried to differentiate itself from the 1940 Rebecca. Instead, director Ben Wheatley adapts the novel in almost exactly the same way that Alfred Hitchcock did before him, almost inviting comparisons between the two films. Rebecca 2020 manages to takes its cues from the Hitchcock film while also completely misinterpreting it, and disregards the eroticism and psychological drama that made the original adaptation so great.

Netflix further doomed its Rebecca remake by choosing Ben Wheatley to direct, as his work is very much an acquired taste in the best of circumstances. Wheatley's most high-profile project before being tapped for Rebecca was the black comedy-action film Free Fire, and his direction of Rebecca abandons his trademark non-linear, psychedelic style that might have otherwise made the movie - if not good - then at least interesting to watch. Instead, Rebecca 2020 makes no attempt to reinterpret the source material at all, and the remake comes across as directionless and unnecessary.

Netflix's Rebecca remake already had to make a tough case to justify its existence. Netflix didn't need Rebecca, as Netflix already has a great selection of horror films without it. The world doesn't need another Rebecca when it already has the excellent novel and the equally brilliant Alfred Hitchcock film. It's not at all surprising that Rebecca is getting terrible reviews, as the idea of Netflix attempting to remake Rebecca is, on all accounts, a terrible one. The unconventional choice to have Ben Wheatley direct combined with the uphill battle to escape comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece meant that, no matter how well-made this adaptation might have been, there's no universe where Netflix's Rebecca remake was a good idea.