Synopsis:

With a shorter runtime, cut awkward jokes and poor VFX shots, and improved monster effects compositions in the finale, RePlucked offers a tighter, cleaner, better version of Willard Hyuck's 1986 film.

Intentions:

When Covid-19 hit and I was forced into isolation, I began a journey of watching bad movies. I feel that you can learn just as much from a bad movie as a good movie, and boy did I learn a lot. Then something unexpected happened. Howard The Duck (1986) is considered one of the worst movies of all time. A commercial and critical flop. I watched the movie on Netflix, preparing to have an informative time full of awfulness, based on what I had heard beforehand. But I didn't hate it. Not only did I not hate it, I liked it. This revelation shook me to my core. I came to the conclusion that the movie was not particularly good but had a good movie inside of it. Then I learned about fan editing. In such a short span of time, I had become obsessed. I bought my own copy of the movie and began the process of creating my own edit. I feel I now have a version of the movie, dubbed Howard The Duck: RePlucked, which I can enjoy again and again.

Change List:

Kept the duck breasts. Just sayin’. 00:04:32 - Removed VFX shot. Unnecessary, and green screen quality poor. 00:05:54 - Removed VFX shot. Unnecessary, and green screen quality poor. 00:05:56 - Removed VFX shot. Unnecessary, and green screen quality poor. 00:05:58 - Removed VFX shot. Unnecessary, and green screen quality poor. 00:06:02 - Removed VFX shot. Unnecessary, and green screen quality poor. 00:06:58 - Removed awkward line, “Hey, that’s my date!” I don’t find it funny, and it doesn’t make sense given the context of the scene. 00:09:39 - Removed “No more Mr. Nice Duck” line. Makes Howard more spontaneous and decisive, jumping out rather than delaying (also, it was strange to have him address the camera once and never again) 00:10:03 - Removed “Quack-Fu” line. Now he just attacks immediately after being provoked. 00:13:14 - Removed duck noises. 00:14:59 - Removed line about cleaning up after pets. Thought it was cringey. 00:15:19 - Swapped the third flashback of Howard in the chair with a different flashback. This keeps the shots from being too repetitive (as they are not giving us new information), and allows for an additional comedy beat, for anyone who finds it funny. Hoping to catch some people off guard. 00:28:51 - Removed awkward line, “Must be mating season.” Doesn’t make sense. Howard fucks all year round. 00:38:12 - Removed Phil’s cringey duck noises. Doesn’t make sense, as they were talking normally last time they saw each other. Also now makes Howard and Bev’s reactions funnier. 00:48:03 - Removed Phil’s line, “I could’ve been a contender.” I didn’t find it funny or worth taking away from the sentiment of his monologue. 00:52:08 - Rearranged and removed shots to hide awkward-looking animatronic body. 00:52:57 - Removed scene of Phil getting arrested. Not necessary. Also removed following scene of Howard and Bev overhearing the cops. 00:53:34 - Removed several shots, including lines referring to the previous scene. 00:55:24 - Removed line, “Oh, like a sex-change.” 01:01:04 - Removed eye glowing VFX shot. 01:01:09 - Removed eye glowing VFX shot. 01:02:49 - Removed slapstick pie stuff. Too repetitive and not necessary. 01:13:26 - Removed truck crashing into fence. Doesn’t make sense, the next scene is of the Overlord trying to be inconspicuous. Also removed following scene of cops. Unnecessary. Allows for a nice cut from the truck revving to Phil pulling the cord on the plane. 01:14:40 - Shortened scene, so it goes to Beverly soon after she gets mentioned, so one scene sets up the transition for the next. 01:15:10 - Removed unnecessary scene of the tour, so the Dark Overlord gets to his objective with more urgency. 01:15:50 - Removed unnecessary scene of the power plant employees, so we get back to Beverly sooner. 01:18:02 - Removed highway check sequence. Not necessary. Improve pacing. Also removed beginning of following sequence of Howard and Phil, to improve pacing. 01:19:35 - Shortened sequence, removing the plane crashing into the water. Fixes continuity error where Howard is dry in the next scene. 01:20:31 - Removed scene of Howard and Phil getting into the room with the weapon. It is slow and unnecessary. 01:24:16 - Removed “Bad Breath” sequence. Not necessary. Improve pacing. 01:27:10 - Shortened unnecessary VFX shot. 01:27:17 - Removed unnecessary VFX shot. 01:27:19 to 01:30:36 - Improved VFX shots. Colour corrected monster, so composite looks better. 01:31:36 - Removed cartoonish shot of monsters coming through the beam. Not necessary, doesn’t look the best, and now Howard shoots without hesitation. 01:31:40 - Shortened explosion sequence. Repeated sound effects went on too long and became distracting. 01:33:56 - Played end credits over final musical sequence. This puts less pressure on the scene, and shortens the runtime.

Additional Notes:

I watched the film and made note of the things I didn't like, anything that made me cringe or didn't make sense. One cut lead to another, and another and another. I began to think about the movie as a whole, what worked and what didn't. Not every problem could be solved, but each one that could make me happier and more confident. I continued until I felt I should stop.

Other Sources:

Special Thanks:

2ndBILLED & all the friends and family I forced to watch the original movie with me.