Daily Inspiration Quote by Michael Berryman

It takes a certain confidence to call your own horror pedigree a “classic” while pretending you’re just shrugging at copycats. Michael Berryman’s line is a neat two-step: first he flatters the imitators by treating their borrowing as homage, then he quietly crowns the original as canon. The phrase “Imitation is flattery” is old, almost quaint, which is exactly why it works here; it frames the modern recycling of horror tropes as a timeless, even polite ritual. No bitterness, no gatekeeping - just a sly reassertion of status.

The subtext is about ownership and legacy in a genre that constantly remakes itself. The Hills Have Eyes has been rebooted, referenced, and absorbed into the broader language of American backwoods terror. By calling it a “classic,” Berryman isn’t arguing aesthetics as much as cultural durability: a film becomes classic when it keeps getting stolen from. He’s also defending the weirdness of the original. Berryman’s own screen presence - instantly recognizable, often reduced by outsiders to “shock value” - gets reframed as part of something foundational rather than merely sensational.

Context matters: actors from cult films often spend decades watching their work get repackaged without their names attached. This line flips that dynamic. Instead of pleading for recognition, Berryman implies recognition is already baked in. If people keep copying the template, the template wins.