What horror film remakes do you think exceeded the originals and which ones were actively terrible/completely pointless?
These are mine (not a complete list but gives a general idea of my thought process):
Best - The Thing, Suspiria, Invasion of The Body Snatchers 1978
Worst - A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010, Pulse, Jacob’s Ladder
TIL they remade Jacobs ladder. How stupid.
Another egregious one was a remake the 2007 French film Inside, which was done in 2016 I believe. Who ever green lit these projects at least should’ve made sure decent directors/actors were attached to them. Just trying to cash in on other successes/ideas in a very lazy way
The martyrs remake was a travesty.
They made a remake of Martyrs? Why? Just why?
I can say definitively that, not having seen that movie, it was bad.
Not in freedom language.
The remake wasn’t in French?
I think they mean that, like a lot of films made outside of the US, it just got remade by Hollywood.
For some reasons, it seems impossible for Hollywood to just dub a film in english (like how we, the other countries, simply dub american films in our languages).
It was a common trend in the 2000s and 2010s. We got for instance :
Those american remakes are available with french dub in France. Pretty sure it's same with the countries the original versions are from.
Ooo yeah cabin fever was baddd. Why did they remake that!?
Not to yuck your yum but the cabin fever remake is one of the best?! That's insane to me.
Look again. MacGruber didn't do the greatest job of visually separating his two lists, but Cabin Fever is under "some of the worst."
Reading is hard. My bad, I agree with this list now.
That’s my bad guys, I’m not the greatest with formatting lists at times, plus I was driving back from Minneapolis to Winnipeg after the Morgan Wallen concert last night at US bank stadium, I’m exhausted lol
Morgan Wallen
Everyone likes a train wreck.
Lol, yeah he’s not my cup of tea but my god that venue was not the greatest for a concert. Terrible sound quality, tons of echoing. Got a bit better when Wallen came on as I’m sure they turned on more speakers but yeah not even close to being one of my favourites. Also that roof is 60% transparent so I shit you not for half the concert was like having the lights on lol, the show was at least 5 hours long though. But with that being said it was really crazy to be in a stadium with 60,000+ fans. Looking forward to going back for Metallica x2 in August with Green Day at the baseball stadium all in the same weekend, payback time for the wife for taking me to that country concert haha
Thanks for clarifying. I thought "Some of the Worst" was the name of a movie.
No love for House of Wax???
I think the highlight of that movie for me was that it introduced me to the song Helena.
HOUSE OF WAX IS A REMAKE? thank you for this information
The remake with Vincent Price?
Is the Price one a remake too? I was talking about the Paris Hilton one
The original is not called House of Wax, but yes. I thought it would be a funny joke
Oh shit I never knew that, triple remake!
Yeah, the original is called Mystery of the Wax Museum from 1933.
The trifecta of excellent remakes 50s -80s: the blob, the fly, the thing.
I'd say Suspira (2018) is the best because it's brave enough to not recreate the elements that made the original so iconic, and instead went in the exact opposite direction in many ways.
Shot for shot and/or word for remakes would be the most pointless... stuff like Psycho or The Omen.
But for me the worst type of remake is when the original was perfect in the first place. So I'd throw the Jacob's Ladder remake out there.
The Suspiria remake was such a pleasant surprise. Went into it expecting the worst but it’s a completely different movie and I loved it
For your last point, I'm really skeptical of how the new Possession remake that's apparently in the works is going to turn out. I'm excited for everyone to discover such an awesome movie, but it's literally a perfect movie in my opinion, so I really doubt they're going to capture the magic that makes it so special.
Yeah, I feel the same. Possession is probably in my Top 10 horror movies ever, so part of me doesn't want a remake. But I'm also fascinated about how it would turn out.
But for me the worst type of remake is when the original was perfect in the first place.
What are your thoughts on the TCM remake?
I've only seen it once, and that was in the theatre way back in 2003. I don't remember being particularly impressed.
Generally, I'm not a fan of slashers anyway. But the original TCM is in a league of its own. I've seen the original a bunch of times, and it's probably the one and only film regarded as a 'slasher' (even though it's way more than that) that I'd call a masterpiece. And so any remake would feel unessesary.
Did they use the goblin soundtrack or use something else?
It was Tom Yorke from Radiohead who did the soundtrack and it was really different to the Goblin music. It's not bad... but I don't think anything could top the soundtrack of the original.
The Hills Have Eyes remake is one of the best horror movies ever made so definitely that for the best remake. For the worst I would go with Flatliners. Biggest disappointment anyway.
Good picks, and oof, yeah, Flatliners was bad.
Fright Night is my favorite. I wouldn’t say that it exceeds the original as the original is one of my favorite horror movies, but the remake is just as good in a different way. It takes the basic story premise but then goes in an original fresh direction with it rather than trying to just copy the original which I think is the best way to handle a remake since just trying to imitate an already great movie is pointless.
I also liked the 2007 Halloween remake for the most part but not with the ending that they went with. This was another remake that was taking the basic story premise and then going in an original fresh direction with it instead of just copying the original, but it needed the alternate ending to best complete that new direction. The ending that they actually went with fit better with the 1978 original story, but did not work for the story that the remake was telling like the alternate ending would have. I edited together my own copy of the movie to replace the ending with the alternate ending and I love it like that.
The Fright Night remake is better than it had any right to be. The original is obviously a classic for a reason, but the remake is just a ton of fun and the cast is fantastic. It put enough of a fresh spin on things to keep it interesting!
Thank you for mentioning fright night! I really liked that one too, but it had slipped my mind so thank you for reminding me!
And I’m glad RZs Halloween isn’t getting shit on. I actually respect that he clearly had reverence for the original and at least tried to do something new with it. I can get why it didn’t work for some people, but I really liked some sequences. The Joe grizzly scene was good enough to have been in the original, imo, and I think that movie is a top 5 film of all time. So I’m glad you were into it also. And your edit sounds like a cool idea! I hope you break that out every October and vibe on it!
It's not great, but I think it did something different better than the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake
I agree. I think the TCM remake completely missed the point. The original looked and felt gritty, hot, unpleasant and sweaty. The remake was essentially slick and michael bay influenced to look like a car commercial. The only thing I liked was the closeup of Jessica Biel’e butt.
I actually think that the slickness was mostly due to Daniel Pearl and Marcus Nispel, not Michael Bay. I actually think it worked really well for the Friday the 13th remake, but not for TCM.
And the main issue I had with the remake is how boring it was. I don't know why I felt that way, but maybe it was just repetitive, as I had heard from other people, although I didn't notice it. It feels weird that people consider it one of the best slasher movies, because I've seen a few dozen better slasher movies than the TCM remake.
I really don't understand what people like about it unless they were nostalgic for when it came out.
Have to disagree with you on the Fright Night remake. Just didn’t have the same energy as the original.
Best- The Thing and The Fly
Worst- A Nightmare on Elm Street and Flatliners.
Best .... The Grudge (2004)
Worst ... The Grudge (2020)
I was intrigued by all the hate for The Grudge (2020) so bought it on DVD for like £2, and wow, there is something really weird and 'off' about that movie. I can't really explain it but I had to shut if off after about 10 mins, it's like it was shot by aliens who have spent decades learning about movies but they don't quite understand them, because they are aliens.
Oh god, yup :(
Isn't the 2020 one a sequel?
Not really.... practically nothing in common.
The Best: The Blob 1988
The Worst: Blood Feast 2016
I'd say Friday the 13th (2009) is up there among the bests, if it counts as a remake. Way more fun than most of the movies from the original timeline. Jason is absolutely brutal in that one.
I like this one. Jason was extra brutal.
I loved it too. Go in expecting nothing. It was great!
Yeah I prefer it to most of the original timeline films, with the exception of 2, 4 and 6
Haven’t seen part 2 all the way through. I need to check it out. Tick off that “bag head jason” box.
Has the best hero character in the series: Ginny. It's pretty solid.
I think that the F13 remake is actually the best movie in that franchise. It just excels where the others fail. It’s good cinematography, Jason is intimidating as hell, and I didn’t fall asleep halfway through.
I don't know if I agree. It's one of the better ones, but I think Part 4 has the best cinematography, better characters, and scarier with a more intimidating Jason, Part 2 has the best character in the series, and Part 6 is a lot of fun.
But he doesn't act like Jason. Jason doesn't take live prisoners. Plus a mine next to a lake. No, that's not how that works. Also Supernatural dude as the final girl, c'mon.
Best: The Thing, The Fly, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Worst: The Fog, Psycho, The Wicker Man.
The big three remakes in your best list. Awesome.
Edit: Why am I getting downvoted for literally agreeing with the consensus.
Best: The Ring! And Evil Dead. My comfort horror movies.
The Worst: No opinions really, maybe The Omen
Best — The Woman in Black (2012)
Worst — Martyrs (2015)
Against my better judgement, I watched the Martyrs remake a few days ago, and I'm still mad. I immediately rewatched the original the next day.
They remade Jacob’s ladder???
Yes, an abomination
💩💩💩
Best - The Thing ('82), The Blob, The Fly, Bram Stoker's Dracula ('92), The Ring, Suspiria, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, House of Wax, Piranha, It: Chapter One, Sorority Row, My Bloody Valentine, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes
Worst - The Fog, Carrie ('13), The Stepfather, When a Stranger Calls, Child's Play, Flatliners, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Amityville Horror, Black Christmas ('06 & '19), Poltergeist, It: Chapter 2, The Wicker Man, The Omen
Forgot about child's play. Man, that was so bad!
Worst: Psycho (1998)
Best: The Fly
The imo was the Evil Dead. The worst (or one of them) was Carrie.
People hate on Nightmare on Elm Street(2010) but I loved the remake
I hate that movie so much
How?
I mean the story wasn’t amazing but the actor who played Freddy was pretty badass
I think the actor playing Freddy was the highlight.
Jackie Earl Haley is pretty much the only redeemable thing about that film.
He really is an amazing actor, and I think he did what he could with that role, but can we take a second just to acknowledge how great an actor Robert Englund is? I’m not even a fan of Freddy but that was a fully realized character even in the weakest of those movies. There’s never a second on screen that’s false, and there’s never a second where I see the actor at all. He is an extremely talented actor who got pigeonholed into horror, but at least he has a very long and successful career. But if you watch some of his earlier performances, he has some amazing range and held his own against some top notch actors. I mean, going from V where he played the sweet alien to Freddy back to back is about as far a swing as you can take. So I shout him out whenever I can. He’s a much better actor than most people realize, and I think when you compare the two Freddy’s, both by really talented actors who give excellent performances, you can really see how much charisma Englund brought to that role.
Okay, off the soapbox!
He was, I honestly wish we saw his version more. I loved the little ticks he gave the character like the moving his finger knives fast
Freddy was played by Jackie Earl Haley who was Rorschach in Watchmen
And Kelly slater in bad news bears!
This is a take I don’t get at all
I like it better than the original.
Best: The Fly
Worst: Nightmare on Elm Street
Funniest: The Wicker Man
Hard agree from me
Worst: "The Turning" (2020) The remake of "The Innocents" (1961).
Why, just why
I don't think it's a remake so much as a new adaptation of the Henry James novel. It is really bad though.
Also not helped by being released the same year as a much better take on "The Innocents", "The Haunting of Bly Manor."
By that logic, I'd include The Others among the best remakes.
Best
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
Worst
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
2019 black christmas was beyond awful, texas chainsaw massacre 2022 and halloween kills.
Martyrs 2015, I was unlucky enough to watch it, thinking its the original….
Best is hard to say I like RZ Halloween a lot, it made me obsessed with the series and made me go back and appreciate those originals so much more. That’s my favorite and recently like in the last 2 years I went on a evil dead dive in and so enjoyed the remake as a stand alone movie. So my 2 are Halloween and Evil Dead, Not the worst but I didn’t like the fires tarter remake too much. The original was crazy, stupid and complex at the same time I loved it lol remake was blah blah blah Zac efron
Godddddd the Pet Sematary remake was fucking awful. I literally fell asleep watching it.
I can only talk about films where I have seen both the original and the remake so I have to leave out The Thing, The Blob etc
So
Best:
Evil Dead (2013)
Evil Dead II (1987)
The Ring (2002) (the original and the remake both have their flaws, if you took the best parts of both and combined them it would make an absolute classic)
Dawn of the Dead (2004) (although it's been ages since I last watched it, and it may not hold up seeing as I really dislike Snyder generally)
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
IT (2017)
Hellraiser (2022) (although I wish that we got to see what the makers of Inside and Livid would have done with it....)
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Worst:
First of all, life is too short to watch awful remakes, so I have never even bothered with the likes of Day of the Dead (2008) or Pulse (2006) which just seem like obvious stinkers
Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009) (Rob Zombie is like the Frank Miller of horror films. He's obsessed with turning female characters into prostitutes and you're obsessed with making every character a redneck. ENOUGH!)
Carrie (2013) (thought this one was going to be fine, but it really missed the mark IMO)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) (just a disappointment all around. I can't even give props to Jackie Earle Haley, his performance wasn't memorable at all)
tentative addition: A Monstrous Corpse (1981). This is basically an unlicensed and unofficial South Korean remake of The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (1974). Putting it as tentative because it's just pretty dull and I'm struggling to finish it so I can't judge all of it... but so far it's definitely inferior to the original
Suspiria (2018) (I will never understand the praise for this movie. It such a pretentious bore of a film, and honestly feels more like a spin-off of Possession (1981) than a Suspiria remake)
EDIT: I completely forgot about Maniac (2012). Definitely one of the best remakes
Best- It
Worst- Nightmare on Elm Street
I'm going to take the opportunity to expose one of my pet peeves. The Thing is not a remake of The Thing From Another World. They are two very different movies that happen to be based on the same source material. To my understanding, The Thing is far more faithful to the book, so it seems absurd to suggest that it was based on the previous movie in any meaningful sense.
I think it's sort of a remake but also sort of another adaptation, Carpenter is a massive fan of the original film so an argument can be made it is a remake, he definitely had the original in the back of his mind while making it. It's a weird question that I see pop up occasionally, does the presence alone of an earlier adaptation mean all subsequent adaptations are regarded as remakes or are they simply another stand alone adaptation unless they are directly trying to remake elements from the previous film.
I think Carpenter's The Thing could be argued as a remake and could be argued as another separate adaptation and both are valid arguments.
Dude I thought I was going crazy thinking people were saying The Thing (2011) was a remake AND it was good 😂 people think The Thing (1982) was a remake??
Best Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake
Worst Nightmare on Elm Street
bonus worst, The Ring
Bonus Best It Chapter 1 and 2
TCM was the best? I don't get that at all. I thought it was a poor man's Friday the 13th. Although Nispel redeemed himself with Friday the 13th remake.
Also The Ring was good.
Best - Evil Dead 2013
Worst - Child's Play 2019
Worst: Nightmare on Elm Street remake.
Best: Cape Fear.
Cape Fear’s an unconventional choice, but an argument could definitely be made that it’s a horror film.
Thanks. Bobby D really ramps up his performance to a monster-level big bad.
“Oh counselor…”
Best - The Thing (obviously it’s a classic) or Dawn of the Dead (one of my favorite horror movies ever)
Worst - The Hitcher or Psycho were both pretty awful
Best: invasion of the Body Snatchers ‘78, Nosferatu’79. Worst: the Haunting, the Wicker Man; there are others I’ve avoided seeing or I dislike but those two deserve to be defecated on.
The Fly is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen, and one of my favorite films so it’s hard to say anything other than that.
As for worst it’s hard to say because there are so many candidates. The Fog, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Prom Night quickly come to mind.
Evil Dead 2 is obviously the best.
In a way it is a remake of the first, but I guess more of a reimagining of the first.
If it's permitted, I agree Evil Dead 2, if not Evil Dead 2013
I'm not disagreeing, but imo if a remake isn't a reimaging it's probably crap.
Evil Dead 2 is definitely a remake, and definitely a reimagining. But it's also definitely the same story.
I thought the Hellraiser and The Thing remake was pretty good.
Best: Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead
Worst: Nightmare on Elm Street , The Fog
The worst imo are the American remake in general, inside... Martrys, oldboy!
Not horror but the killing, like how far can you drag this shit out cmon
Man, I forgot they remade Jacob’s ladder!
And man, they ruined pulse. Putting static on that weird ghost from the original? Why? How could anyone have thought that was a good idea? I mean, the Japanese one makes no sense (to me anyway) but it has some of the creepiest shots and sequences ever filmed. How do you watch that movie and think anything they did to it was an improvement?
There’s a remake of Jacob’s Ladder? Oh god…
Best Fright night 2011 dawn of the dead 2004
Worst - Poltergeist
Best: Manic, fright night, and The ring Worst: Dawn of the dead, nightmare on elm street, and Dawn of the dead
Best - suspiria
Worst - the wicker man, particularly the version I watched that didn't have nic cage being attacked by bees for 5 min 😡😡
I don’t know if the last jeepers creepers count as a remake, but it was just terrible
Best: Evil Dead (2013)
Worst: The Strangers - Chapter 1 (2024)
Personally, the best would be Night of the Livind Dead (1990) Dawn of the Dead. (2004) Worst would be Day of the Dead (2008) and Day of the Dead Bloodlines (2018, I believe)
(In case you didn't notice, I'm a sucker for everything George Romero)
Thwo thay I consider good, but have people divided: Pet Sematary and The Thing (this one is more like a prequel), and Suspiria.
I think the it remake was awesome. And I'm a long time fan of the original.
Evil Dead was crappy cuz it ditched the one thing the original did well - subverting the Final Girl trope.
Hulu's Hellraiser was soooo close to being a good reboot... if only they had the original Pinhead actor playing the same Pinhead in it, it would be my favorite remake. Instead they changed the gender and actor. I'm not opposed to a female Pinhead, I just miss Doug Bradley and the way he speaks.
Actually sorry these are Reboots I think.
Idk about best but night of the living dead always felt like a good tribute with a good ending
Also I like the don’t be afraid of the dark remake
The Evil Dead remake was pretty good!
The American Martyrs can go straight in the trash
Best
Invasion of the bodysnatchers (1978)
The Thing (1982)
Worst
The Fog (2005)
The Wicker Man (2006)
Trying to go for ones people haven't mentioned yet:
Best - House on Haunted Hill
Worst - The Haunting
Best dawn of the dead. Worst poltergeist
Good? DOTD. It was the first time I'dvever seen zombies haul ass! Bad? Carrie. Why TF would you have a beautiful blonde up and coming actress play the part of Carrie? Sissy Spaceck, sorry, but she's a little hard on the eyes, but still a lot closer than King's version, which was a chunky girl with pimples. than the character in the 2013 remake who was ,,,well,,hot! The homely and awkward, introverted character is what made Carrie Carrie, not Chloe Grace! You decide! You let the right one in! (See what I did there?? Chloe?..Let me In?? Get it?? Get it?>? oo too much coffee!! oh btw, there was supposedley a remake before Chloe's..have'nt seen it. Toodles!!
Better than the original: The Amityville Horror
Almost as good as the original: The Hills Have Eyes, Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead
The original French/Dutch version of “The Vanishing” is a classic. The American remake with Jeff Bridges and Keifer Sutherland is considered one of the worst movies ever made.
Best: I Spit on Your Grave, IT, Dawn of the Dead Worst: Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Finally someone who agrees that Texas Chainsaw Remake was bad. Everyone talks about how it's one of the best remakes, and I don't understand why.
I really don’t either I thought it was pretty bland. Also wasn’t thrilled with the self important rich kids gentrifying and fetishizing small town America trope
You taking about the 03 remake? It's one of my favourites, lol.
Noo the 2022(?) I think it’s on Netflix
Oh I thought you were talking about the 03 remake
2022 was reboot. 2003 was remake and it was actually really good. 2022 reboot was really bad.
The 2003 was still pretty mediocre. It is a C/D-tier slasher movie.
Technically - the Thing was not a remake but a prequel.
Best: Evil Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Carrie, Fright Night
Worst: Hellraiser, Cabin Fever (Patient Zero - not sure that was intended as remake or not), Firestarter, Carrie, Fright Night (ESP Fright Night 2)
The Thing (1982) is absolutely a remake of The Thing From Another World (1951).
D'oh! I knew that...
Best:
Evil Dead
Halloween
The Thing
The Hills Have Eyes
Worst:
The Fog
Nightmare on Elm St.
Best: TCM 2003, Last House on the Left 2009 & Maniac 2012
Worst: Black Christmas 2019
Is Black Christmas even a remake? It has nothing in common, with the original...
Well, some of these are remakes of sequels with the original still being og, but in my opinion:
Best
The Thing
The Hills Have Eyes
House of Wax
War of the Worlds (2005)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Fly
Piranha 3D
The Grudge
The Ring
The Blob
Dawn of the Dead (Even though I think the original is better)
Worst
Child's Play
Wrong Turn
Black Christmas (2019)
The Fog
Day of the Dead: Bloodline
Halloween 2018, Kills, Ends
The Strangers: Chapter 1
The Grudge (2019)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Worst: The Hitcher, Nightmare on Elm Street, Fright Night
Best: The Blob, The Thing, My Bloody Valentine
Did you just say Fright Night was the worst and My Bloody Valentine was the best? I mean Fright Night wasn't great, but it's better than My Bloody Valentine Remake. MBV made a really cool and underrated slasher and remade it into a terrible cop drama with a terrible romantic subplot, because the actors looked like they hated being there.
I love both versions of MBV. I thought the remake did a great job of messing with people like me that knew the original so they thought they knew the remake. I still watch both at least once a year, sometimes back to back, and think they both hold up really well.
The only good things in Fright Night were Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Colin Farrell. Anton Yelchin was a great actor, but Fright Night was just so poorly done in every respect that only Farrell and Mintz-Plasse did anything to try to elevate their poorly written characters.
Sorry if it came across that way, but I don’t mind that they changed the entire plot of the movie, I just don’t think it’s a very good movie. That’s my main issue with it, I think that it did something right by keeping the mine and Harry Warden, which I think are really the only things you need in a remake. You can change the rest of the plot, I just don’t like that plot. Hopefully that cleared it up.
See, I liked the way they used the plot. First, like the original it wasn't your typical teen in danger slasher, but actual adults. Second they really fucked with you if you saw the original. The killer twist in the original kind of comes out of nowhere. They use the whole police aspect in the remake to complete misdirect fans of the original by making you think it is the same killer as the original. They also made Axel a character with the new story. The only thing he was in the original was "jealous boyfriend." Now he is actually a nuanced, flawed character and they do a great job using his flaws to make your think they are just copying the original.
That's fair, I just didn't think this movie was good. I did appreciate what they were going for, but it didn't work at all for me.
I thought the cabin fever remake was pretty useless. It was damn near a shot for shot of the original movie (less than 15 years later). And I looooove the original cabin fever... so I guess I just didn't get it...
Evil dead and the fly
Best: Silent Night(2012)
Worst: The Nightmare On Elm Street remake
Best. TCM 2003.
Worst. TCM 2022.
Easy peasy.
2022 version was a direct sequel to the original, not a remake.
The TCM 2003 remake isn't one of the best.
I am gonna get raked over the coals for this but I thought the remake of Child's Play was way better than the original.
Best
The Thing
Worst
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2013? I thought that was really good
It’s my second favorite of the series. First being the most recent Rise film. That being said I’ve never Ben a huge fan of the originals,so…
That’s one of the best horror remakes and trailers
I tend to avoid bad movies, so this will miss the most popular bad ones:
Best- Invasion of the Body Snatchers or the Thing
Worst- Texas Chainsaw Massacre or My Bloody Valentine
Some of the best
The Fly
The Thing
Dawn of the Dead
The Crazies
The Blob
Some of the worst
The Fog
Martyrs
Psycho
Cabin Fever
Firestarter