In today’s remake culture, it’s unavoidable that great horror films receive the so-called remake treatment.
At times the remakes can be dreadful but on the other hand, they can also be pretty fantastic! Here’s my list of the top 7 horror film remakes.
7) Halloween (2007)
Rob Zombie, the director of Halloween (2007), followed the advise of John Carpenter (a well-known American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and composer) to make the film his own rather than a remake.
Rob Zombie’s Halloween was a prequel and remake in one, telling the narrative of Michael Myers with a backstory. Despite the fact that critics thought it didn’t add anything new to the table, it’s still a good effort from Rob Zombie, demonstrating his abilities as a horror director. Malcolm McDowell’s performance as Dr. Sam Loomis is unquestionably one of the film’s finest.
Synopsis: Michael Myers has been locked up in a sanatorium for the past 15 years, under the care of child psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis. On October 30, 1978, Myers breaks free and returns to Haddonfield, turning a night of trick-or-treating into something far more terrible for three young women. Their only hope is Dr. Loomis, but will he be able to locate his shadow-dwelling patient in time?
6) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Given the number of sequels in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, it was only a matter of time until another remake was made. Although die-hard fans of the series panned this picture, given the sequels (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4: The Next Generation and Texas Chainsaw), it wasn’t such a horrible rendition of the plot. Yes, it doesn’t have the same impact as the original, but remakes rarely manage to outperform the original.
R. Lee Ermey gives a fantastic performance in this rendition (known for being the drill instructor in Stanley Kubrick Full Metal Jacket).
Synopsis: A story about five twenty-somethings whose carefree road vacation turns into a horrific spiral into psychosis. They fall into the clutches of a horrific clan of Texas cannibals and are whittled away by the chainsaw-wielding Leather face after they become trapped in a remote Texas village.
5) A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
I gladly admit that the new A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of my favorites. They seem to have captured something in Freddy Krueger that has been lost in the franchise for a long time – namely, that he is intended to be scary.
When the creators of this film first stated that Robert England would not be reprising his role as Freddy Krueger, many old fans felt betrayed, despite the fact that Robert England had given Jackie Earle Haley his consent to play Freddie Krueger.
Synopsis: A Nightmare on Elm Street is a remake of Wes Craven’s 1984 film of the same name, directed by Samuel Bayer and written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer, about a group of kids who are haunted in their dreams by a mysterious figure named Freddy Krueger.
4) Friday the 13th (2009)
With 11 films in the franchise, it seemed inevitable that Friday the 13th would be rebooted. Instead of the walking killing zombie machine that he is in the earlier movies, they reverted back to Jason’s original roots with the reboot (since he is still pretty much alive at this point in the reboot). Derek Mears was cast as Jason in the adaptation. Fans would have loved Kane Hodder to return to portray Jason, but I thought he was a fantastic fit for a modern Jason. Critics complained that the picture didn’t contribute anything new to the franchise, although it’s difficult to add anything new to the 12th installment of a series.
Synopsis: Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. The film is a reboot of the Friday the 13th film franchise, which began in 1980 and is the twelfth installment. Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki) hunts for his missing sister, Whitney (Amanda Righetti), who is kidnapped by Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears) while camping in the Crystal Lake woods.
3) Maniac (2012)
The remake of Maniac, based on the 1980 original, includes Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood as the lead. This is an uncommon occurrence for me, but I prefer this remake to the original. In the first film, Joe Spinell was fantastic and truly sold the tortured eerie nature of the character, but I believe that Elijah Wood offered something unique to the role of Frank. The soundtrack of the Maniac remake is also one of the film’s highlights, and the current reinterpretation of the old theme is executed flawlessly.
Fun fact: The song Maniac by Michael Sembello in the movie Flashdance was originally written after he and his writing partner saw the movie Maniac in the 80’s.
Synopsis: Just when the streets appeared to be safe, a serial murderer with a fetish for scalps reappears. Frank is the reclusive proprietor of a mannequin shop. His life is turned upside down when Anna, a young artist, approaches him and asks for his assistance with her upcoming exhibition. As their friendship grows stronger and Frank’s fixation grows, it becomes evident that she has reawakened a long-buried desire to stalk and kill.
2) Evil Dead (2013)
For a long time, this film was stuck in development hell, and to be honest, I wished it would never be released for fear of tarnishing the reputation of the original. However, I was blown away by the remake when I finally saw it. In the remake of the Evil Dead, they got everything correct. They knew no one would be able to top Ash, so they went in a different route for the movie and didn’t use the character Ash. The tone of the film was also more straight horror than the original’s comedic horror approach.
Synopsis: Five friends in their twenties are stranded in a rural cabin. When they come across a Book of the Dead, they accidentally summon dormant demons from the adjacent forests, who possess the kids one by one until just one is left to battle for survival.
1) The Thing (1982)
The Thing, directed by John Carpenter, is possibly the best remake of a horror film available. The majority of people are unaware that it is a remake of the classic film “The Thing from Another World (1951).” In fact, there is a point in the film when you can see footage from the original being used in the remake. The special effects in The Thing are still impressive today. In 1983, it was nominated for a Saturn Award for best special effects. There was also a prequel released, titled The Thing (2011), although it fell short of the original 1982 version. It’s incredible to realize that this movie was released in 1982 and yet the visual effects still appear new and exciting.
Synopsis: When a 12-man research team discovers an alien entity that has been buried for over 100,000 years, the stage is set for chaos and terror.
