Horror Remakes That Are Better Than You’d Expect
Tired of tired remakes? Try these.
What are some words commonly associated with remakes?
Unnecessary.
Greed.
Defamation.
I disagree. I love a good remake. Maybe it’s my background in live theater — where the same pieces are performed with different interpretations and visions for hundreds or even thousands of years, but I love when an artist or group or artists take a source material and give it their own flavor and perspective. I also love a fun cover song and an inventive reboot.
This list exists to show you some remakes that took full advantage of what made the original so great and inject it into their own vision — or maybe even take advantage of a do-over.
And they’re all scary or spooky — just in time for Halloween.
Cat People (1982)
After years of separation, Irina and her minister brother, Paul, reunite in New Orleans in this erotic tale of the supernatural. When zoologists capture a wild panther, Irina is drawn to the cat — and the zoo curator is drawn to her. Soon, Irina’s brother will have to reveal the family secret: that when sexually aroused, they turn into predatory jungle cats.
I must confess that I have not seen the original Cat People from 1942, so I cannot judge this version in comparison. But Paul Schrader’s story of perverts-turned-panthers is a wildly sexy tale in the weirdest ways. It’s stylish and sexual in ways that only the perfect storm of Schrader and the mid-1980s can pull off — if you catch my drift.
If the internal, personal question, “why am I so attracted to this panther?” isn’t one you want to face head-on, then this movie is absolutely not for you. If that sounds interesting to you, you and I should watch more movies together.
The Fly (1986)
When Seth Brundle makes a huge scientific and technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.
The Fly is just as much a romance as it is a horror film. You can’t say that about many movies. Sure, plenty of horror films have romantic elements or storylines, but few are equally both genres.
It’s also a grotesque body horror film inside of a mainstream Hollywood picture that grossed over $60 million.
And somehow it’s also equal parts funny and horrifying.
Seth and Ronnie (portrayed by the perfectly cast Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis) meet at a party and fall in love quickly. Their chemistry is so good that you believe their affection right away. It isn’t long until the mixup with the fly DNA happens and Goldblum starts losing himself. His intensity matched with Geena’s longing make the accident all that more tragic.
This film does an excellent job of dementing your emotions: you laugh from being terrified and you cry from exasperation. You feel bad for Goldblum’s character, but you also question his sanity. And don’t even get me started on the decision Davis’ character faces. If you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, check it out.
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
After a freak accident, an invisible yuppie runs for his life from a treacherous CIA official while trying to cope with his new life.
A little bit of a cheap entry here as Memoirs of an Invisible Man isn’t explicitly a remake of any particular Invisible Man film (it’s based on the novel of the same name), but obviously takes from and pays homage to many of them — most notably the Universal series from the 30s.
After 25 years each in show business, director John Carpenter and actor Chevy Chase were both tired of the same old, same old. Carpenter’s career had been full of ups and downs as he tried to distance himself from solely being a director of horror and Chase felt equally pigeonholed as someone who was only capable of doing comedy. Their matchup here in this drama/quasi-thriller isn’t totally successful, but gets the job done in terms of putting a new spin on the invisible man tale.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding killer and his family of equally psychopathic killers.
On my mission to find excellent horror remakes, I was wondering how long it would take me to find a movie that is perfectly fine (maybe even good!), but is looked down on simply because it shares a title with a classic film.
Found it! This movie is tons of fun! Disgusting, creepy, unsettling. Jessica Biel does a great job holding down the fort and there are tons of fun supporting performances.
If this weren’t called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I guarantee you it would be much more well-liked. It completely stands on its own and is a good time. I would even recommend the prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. It’s significantly more gross and probably takes that part a little too far for the average viewer, but it’s still entertaining.
The Omen (2006)
A diplomatic couple adopts the son of the devil without knowing it.
The most straightforward remake of the bunch. This remake of the 1976 Richard Donner-directed, Gregory Peck-led thriller of a demon child (one of many post-Exorcist) is basically just the same film modernized. It’s so similar, in fact, that screenwriter Dan McDermott was denied writing credit on the film by the Writer’s Guild and it went solely to 1976 screenwriter David Seltzer — who didn’t work on the film at all.
So clearly it is very similar to the original, but somehow I find it to be a lot more fun.
I like 70s horror for atmosphere and I like 00s horror for fun. Both versions of the film deliver on those respective things. As an added bonus, Liev Schreiber has a voice made for horror films.
Credit: Each plot synopsis comes from Letterboxd via TMDb.
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