As the list of remakes that Hollywood spits out year after year is beyond exhausting, it’s hard to sort through them all to find out which ones are actually any good, especially because there are so few good ones.
The 1990s was an interesting decade for remakes, as it saw studios creating family friendly franchises out of decades-old horror movies, directors taking liberties with expertly crafted originals, and Disney truly beginning what has become their business model.
Best: The Mummy (7.0)
Not to be confused with the 2017 iteration of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, which was one of the biggest box office bombs in history, 1999’s The Mummy saw Brendan Fraser lead one of the most fun family adventures of the decade. Stephen Sommers revolutionized the 1932 horror movie by completely changing the genre and pumping it full of humor, and the movie went on to spawn two sequels and even the spin-off, The Scorpion King.
Worst: 101 Dalmatians (5.7)
1996’s 101 Dalmatians sets a precedent for Disney as it was the first proper live action remake of one of their animated movies to become a massive success. Though the live action The Jungle Book came before it, 101 Dalmatians was a huge box office success, but audiences didn’t exactly seem to like it. Audiences enjoyed Glen Close’s take on the iconic Cruella de Vil, but other than that, the movie comes off bland and pointless.
Best: Meet Joe Black (7.2)
It might have one of the lamest on screens deaths, but Meet Joe Black is a great romantic fantasy from the 1990s starring Brad Pitt in the titular role.
Many people don’t know it, but it’s a remake of the 1934 movie Death Takes A Holiday. Considering how well acclaimed that movie is, as it has been recognized by the AFI as one of the greatest movies ever, it’s quite a feat that Meet Joe Black was able to hold its own with audiences.
Worst: Godzilla (5.4)
At this point, Godzilla has been remade so many times, but there is only one horse in the race to be crowned the worst, which clearly is the 1998 version due to lacking any depth whatsoever. Adding insult to injury is the amount of time that the monster is actually seen on screen. Fans may have complained about how much screen time Godzilla had in 2014’s iteration of the creature, but in the 1998 version he only appeared for a total of 11 minutes, which is one of the things fans never knew about the movie.
Best: Cape Fear (7.3)
Though there are a lot of differences between the original and the remake, leave it to Martin Scorsese to direct a remake that’s actually great. The movie marks the seventh collaboration between the director and Robert De Niro, and at this point in their careers, audiences would eat up whatever they made, regardless of quality. While it isn’t one of his most acclaimed movies, Cape Fear is a masterful psychological thriller, the first of it’s kind from Scorsese, and it greatly improves on the 1962 original.
Worst: Flubber (5.3)
Flubber is another movie that many people don’t realize is a remake due to its use of CGI and its slapstick nature, as they believe it’s classic Robin Williams material. The movie is a remake of The Lousy Minded Professor, which was released in 1961, but the remake struggled to hold up to the original even with its enhanced effects that were not available in the industry 36 years later.
Best: A Little Princess (7.7)
A Little Princess was Alfonso Curon’s sophomore directorial effort and it often goes overlooked in his filmography, as it’s dwarfed by huge movies like Gravity and Children of Men.
Being a remake of the 1939 movie of the same name, Curon was able to bring the movie to life as he created a magical world from the perspective of its child characters. The movie was a massive hit with critics, and though it underperformed at the box office, the few people who have seen it adore it.
Worst: The Haunting (5.0)
Just before the turn of the century, one last remake was released in 1999. The Haunting, which is a remake of the 1963 movie of the same name and is based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House. Though the novel has since been turned in to a super-successful Netflix series and was released to universal acclaim, the same can’t be said for The Haunting, as the acting from Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson were highly criticized.
Best: 12 Monkeys (8.0)
Another movie where few people know it’s a remake, 12 Monkeys is based on the short French movie La Jetee. The movie has become a classic, and it stands as one of Brad Pitt’s best performances, as his role awarded him his first Academy Award nomination. Being a movie about time travel, 12 Monkeys has been massively praised for its depiction of the future, being compared to the likes of Blade Runner.
Worst: Psycho (4.6)
Undoubtedly the worst remake of the 1990s, Psycho doesn’t exactly reimagine the Hitchcock classic, but it does something much, much worse. The remake, which strangely enough stars Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates, is almost a complete shot for shot remake, barely changing a single thing. It’s completely unimaginative and devoid of any creativity, and that’s why Psycho has become one of the horror remakes that completely missed the mark.