It's October, and that means for many it's not only time to celebrate Halloween, but also time to dive into some horror movies. Thankfully, the horror genre is filled to the brim with something for everyone, though that hasn't stopped the never-ending cycle of remakes that has captured modern Hollywood.
However, there have been some really great horror remakes that have elevated the original films or taken them in new directions to make them equally or sometimes more enjoyable to horror fans. Of course, to find balance, there are a lot of terrible remakes that have been made over the years that highlight a few films that should never be remade, which we'll be exploring further today.
GREAT REMAKE: THE THING
One of our favorite horror movie remakes is not actually widely considered to be a remake. While John Carpenter changed the name and premise slightly, his 1982 film The Thing was a remake of 1951's The Thing From Another World, both of which were based on John W. Campbell's novella Who Goes There?
Kurt Russell starred alongside a great cast that includes Kieth David, Wilford Brimley, Richard Dysart, Peter Maloney, and many more. The film also features some of the best horror practical effects we've ever seen, especially when compared to the CGI used in the 2011 remake prequel.
DON'T TOUCH: FRIDAY THE 13TH
Fans have been dying to see a new chapter in the Friday the 13th franchise, unfortunately, it is not an easy film to replicate. Not only is the franchise struggling with legal issues with the film's original screenwriter, but we've already seen a remake that failed to find the success of the original.
While the remake featured some enjoyable kills from main killer Jason Voorhees, his new look was not the best of Jason's many costumes he's had over the years, and the film itself was incredibly forgettable. Plus the first film's original killer is not easy to feature in a remake considering the popularity of Jason, who didn't appear as an adult until the first sequel.
GREAT REMAKE: DAWN OF THE DEAD
A lot of horror movie remakes can be judged based on their adherence to the original film, but in some cases, it's the differences between the films that make for a great remake. In the case of Zack Snyder's remake of George Romero's iconic Dawn of the Dead, he rewrote the long-defined rules of Romero's zombies to introduce a new level of terror.
Snyder's remake follows the same premise of a world waking up to the nightmare of a zombie-infested world and a group of survivors who take refuge in a shopping mall. The most terrifying changes are the zombies themselves, as Snyder's film features incredibly fast and vicious zombies instead of Romero's shuffling horde he first introduced in the legendary Night of the Living Dead.
DON'T TOUCH: PSYCHO
While Snyder found success altering the original Dawn of the Dead, Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho was not as well received. The film starred Vince Vaughn in the classic Norman Bates role, and while his performance wasn't the worst of the film (sorry, Anne Heche), it is not the best of his career.
As for the film itself, it was basically a shot-for-shot remake of Hitchcock's original, which seemed both unnecessary and doomed to failure, which it found both critically and commercially. Some classic horror films should just never be touched, as we've learned from Psycho and other doomed to failure remakes like the ongoing cycle of Black Christmas remakes.
GREAT REMAKE: THE FLY
Canadian master of body horror David Cronenberg introduced a new take on the classic 1958 film The Fly, which starred horror legend Vincent Price. Cronenberg's 1986 remake starred Jeff Goldblum in a career-making performance alongside Geena Davis that horrified fans as they watched Dr. Seth Brundle turn into a human fly.
Much like with the earlier entry The Thing, Cronenberg's remake (like most of his films) heavily relies on amazing practical effects to bring Brundle's transformation to gruesome and terrifying life. While the original is still good classic horror, the remake will actually scare the crap out of you.
DON'T TOUCH: THE OMEN
Evil children are always unsettling, and sometimes a movie comes along like 1976's The Omen that perfectly captures what makes that concept so terrifying. Watching the various people involved in Damien's life suffering troubling accidents as the son of Satan grows up, including one of horror cinema's best scenes ever.
While the film spawned a mostly enjoyable franchise of sequels, the 2006 remake of the same name that starred Liev Schrieber and Julia Stiles showed why retreading the same territory as the original can be detrimental, especially considering the iconic status of the original film.
GREAT REMAKE: EVIL DEAD
Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell's original Evil Dead film wowed horror fans and launched a successful film franchise that developed a devoted cult following. The ongoing popularity of the franchise inspired a remake directed by Fede Álvarez and produced by the original creators.
While Bruce Campbell didn't return for the film, the remake succeeded in creating a truly gory and horrific film that took the original film's Book of the Dead/Cabin in the Woods premise and updated it with modern effects that served as a great tribute to the original while still appealing to modern horror audiences.
DON'T TOUCH: THE WOLFMAN
Universal Pictures classic monster films like Frankenstein and The Mummy have been remade in various forms over the years to varying levels of success, though the classic werewolf film The Wolf Man is not easily remade for a number of reasons.
The original film featured the legendary Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolfman and featured an incredible transformation for its time that has influenced every werewolf movie that has followed. Yet as we've seen with Joe Johnston's 2010 remake that starred Benicio del Toro, updating with CGI effects does not always make a better movie.
GREAT REMAKE: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
Tobe Hooper's classic 1974 horror The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shocked viewers due to its brutally graphic scenes and horrifying new killer Leatherface. However, the film also introduced Leatherface's deranged family who would be further explored in the resulting sequels.
Marcus Nispel's 2003 remake not only managed to capture the raw terror of Leatherface every time his chainsaw roared into action, but it also brought the Hewitt family to horrifying life, largely due to the performance of R. Lee Ermey. The following sequels and prequels and reboots pale in comparison to the 2003 film, which remains a worthy remake of the source material.
DON'T TOUCH: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
Wes Craven's 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street introduced the fan-favorite character of Freddy Kreuger to audiences and changed up the slasher genre with a killer who could attack in your dreams, adding a terrifying supernatural element to the already horrifying bladed glove worn by Krueger.
However, unlike most masked killers like Jason or Michael Myers, Krueger's success is so closely tied with Robert Englund's performance over eight films that it makes a remake incredibly difficult. 2010's A Nightmare On Elm Street remake showcased why Krueger doesn't work without Englund, even with the modern effects to enhance his supernatural abilities.