Top 10 Horror Remakes Of All Time
Horror is a genre that lends itself to remakes more than any other. In fact, there are probably more studio remakes in development right now than there are original properties. Why is this? Is it because they’re cheap to produce and don’t require an overpaid “A List” actor to get asses into seats at the theater? Or is it because they have the most doggedly loyal fan base in the entire entertainment industry? I’m sure that’s part of it, but more correctly, I think that it’s because scary stories are inherently timeless.
Take a movie like “My Bloody Valentine” for instance. It’s a story of a miner that was trapped in a collapsed mineshaft for weeks, surviving off of the flesh of his fellow victims, driving him mad. This was due to the negligence of his foremen, who had knocked off to attend a Valentine’s Day Dance. Of course the sole survivor, Harry Warden, emerges to take revenge on his supervisors and anyone that would dare celebrate Valentine’s Day ever again.
It’s the sort of story that you would tell over and over again at your yearly camping trip without ever losing what was great about it in the first place: That scary stories elicit an actual physical response from the receiver, a rare quickening of the pulse that comes more and more infrequently in this oversaturated age of entertainment.
To further prove this point, that there is always a place for horror remakes in our theaters and our homes, I’ve compiled a list of my top 10 favorite horror remakes of all time (in no particular order):
Cape Fear
Scorsese’s 1991 remake of “Cape Fear” is a textbook example of how to properly do a remake. Not only do you get a sense that the original subject matter is fully understood and honored, but the small changes and updates that were made actually improve upon the original. (In the world of horror/thriller remakes, you’d be surprised how seldom this is the case.) It certainly helps that Robert De Niro is as kinetically menacing and aggressive as he has ever been in this tightly wound revenge epic… Seriously, Max Cady even makes Travis Bickle look like a snuggly bunny in comparison. Additionally, Nick Nolte and his on-screen family are deeply flawed in ways that give much needed depth to this particular game of cat and mouse.
The Fly
Pretty much every one of David Cronenberg’s films deal with the themes of dysfunctional relationships and the fear of uncontrollable mental or bodily transformations (Videodrome, Scanners, Crash, Naked Lunch, etc.). Never was this strange union of ideas put to better use than it was in “The Fly”, the story of a man becoming less human in his stubborn attempt to take by force the love and glory that may not have ever been in the cards for him in the first place. Jeff Goldblum was at his finest as the “Brundlefly”, and the special effects hold up pretty well today, even though this film was made in 1986. Just be glad the producers didn’t let the originally slated director, Tim Burton, get his hands on it and turn “The Fly” into another Johnny Depp gothic-geek circle jerk.
Funny Games
Michael Haneke’s 1997 film, “Funny Games”, was not so much a horror film as it was a condemnation of violence in American media and the disempowerment of the viewer in modern cinema. Unfortunately, no one in his target audience saw the film. So what does he do? He remakes the entire film, shot for shot (we’re talking 100% identical here), but with popular American actors. That way, some of the ordinary Americans to whom the message was directed to might actually receive said message. This is one of my favorite filmmaking dick-moves in recent memory. Especially considering that most of the critics were too stupid and/or lazy to read any of Hanake’s essays or interviews about the film, seeing Funny Games as some kind of poor man’s “Hostel” and further proving his point about our prevailing bloodthirst and adherence to formula.
Evil Dead 2
It’s called “Evil Dead 2”, but it’s really just “The Evil Dead” with a bigger budget and more comedic elements. At least that’s what most people think. No one really knows for certain, because no one has ever seen it sober. Either way, “Evil Dead 2” is a bonafide cult classic, and the film that made the careers of both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Plus, it’s the single best use of a chainsaw-hand in cinematic history. “Evil Dead 2” really focused in on the fun parts of the horror genre, which, while certainly existent in the first film, were really brought into the spotlight here. You have this film to thank for “Scream”, “Shaun of the Dead” and pretty much all the fun horror movies post 1987.
The Ring
Of all the “J-Horror” remakes to come out in the early 2000s, “The Ring” is the only one in the bunch that can stand on it’s own, perhaps even shoulder-to-shoulder with the original. Slick production can only get you so far, but in this case, that’s exactly what made this film so compelling: Using technology to bolster a film that, at it’s heart, is about fearing technology. Never mind that this wasn’t the first time we’d seen ghosts coming out of TV sets (Poltergeist, anyone?). “The Ring” was the first movie that made you actually afraid of your own television.
Willard
Most people won’t remember this movie at all, let alone know that it’s a remake of a previous film. And it’s too bad, because this is the film that introduced us to Crispin Glover, the single creepiest dude of this decade. “Willard” is sorta like “Carrie”, only instead of high school students, there are a shit-ton of rats. Extra points for awesomnisity are awarded for prominent usage of the song “Ben”, by Michael Jackson. “Ben” was the theme song to the original movie’s sequel, and really did deserve a proper re-introduction to the pop cultural lexicon.
The Thing
“The Thing” is not only one of the greatest horror remakes of all time, but also one of the greatest horror films of any kind, period. Granted, John Carpenter had a good thirty years on the original film (and all the advancements in filmmaking that came along with that), but what he accomplished was still undeniably impressive. “The Thing” is a tense, claustrophobic monster movie, in the vein of “Alien”. This is a stark contrast to the vaguely anti-communist, 1950s Sci-Fi film that preceded it.
King Kong
Not many people would agree with me, but I think that Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong was both brilliant and long overdue. The CGI used to animate Kong gave the giant ape a life-likeness that really helped to humanize him. The cast was strong, the set pieces were awesome, and there were enough dinosaurs for this to be an unofficial “Jurassic Park” sequel. I’ll admit that the film was a little long (something Jackson is frequently guilty of), but to me that sort of ads to it’s late night, double feature, tent-pole monster movie charm.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Where “The Thing From Outer Space” was thought to have vague anti-communist underpinnings, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was significantly more obvious in it’s expression of this theme. While the 1976 remake does retain this same sense of paranoia, it probably more accurate to interpret it as a fear of the apathetic conformity that we were left with as the post-war fallout of McCarthyism and the supposed communist infiltration of America. On the surface, “Invasion” seems like your average, everyday alien invasion movie. However, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is unsettling because the invasion in question is seemingly non-hostile, covert and difficult to assess. After watching this film, you may wonder just how many of us can even really be correctly referred to as “unique” or “individuals” any more?
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
This is another one that most of you probably won’t agree with me on, but I actually loved Francis Ford Coppola’s version of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”. Universal Monsters and Bela Lugosi are all fine and good, but I’ll take Gary Oldman as Dracula over Lugosi any day of the week. (People that say they genuinely enjoy watching movies from the 1930s are dicks. It’s like the equivalent of listening to Sugar Hill Gang on your iPod: If you weren’t there to experience it when it was new, there’s no reason to drag it out of it’s grave now.) Add to this the awesome effects, werewolf sex, Keanu Reeves as the unintentional comic relief and an early appearance by the recockulously hot Monica Belluci, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a movie there, sir.
Source: http://www.craveonline.com/articles/filmtv/04652564/top_10_horror_remakes_of_all_time.html
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[...] Never mind that this wasn’t the first time we’d seen ghosts coming out of TV sets ( Poltergeist , anyone?). “The Ring” was the first movie that made you actually afraid of your own television. Willard. Most people won’t remember this …[Continue Reading] [...]