There have been countless horror remakes in movie history, yet some, surprisingly, actually improve on the original in almost every way.
Horror movie fans are long used to remakes and how the majority of them are, frankly, terrible. Some have dared to remake classics like Psycho, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, only to remind fans why some films just can’t be replicated. On the other hand, some aren’t too bad, mostly remaking already poor films, and are watchable.
But now and then, a horror remake not only honors the original but outdoes it. It helps if the original was from decades ago, and the newer movie can use better special effects. Some directors have a unique vision and truly embrace the horror motifs while amping them up. These are 13 horror movie remakes better than the original films.
The Blob
Given this was 1988, the special effects on this film remain astounding. The original 1958 movie is best known for launching the career of a young Steve McQueen as the teen who helps defend his town against a strange, shapeless creature that grows larger as it consumes all in its path. It was freaky yet not too different from the various sci-fi films of that era.
The 1988 version, on the other hand, is utterly terrifying. It doesn’t hold back on the violence and the shock of even killing off a little kid. The Blob itself is an unstoppable, merciless monster, and just as scary is the human scientist obsessed with capturing it for study. The effects put most CGI today to shame, and it all combines into a masterclass in how to do a remake right.
The Fly
Leave it to David Cronenberg to transform a cheesy 1958 Vincent Price movie into a sci-fi horror masterpiece. The casting of Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis worked so well, as Goldblum is the perfect choice for a quirky scientist whose teleportation device accidentally fuses him with the DNA of a fly. That leads to his slow transformation into a hideous creature.
The special effects hold up very well with the downright disgusting evolution from man to insect, combined with Goldblum’s creepy performance. Throwing a pregnancy scare into things only adds to it. The wild climax solidifies a movie that lives up to its tag line: "Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
The Thing
As hard as it may be to believe, this movie was a flop in 1982, with critics mixed about it. Today, of course, John Carpenter’s take on the 1951 The Thing From Another World is a slow burn in tension that’s aided by its top-line cast led by Kurt Russell. A research team discovering a shape-changing alien among them lends itself to paranoid tension, and the Antarctic setting adds to the chills.
When the movie lets loose with its special effects, we get some terrifying images from the head with spider legs to that infamous dog. But it’s the human aspect that makes it all work down to its truly chilling ending. The movie’s cult success has built over the years to be one of Carpenter’s best movies and still freaks you out today.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Like many sci-fi movies of the 1950s, Invasion of the Body Snatchers was an allegory for paranoia of Communism taking over the U.S. The 1978 remake instead touches on elements of consumerism, New Age sensibilities, and a darker edge. It’s still the plot of humans being replaced by alien “pod people,” only now given a wilder touch (witness the dog with a human face).
The creeping terror of how you can be replaced when you sleep is a terrifying premise, and the paranoia about who you can trust makes it worse. Donald Sutherland has one of his best roles, selling it all well, all the way to the now iconic end scene. There have been a few remakes since, but none come close to this take.
The Invisible Man
The timing of this Blumhouse remake of the H.G. Wells classic novel is key to its success. In early 2020, the story of a woman convinced her supposedly dead, abusive boyfriend was stalking her unseen, connected with a major audience. Elisabeth Moss is marvelous as the woman trying to convince others of the truth, no matter how insane it sounds.
The best horror is what you can’t see, so an enemy embodying that is fodder for terror. The effects are well done, and the explanation of the invisibility makes total sense. The climax is more action-packed, but the build to it all is what makes this a must-see in terms of sci-fi horror and puts Blumhouse on the map as a horror studio.
Nosferatu the Vampyre
Over a century after its release, Nosferatu stands as a landmark in film. The first take on the Dracula tale can still creep you out with its great makeup and the iconic turn by Max Schreck. Robert Eggers’s recent remake was a visual feast that wowed moviegoers and took a different approach with the film. However, Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake is far better.
Despite now being in color and sound, the film loses none of its impact. If anything, it’s scarier hearing Klaus Kinski voicing the vicious count hunting his prey with Herzog’s expert direction, combined with amazing production values and some gory deaths. Of the three major versions of the tale, this is the one that shines brightest.
It
Many times, Stephen King books are best served being adapted into TV series. That’s due to the huge length and depth of the master of horror’s novels. An exception is It, as the 1990 mini-series wasn’t bad with Tim Curry as Pennywise, but it was held back by the restrictions of network TV at the time. The big-screen movies were a different story, as this was one time splitting a book into two films worked out splendidly.
The first showcases the young kids facing the monstrous Pennywise (a truly scary Bill Skarsgård) and his terrors. The second then picks up with them as adults, having forgotten this evil until now. Both movies come together for an expertly done take on arguably King’s greatest work, and their box office success is the rare time King is captured perfectly on screen.
The Ring
The consensus is that American remakes of Japanese horror movies almost never work. The Ring is the exception. The original Ringu was a hit in Japan, but Gore Verbinski’s 2002 take actually improves on it. It’s still the same story with a videotape featuring a strange ghost girl that kills whoever watches it seven days later, already a great premise, and Naomi Watts starring.
What makes this remake work is the overall mood with unique tints that add to the haunting aspects and chills. The use of VHS is a throwback to another time, as the tape is a horror, and the way it seems to leap off the screen makes it more compelling. Rather than being outdated, this remake lives on a lot longer than its creepy tape does.
Let Me In
Some adaptations of foreign horror movies fail by deviating too much from the original. The 2010 remake of Let the Right One In goes the opposite route by being almost word-for-word like the original Swedish entry. It captures the original story of a boy befriending a neighbor who turns out to be a vampire (a young Chloe Grace Moretz).
The film has its own identity, not just “Americanizing” the tale but adding its own fun scares. It also possesses an artistic style the original lacked and a spellbinding journey to be one time the U.S. version is better than the original take for heart among the scares.
Dawn of the Dead
Zack Snyder and “great movies” aren’t words that always go together. Yet even the biggest George Romero fan will acknowledge that Snyder’s 2004 take on Romero’s 1978 film is the rare time the master of the zombie genre was outdone. It’s the same tale as a pack of people take refuge in a shopping mall during a zombie outbreak and have to fight for survival, only given a more visceral edge.
The movie doesn’t have the social commentary of the original, but it makes up for it with fantastic action scenes, a better cast with better-written characters, and helps push the idea of zombies as fast monsters rather than slow-plodding creatures. It’s still the high point for Snyder’s style, and despite Romero himself not liking it, it’s a modern mainstay of the zombie genre.
The Crazies
Snyder isn’t alone in managing to improve on a Romero movie. 1978’s The Crazies was more of a low-tiered Romero movie about a strange outbreak causing people to go rabid. It wasn’t a huge hit, so it was easy to see why Breck Eisner tackled it in 2010. He smartly shifted the focus from the military and scientists trying to stop it to the townspeople handling this nightmare.
That’s the reason the film works much better with a raw feel to the attacks as these pseudo-zombies go on vicious rampages, with the tension building as things get more out of control. Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell lead an impressive cast with some intelligence added to the script. Again, Romero wasn’t crazy about his work being remade, while fans can agree that Eisner truly improved on his concept.
Evil Dead
Trying to remake Evil Dead is one thing. Doing it without Sam Raimi seemed doomed to failure. Incredibly, Lee Cornin’s 2013 take beat those odds. It was always Bruce Campbell who helped imbue the original Evil Dead with some humor to go with the gore. Cornin played it far straighter with pure horror and modern effects helping to sell the terror of a group of friends in a cabin who accidentally read from a book to conjure demons.
The film respects the original, and it shows in the care taken with the lore. A strong female protagonist helps, as well as a darker motif. Even Raimi himself has to credit this masterwork that gave the franchise new life and made any Dead fan declare, “Groovy.”
Suspiria
Dario Argento’s 1977 movie has long been hailed for its stunning visual style and intriguing story, yet it seemed to lack something. That came in the 2018 version by Luca Guadagnino that toned down the color palette, making the film darker and more stark in the story of a dancer (Dakota Johnson) discovering her new academy is a coven of witches.
The always amazing Tilda Swinton outdoes herself playing three roles with expertly choreographed dance sequences, giving the film a more “arthouse” appeal to go with the better screenplay. It may not be as pure horror as the original, yet it’s a more challenging piece that makes the viewer think as well as be terrified.