feature: The top 5 horror remakes
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It can’t have escaped your notice that well… there’s a lot of comic book serials and horror remakes with movies like Iron man 3 and The Lords of Salem released or about to be. And now, with the release of the remake of The Evil Dead coming up, we thought this would be the ideal time to take a look at the top five all-time horror remakes…
1. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
I know a lot of people would still hold George Romero’s 1978 original in high esteem, and why shouldn’t they? But Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake surprised everyone I think by actually living up to the original. I won’t go so far as to say it surpassed it, but it was worthy of the name.
2. The Fly (1986)
A close second is David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of the 1958 classic – cue the squeaky-voiced “Help me, help me”.
The incredible modern make-up techniques really seem to transform Jeff Goldblum into the man-sized bug in what was surely one of his finest performances. One not to be missed.
3. Cape Fear (1991)
Martin Scorsese’s 1991 re-make of the 1962 psychological thriller surely improved upon the original? Robert De Niro out-scares Robert Mitchum in his family-stalking work whilst strapping his belt to the bottom of the family vehicle to follow the camping trip was a great moment. Of course, the ending is as dramatically scary as they come. Throw in a ripped and tattooed physique and a little biting off of cheeks and what more could any horror fan really ask for?
4. My Bloody Valentine 3D (2007)
Now I haven’t actually seen the original My Bloody Valentine, despite it being well within my life time of movie watching… but… I have no doubt this is a good remake, because I really liked it. Sure, this was partly due to the fact that one of the Supernatural boys, Jensen Ackels was in it, but it was also good. It had the right amount of humour, the right amount of blood and the right amount of 3D to make it work.
5. The Grudge (2004)
The only one I’ve picked which uses the tried and tested Hollywood horror method of taking a scary Asian film and remaking it. It’s actually a pretty good method, definitely one that has a higher success rate compared to remaking an old Hollywood horror.
The Grudge was really the second major remake of an Asian film… of the last wave of Asian remakes. The Ring of course being the first. On the grounds that it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, I’m putting The Grudge on this list instead. I LOVED Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
And finally … if you get chance to watch any of these movies in a Cineworld Imax theatre or similar in 3d then do so – the horror is nicely intensified!
Some remakes make it stick. Those that do are usually the ones that bring with them new ideas (David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986) , for example) rather than just reshooting the original with new faces and more elaborate effects. Is this, however, good enough reason for Hollywood to gamble on this everlasting game of remakes? And while remaking foreign horror films ( The Ring (2002) , The Grudge (2004) ) for the English speaking audience seems to be justifiable, why is it less important to use the time and money to bring a new idea to life? It’s something the recent The Cabin in the Woods (2011) proved quite effectively, and something that horror and Hollywood both desperately need.