Many horror purists swear that the original is nearly always the best. While that often might be the case, there’s no reason to write off more recent remakes completely. Sometimes, given the context of the times, a new director can interpret the story’s subtext differently and put a whole new spin on a movie, making it more relevant to the audience of the time. Other times, thanks to advances in technology, a remake can benefit from improved special effects and filming techniques that can make it worthwhile to watch for that reason alone. A movie remake can be a different and enjoyable experience in its own right, and sometimes, dare we say, even better than the original.
The horror genre continues to be a big draw for moviegoers worldwide, and a successful franchise can mean big bucks for a studio. In attempts to appeal to new generations, remakes remain big business. Arachnophobia, The Wolf Man, and An American Werewolf in London are just some movies, per Looper, reportedly undergoing the remake treatment. Unfortunately, and probably more so than with any other genre, studios have often focused on quantity over quality and rushed out these remakes to market without paying any mind to script quality.
To save yourself from being consumed by the hundreds of these unwatchable movies lurking out there in the darkness, we've put together the list below to allow you to explore five of the very best horror remakes on offer.
Update September 29, 2023: This article has been updated with even more great horror remakes that are worth watching this Halloween season.
10 The Ring (2002)
The Ring is a remake of a Japanese film named Ringu, with the original story created by Hiroshi Takahashi and Koji Suzuki. The American adaptation was handled by Ehren Kruger, who wrote the screenplay, and Gore Verbinski in directing duty. Starring Noami Watts, the movie tells the story of an investigative reporter who must uncover the mystery behind a cursed tape that killed her niece. Slowly but surely, she begins to unravel the mystery when she suddenly finds herself in a race against time when she, her ex-husband, and their son watch the tape and become the target of an unseen presence that states their deaths will come to pass in seven days.
9 Red Dragon (2002)
Astounding as it may seem, Red Dragon was first adapted into a film in 1986 by Michael Mann titled Manhunter, and our first-ever Hannibal Lecter was none other than Succession's Brian Cox. After the following novels were adapted more faithful to the books and Anthony Hopkins took on the role of the deranged cannibal killer, the novel was remade with a new cast.
This time, Brett Ratner directed the film, and the story gave us a new incarnation of Will Graham, played by Edward Norton, that resembles more the character Hugh Dancy would play him in the TV series Hannibal. In the film, an FBI special agent is tasked with the resolution behind the murders of a serial killer known as The Tooth Fairy. Red Dragon is a movie that not only remakes the story told in Mahunter but also tries to further play into it being a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs to a very effective degree.
8 The Blob (1988)
The Blob is a remake of a film of the same name that premiered in 1958; the story, written and directed by Chuck Rusell with the assistance of Frank Darabont, tells the story of a small two in California where high-schoolers Brian, Meg, and Paul discover a gelatinous substance that arrived in a meteor that melts flesh and consumes living creatures in its path. After the substance gets into the sewer system of the town, it begins to grow without control, calling the military to action to try to stop the menace of the alien substance by any means possible. This new take on the classic story ramps up the gore and violence by making the Blob a real threat that kills people without remorse.
7 Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Dawn of the Dead is the film that kickstarted the careers of Zack Snyder and James Gunn in Hollywood, as the duo directed and wrote this modern take on the second zombie film made by George Romero. In this chaotic story, a neighborhood is being overrun by zombies, a woman teams up with a police officer, and they round up a posse to seek shelter in a nearby mall. The security guards finally let them in, but they must fight the only thing more dangerous than the zombies reading their town: human nature and greed. Dawn of the Dead is often regarded as one of the best remakes and also one of Zack Snyder's best films.
6 Evil Dead (2013)
The original Evil Dead trilogy was a groundbreaking exercise in horror excess, which laid the groundwork and created the template for the horror-comedy genre. Fast-forward over 30 years since the release of the iconic original The Evil Dead entry, and this time around, directing duties have shifted from Sam Raimi to Fede Álvarez in his feature directorial debut Evil Dead.
Álvarez avoided falling into the same pitfalls so many remakes and reboots stumble into by taking a bit of a risk and putting his own spin on an existing classic, knowing it would be near impossible to recreate the excitement the original generated with a shot-for-shot remake. This iteration was far darker in tone, resulting in a genuinely terrifying affair that was generally well-received by fans and critics despite the gamble and was a success at the box office. The latest film,Evil Dead Rise might hint that this is not a remake and instead part of the overall saga, but until confirmed, it will still be classified as a remake.
5 The Fly (1986)
The living legend that is Jeff Goldblum stars as an eccentric scientist who slowly begins to turn into a fly-hybrid creature after one of his experiments goes wrong in the 1986 sci-fi horror flick The Fly. Helmed by iconic sci-fi and horror director David Cronenberg, known for his expertise in the grotesque cinematic world of body horror, this remake of the 1958 classic saw Cronenberg teaming up with famed special effects and make-up artist Chris Walas to conceptualize the gruesome transformation of the ill-fated scientist, which was intended to be a metaphor for the aging process.
Perhaps a representation of the times and audiences' growing desire for the extreme, Cronenberg’s decision to make the movie a more shocking affair paid off, and the movie has gone down in history and still maintains a large cult following to this day.
4 The Invisible Man (2020)
The idea of the Invisible Man is something that everyone is familiar with and has been exposed to in some form or another over their lifetime, so in order for a new iteration to really make any lasting impression, it would have to be something quite special. Fortunately, that's exactly what Leigh Whannell delivered in his 2020 take on the H.G. Wells classic novel.
Released to universal critical acclaim, The Invisible Manwas a surprise box office smash hit, flipping the damsel in distress trope on its head and thrilling viewers as they watched Elisabeth Moss' character evolve into a completely relatable badass heroine for the ages. While the original 1933 film is a classic that established one of the most famous Universal Monsters, this film is likely going to be the one most people remember.
3 Maniac (2012)
At the time of its release in 1981, the original slasher horror Maniac, directed on a micro-budget by William Lustig, was lambasted by critics for its irredeemable violence and particularly unpleasant themes and tone, getting temporarily banned or censored around the world, but since developed a small cult following.
The 2012 remake, directed by Franck Khalfoun and starring renowned B-movie horror enthusiast Elijah Wood, was no less gory or brutal but took an altogether more unique and arty approach to filmmaking, largely in part to being shot entirely from the serial killer’s point of view, meaning that his face (Wood) was rarely seen, except in reflections or in photographs. This unique approach paid off, creating a one-of-a-kind, visually stunning piece of grotesque horror art.
2 Fright Night (2011)
The 2000s saw a major boom in remakes of horror films from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Friday the 13th. By the early 2010s the trend was starting to die down, but without a doubt, the best one to come out of that era was the remake of Fright Night. The original was released in 1985 and is about a young man who discovers his next-door neighbor is a vampire.
The 2011 remake, directed by Dumb Money's Craig Gillespie and a script by Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Marti Noxon, takes the basic premise but also swerves it in an interesting new direction where it feels less like a cynical recreation and a remake motivated by wanting to tell a new spin on the story. It features an incredible cast, including the late Anton Yelchin and one of Colin Farrell's best performances. It also features great turns by Imogen Poots, Toni Collete, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, but the scene stealer is David Tennant as a Chris Angel-type Las Vegas stage magician. Fright Night is a great reminder that sometimes the remake can be better than the original.
1 The Thing (1981)
The original The Thing or The Thing from the Other World (full title) was a black and white science fiction movie released in 1951, directed by Christian Nyby, and based on the 1938 novella Who Goes There? By 1982, much of the mainstream audience had long forgotten the original. John Carpenter stepped in and teamed up with an ensemble cast, including Kurt Russell, to remake the movie, which tells the story of a group of American researchers in Antarctica who encounter the "Thing", a vicious, bloodthirsty alien creature that can imitate other organisms.
Carpenter’s remake of The Thing, while still rooted firmly in the sci-fi genre, contained far more elements of horror and was a masterclass in both suspense and tension and also outright blood and gore. The movie was a box office bomb at the time of its release but has since been acknowledged as one of the most important and influential movies in the sci-fi and horror genres, receiving particular praise for its use of practical effects. Now, it is a cult classic and the best horror remake.
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