Remakes today aren't as hated as they once were. In fact, movies have been going through remakes since the dawn of cinema. They usually went for an artist's revision and eventual adaptation of the previous work. Even Hitchcock did it with The Man Who Knew Too Much and ended up making a far better film. It proved his films can be remade, as blasphemous as that sounds.
However, as we entered the '90s, Hollywood's fascination with modern adaptations seemed to take a step forward. Scorsese's Cape Fear was a good example of modernizing something that perhaps needed to be readapted, and even then, the film — by one of cinema's most important directors — was divisive.
Perhaps the key was adapting a film that was more obscure. After all, how many young viewers in the '90s knew that Father of the Bride was a remake? The problem was when the movie was a revision of a classic. That's when the trend started to be seen as a stain. Films like The Haunting or Diabolique weren't hits, and Hollywood started to get the message — though it's taking a long time to sink in.
While the remake craze hasn't exactly stopped and some studios are trying to readapt classics (with horrendous results), some reboots and remakes are especially bad, because they lost sight of the point of the original work. Here are 15 film and TV show remakes that absolutely missed the point.
15 Bel-Air (TV Show, 2022 — Ongoing)
In 2019, Morgan Cooper uploaded a video on YouTube that would change his life. It was a trailer for a more dramatic and definitely darker version of the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the '90s show starring Will Smith, about a young man who moves with his family from Los Angeles, where cultures collide. Cooper's video was so well received that NBC has made a dramatic version of the show.
Here is Morgan Coopers trailer that inspired the show:
Too Distant From the Original
Bel-Air is great proof that some products need to remain untouched. While it hasn't exactly been panned by critics and audiences, the remake isn't exactly a remake, given how it gets rid of the comedy element to observe more relevant themes like culture shock and racism.
The problem is that the drama and seriousness is both the show's strength and it's weakness. It is so far removed from the original that it might as well be an unconnected show. Trying to bridge the large gap between the new serious characters and their old comedy counterparts is too much of a stretch in most cases, leaving audiences wondering why the show is connected to the original The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at all.
Stream Bel-Air on Peacock Premium
14 The Fog (2005)
The Fog is a remake of John Carpenter's 1980 ghost film, and it tells the story of the residents of Antonio Island as they prepare for annual festivities, when a lurking fog arrives at the shore and brings some violent entities with it. It seems that the founders of America weren't exactly good people, and the ghosts of their victims are back for revenge. The film starred notable 2000s actors like Tom Welling, Selma Blair, and Maggie Grace.
Surprisingly Boring and Generic
The film belongs to a slew of horror remakes from the 2000s that everyone preferred to forget in a matter of days. While the special effects are good, the film is just a boring iteration of bad acting, jump scares that aren't very frightening, and a story that hardly makes sense. It's a horrible example of a horror remake that feels like a waste of money today.
Rent The Fog on Prime Video
13 Amazing Stories (TV Show, 2020)
In the slew of original programming that Apple TV+ released during its first year, Amazing Stories was their only adaptation. After spending some time in development hell, the return of the series created by Steven Spielberg in the '80s was a fact. The anthology show consisted of short features that revolved around horror and sci-fi stories inspired by the 1920s magazine of the same name.
It was produced by Spielberg, and his touch was felt throughout the entire run. Those who remembered the classic show were eagerly waiting to see what would happen with the reboot.
A Generic Sci-Fi Show
The result was a mess that was canceled pretty quickly. It only brought back the musical theme by John Williams, and not much more. The stories felt intricate and too convoluted, and people weren't engaged with the generic aspect of the show. This time, Spielberg's nostalgic touch was out of the picture, and instead, audiences were delivered an inconsistent disaster that felt extremely experimental and has since been forgotten by most.
Stream on Apple TV+
12 Carrie (2013)
Carrie
- Release Date
- October 16, 2013
- Rating
- R
Carrie, a shy and bullied girl, discovers she may be different from other people. Her excessively religious mother does not help her and simply implies that Carrie is a product of sin. When her classmates design the perfect plan to attack Carrie during the prom dance, she reacts, and her telekinetic powers become the ultimate weapon against those who have always attacked her.
Misunderstanding an Icon
With 2013 seeing some incredible remakes come out, Carriewas, in a way, inevitable. And if you're going to remake a classic film, what better than to be inspired by what worked in the past? While de Palma's original film feels grounded and organic (except for that terrible scene in the store), the film by Kimberly Peirce feels like a re-imagining of the concept itself.
Stephen King's novel is short, and there aren't many things to take from it, but this modern adaptation simply feels like an overexposed version of the character of Carrie. In the past, she was a victim of her own power, an uncontrolled power that she was finally able to grasp when targeting those who hurt her. In the 2013 remake, Carrie feels like an X-Men mutant throwing rays at everyone.
Stream Carrie on Max
11 Charlie’s Angels (TV Show, 2011)
Charlie's Angels was inspired by the '70s show of the same name, and it told the story of three female criminals who are offered a chance at redemption: they can be free to fight crime if they start working for a mysterious entity that will assign them missions while staying in the dark. Kate, Eve, and Abby accept, and the rest is anything but history.
Uninspired Buddy Cop TV Show
The 2011 version of Charlie's Angels was a horrible endeavor by ABC to bring back a concept that simply isn't feasible today. It was so poorly received that it was canceled after four episodes aired, and the last one wasn't even broadcast on television. It was badly written, and it seemed to take itself seriously where it shouldn't have.
Stream Charlie's Angels on The Roku Channel
10 Black Christmas (2019)
2019's version of Black Christmas is pretty different from Bob Clark's classic '70s film. In this modern version, female college students are being stalked and hunted by a masked killer on campus. When a group starts investigating, they realize it may have something to do with their alma mater and decide to do something about it. The film wasn't well received by audiences and critics, and was considered a generic adaptation at best.
A Modified Version of an Underrated Classic
The 1974 classic horror film had already been remade once in 2006 with terrible results. For some reason, Jason Blum decided, through Blumhouse Productions, to remake the film again, but with another premise that's loosely based on Clark's classic. People didn't exactly understand this, and with horrible prejudice, they hated the film before it even premiered.
Black Christmas isn't exactly a terrible film, but it feels like it should have had a different title. Ironically, if it hadn't been marketed as a remake and had gone straight to a streaming platform, it probably would have been more successful.
Stream Black Christmas on Netflix
9 The Twilight Zone (TV Show, 2019 — 2020)
In 2019, CBS released the revival of the classic TV show The Twilight Zone on their streaming service, CBS All Access. With modern horror visionary Jordan Peele behind the production, nothing could go wrong — right?
The result was inconsistent, and far from scary. With only a couple of notable episodes, the modern version of The Twilight Zone was canceled after two seasons. This was the third attempt to modernize the '50s show.
Missing the Essence of Rod Serling's Television Classic
The Twilight Zone has some high-concept episodes that are genuinely good. But in general, it has inconsistent screenwriting, something that Rod Serling would never have permitted. The 1950s show was thoroughly supervised by its producer, writer, and narrator, and while he accepted collaborations, Serling made sure it all fit under his creative umbrella.
The 2019 version feels like an experiment with varied results that audiences were supposed to like because it was a revival of a genre show that everyone loves. With more of a creative force behind it (perhaps if Peele had had more involvement), it might have worked, but sadly, it didn't.
Stream The Twilight Zone on Freevee
8 Oldboy (2013)
Oldboy
- Release Date
- November 14, 2013
- Rating
- R
Oldboy is the story of Joe Doucett, a man who, after passing out from a drinking rampage, gets kidnapped and put in a hotel room. Strange men start feeding him and providing everything he needs. After 20 years of imprisonment, Doucett gets released, and he must find out why it all happened.
Readapting a Modern Classic
Not many people know that it was actually Spike Lee who directed the modern remake of the South Korean classic thriller Oldboy. While the film isn't exactly one of Lee's best, it's actually not a bad movie. It's just... unnecessary.
The original Asian thriller is just extraordinary. Lee's film feels he needed to knock down some cultural elements and justify a story for Western audiences. This one shows that Parasite's director, Bong Joon-ho, was actually right when he said Americans shouldn't be afraid of subtitles.
Rent Oldboy on Prime Video
7 Poltergeist (2015)
Poltergeist tells the story of the Bowens, a family who move to a new home in the suburbs. Eric and Amy, and their children Kendra, Griffin, and Madison, are shocked when they start hearing strange noises during their first night in the house.
Eventually, Madison starts talking to people in the TV, and she gets snatched and taken to another realm. The Bowens seek the help of scientists and other paranormal investigators to get Madison back, but the ones holding the child captive won't let go easily.
It Doesn't Even Try to Replicate What Worked
The remake of Poltergeist actually took a long time to arrive, but this doesn't mean it didn't spend time in development hell. It seems that everyone took it as a bad idea to reboot a film that was so iconic and so popular. And when it eventually arrived, it suffered absolute hatred from critics and audiences.
The 2015 film is a blatant collection of jump scares that simply don't work for modern audiences. The use of technology as a plot device, the exposure of a world that was better left unrevealed, and the complete misunderstanding of the essence of the first film made it a movie that not many people remember today.
Would it have been better as a shot-for-shot remake of the first film (an idea that was actually discussed at some point)? Who knows. But this didn't stop MGM from planning a TV series that is currently being produced.
Rent Poltergeist on Prime Video
6 Psycho (1998)
And speaking of shot-for-shot remakes, Gus Van Sant's much-maligned remake of Hitchcock's Psycho had to be included on this list. In the film, Marion Crane steals a large amount of cash and, while on the run, attempts to rest for the night at a roadside motel.
The problem is the hotel is managed by Norman Bates with the help of his mother, and Marion gets murdered while taking a shower. When her sister and her lover start investigating Marion's disappearance, they arrive at the Bates Motel and discover a horrible reality.
Art for Some, Blasphemy for Others
Psycho feels like a tribute. And that isn't actually a bad thing. The problem is that some tributes are anything but necessary. In the case of Van Sant's film, people didn't exactly associate it with an homage. It was shot using the same script by Joseph Stefano, and the score by Bernard Herrmann is used all throughout the film.
Nevertheless, the movie missed the texture and organic sense of Hitchcock's slasher. Van Sant's Psycho feels like an attempt at arthouse horror that was sadly misunderstood by everyone back in the day. What's undeniable is that the performances are terrible, which is a shame, considering it starred such famous actors as William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, Anne Heche, and Viggo Mortensen.
Rent Psycho on Prime Video
5 The Lion King (2019)
Maybe shot-for-shot remakes just aren't the way to go. The Lion King is Disney's live-action remake of the 1994 classic children's film. It tells the story of Simba, a young lion whose father, King Mufasa, is murdered. After spending sometime in exile, Simba decides to return to Pride Rock and claim the throne that's rightfully his. The film is also a musical, and features state-of-the-art CGI that attempts to give life to the "live-action" characters.
Where's the Emotion?
The problem is that CGI wasn't exactly the direction to take. The 1994 2-D animated film is still very alive in general pop culture, and its images will forever be imprinted on people's minds. Disney's live-action version of The Lion King feels unnecessary, and devoid of emotion.
It consists of photo-realistic images of animals that seriously look great, but lack everything that made traditional animation, which was colorful and energetic and full of emotion, engaging for younger audiences. The heart of the original film was missing, and despite its success at the box office, the remake was seen as a failure.
Stream The Lion King on Disney+
4 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
The remake of Wes Craven's classic film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, takes us to modern times in Ohio, where a teenagers start getting killed by a mysterious figure in their dreams. Freddy Krueger is the mischievous, scarred man who uses a glove with metal claws to haunt the nightmares of teens and kill them in their sleep. The film is widely considered one of the worst remakes of all time, and it represented a terrible experience for its main star, Rooney Mara.
Proof of the Unnecessary Remake Craze
A Nightmare on Elm Street feels generic and uninventive, with a laughable villain that doesn't provide the menace or the scares like the original Freddy Krueger did with little effort. This time, Freddy is a mass of CGI and horrible makeup that lacks the emotion that makes him an icon among the slashers.
Curiously, the performances by Rooney Mara and Kyle Gallner are excellent, but they seem trapped in a horrible film that audiences haven't actually forgotten, as it is often remembered as an offensive attack on an iconic horror IP.
Rent A Nightmare on Elm Street on Apple TV
3 The Wicker Man (2006)
2006's remake of The Wicker Man tells the story of Edward Malus, a police officer who travels to a remote island to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend's daughter. The problem is that he discovers that the residents of the island are members of a pagan cult that may have had something to do with the girl being missing. Unfortunately, he will pay the ultimate price for his search.
A Disastrous Failure
The movie is widely regarded as one of the worst in recent history, by far. It's so absurd, parts of it have become internet memes, and even lead star Nicolas Cage recognizes it as an intentionally bad film. However, considering the movie was inspired by one of the best horror films ever made, saying it was meant to be absurd is the "easy way out." It's laughable, terribly acted, and disastrously not-scary.
Rent The Wicker Man on Apple TV
2 The Karate Kid (2010)
In The Karate Kid, 12-year-old Dre Parker and his mother Sherry move to Beijing after she gets a job transfer. At first, Dre is in full Detroit spirit and attempts to ignore the cultural shift, but a fight with a local bully lands him in his new reality. Dre connects with Mr. Han, a local maintenance man who teaches him kung fu, making Dre fit to fight those who bully him.
Remaking for the Sake of Remaking
Also released during the remake craze that started in the 2000s, The Karate Kid suffered many changes in its storyline and ended up being a completely different film loosely based on the same theme. Sadly, it feels like a film targeted for Asian audiences that lacks emotion and is led by performers that are appealing but aren't very good.
Ultimately, those who own the rights have found a way to connect legacy characters with those of the franchise, but the 2010 film feels like a watered-down version of a sports drama that didn't make us care about any of the characters.
Stream Karate Kid on Netflix
1 Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Ghost in the Shell tells the story of Major Mira Killian, a super-soldier who's saved from a horrible accident with technology that turns her into a mix of android and human. While fighting very dangerous criminals, Killian begins investigating who she was before her upgrade. Ghost in the Shell is one of the most popular and acclaimed anime series ever made, and ended up one of the most disastrous box-office bombs of all time.
The Whitewashing Debacle
Since its release, the film has been widely criticized for whitewashing Japanese culture for commercial purposes. This divisive aspect of the film didn't exactly help the box-office results. However, whitewashing aside, Ghost in the Shell isn't exactly terrible.
The main issues with the film are that the plot was confusing, the gray tones of the world were boring compared to the colorful anime, and it lacked the important essence of cyberpunk in the original show, and simply tries to profusely adapt anime elements into live-action. It's the film that definitely proves why anime should only be adapted into other formats if done by someone who understood the point of the original work.
Rent Ghost in the Shell on Prime Video
While we're on the subject of remakes, here's a video of some '80s horror films that could use a remake:
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