Remakes - the good, the bad & the ugly! (30 titles)
A selection of remakes that are better than the original, worse than the original and others that are neither!
81.8% from 17 members
The Thing
GOOD - This remake is far superior to the original, and made at the time when it was possible to faithfully portray the shape-changing alien that featured in the original novel, instead of a guy in a suit! The benchmark for how remakes should be made!
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The Thing
on DVD
(1982)
Starring: Kurt Russell, T.K. Carter, Richard Dysart
Director: John Carpenter
Certificate:
Based on both the short story by John W. Campbell, Jr. and the 1951 film produced by Howard Hawks, THE THING is John Carpenter's stunning masterpiece of horror. A group of weary scientists enduring the winter in an isolated camp deep in Antarctica chance upon an alien spacecraft buried in the ice. ..read more »
72%
from 19,968 members
The Wicker Man
BAD - This is an absolutely atrocious remake, and film in general, that should never have been allowed to be made! This is 'a remake too far' for Hollywood, they should take note and start coming up with their own ideas! A complete travesty!
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The Wicker Man
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker
Director: Neil LaBute
Certificate:
Watch now: £2.49
Neil LaBute's THE WICKER MAN stars Nicholas Cage as Edward Malus, a policeman thrust into some dangerous detective work by a series of strange events that begin with a horrific car crash. This incident leaves the cop haunted, with images of the accident replaying in his heavily medicated mind. ..read more »
47%
from 25,407 members
Planet Of The Apes
UGLY - I don't think that Tim Burton is capable of doing anything bad, but he does get things wrong from time to time, this film being one of them. I think the producers had more say about this one than Burton did and it's more of a 're-imagining' than a remake. Not necessarily a bad movie but compared with the original it's pretty pointless really!
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Planet Of The Apes
on DVD
(2001)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham-Carter, Tim Roth
Director: Tim Burton
Certificate:
A remake of the classic story in which Leo, an astronaut lands on a planet which is inhabitated by very intelligent apes. On this planet humans are enslaved as the apes are the dominant race... Can Leo lead the humans in an uprising in order to free themselves?...
53%
from 10,582 members
The Fly
GOOD - One of Cronenberg's best films, this version of the 1958 film is given a big budget make-over with a more plausible and emotionally engaging storyline and truly horrific make-up effects. Jeff Goldblum delivers an amazing performance! Apparently though another remake is in the works, they're now remaking the remakes!
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The Fly
on DVD
(1986)
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Director: David Cronenberg
Certificate:
Prepare yourself to witness a fusion of man and insect that has to be experienced to be believed! Dr Seth Brundle plays fast and loose with the laws of nature. Experimenting with "live" matter transmission. The day comes to test the ultimate guinea pig... himself! But that's the day the fly gets ..read more »
68%
from 13,640 members
The Fog
BAD - Another awful and completely pointless remake! Gone are the atmospheric elements of John Carpenter's original, instead you have another bubblegum (teen) horror film with huge plot holes, inconsistencies and terrible acting! Jeez, the amount of money they must waste on these remakes!
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The Fog
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, Selma Blair
Director: Rupert Wainwright
Certificate:
An island off the Oregon coast is the setting for this salty yarn of ghosts, lepers, betrayal, vengeance, and teen angst. A fog-enshrouded schooner from 1865 returns from the bottom of the sea to wreak vengeance on the locals of the island, and it's up to local DJ Stevie Wayne (Selma Blair), her ..read more »
48%
from 17,406 members
The Grudge
UGLY - Although directed by original creator Shimizu Taksahi, only four years after his original Japanese version, this American version is completely unnecessary. It's basically the same film with a bigger budget, but of course this doesn't necessarily mean it's a better film! It has some nice new special effects and additional frights here and there but that's it - why did we need it?
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The Grudge
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Certificate:
Karen, an exchange student who agrees to cover for a nurse, unknowingly enters a Tokyo house, unaware that a dark secret lies within. The house is cursed with a violent plague that causes those individuals who enter the building to die within a fit of rage. As more and more people become victims to ..read more »
56%
from 37,487 members
Insomnia
GOOD - Chris Nolan's brilliant and under-rated remake of the Norwegian film of the same name with only a few changes to the plot and the characters. A tense film-noir style thriller with amazing performances from Pacino and Robin Williams and some great cinematography of Alaska.
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Insomnia
on DVD
(2002)
Starring: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
In a remote Alaskan town called Nightmute, the murder of a teenage girl has shocked the tight-knit community. The Los Angeles Police Department sends two of its cops--both under investigation by Internal Affairs--to try to solve the crime in Christopher Nolan's film based on Erik Skjoldbjaerg's ..read more »
63%
from 17,205 members
The Omen
BAD - Remaking classic horror films seems to be a tick-box exercise for Hollywood at the moment - none of them are safe! No foreboding creepy atmosphere here, instead this is a nice and fluffy 'safe' version made for the 12A-15 audience!
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The Omen
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow
Director: John Moore
Certificate:
Liev Schreiber (EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED) plays Robert Thorn--a wealthy American official living in Rome--whose wife Kate (Julia Stiles, MONA LISA SMILE) has just lost her first child. At the behest of a strange priest, Robert substitutes an orphaned child for his own without Kate's knowledge, and ..read more »
56%
from 19,022 members
The Italian Job
UGLY - For a remake this isn't as bad as you might expect but it's mired by the fact that it is a remake when it could so easily have been a sequel or spin-off and therefore been received much more favourably! This version has little to do with Italy and would have benefited from a different title (The L.A. Job for example), but it still has some great Mini action at the end, and Edward Norton, oh and Charlize Theron!
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The Italian Job
on DVD
(2003)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton
Director: F. Gary Gray
Certificate:
Watch now: £2.49
In this wholly refreshing remake of the 1969 crime classic starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward, Mark Wahlberg stars as Charlie Croker, a smooth thief who orchestrates a flawless heist in Venice with the help of his mentor, safecracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland). Together with his cronies--..read more »
62%
from 37,944 members
The Blob
GOOD - This is another great remake from the eighties with improved visual effects that do the whole concept justice. I think by the time the eighties came around special effects had reached the point where they were able to greatly update and improve the old sci-fi horror movies of the 50's and 60's, or maybe it's just because they knew how to make a good film during that decade!
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The Blob
(1988)
Starring: Kevin Dillion, Shawnee Smith, Candy Clark
Director: Chuck Russell
Certificate:
The Blob has returned in this horrific tale about a vile, malignant life-form that crashes to earth in a cozy, rural American town called Arborville. Untroubled by conscience or intellect, the Blob does only one thing - and it does it well. It eats anything and everything that moves: men, women, ..read more »
61%
from 330 members
Average rating for this collection:
81.8% from 17 members
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