Every Genre Suffers From Bad Remakes. These Just Happen To Be The 10 Worst!
This recent ‘Ghostbusters‘ controversy got me thinking about movie remakes. All of a sudden, everyone’s favorite childhood franchises were getting re-imagined. But remakes have been around longer than you think. The classic 1982 horror film ‘The Thing‘ is a remake. 1922’s ‘Nosferatu‘ was remade in the 70’s. Even modern hits like ‘Ocean’s Eleven‘ or ‘3:10 To Yuma‘ are remakes.
So with this being such a common thing, why are there so many horrible remakes?
The answer may never be known; sometimes, Hollywood just loves to letdown cinephiles. I had the “pleasure” of going through some of the most cringe-worthy films that have underwent a makeover. Trying to just name 10 of the worst was hard but this list highlights the ones we know are real cinema abominations.
The only qualifications for this list are the original film has to have some acclaim to it. Also, the remake has to have failed across the board. While some didn’t like Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween‘ remake, it did prove to be successful.
Honorable Mentions:
-Assault On Precinct 13 (2005)
-Clash Of The Titans (2010)
-Red Dawn (2012)
10. Point Break (2015)
Do you even remember this movie being released? Exactly. NEXT!
9. Planet Of The Apes (2001)
This film started a long string of remakes from Tim Burton but none stink more than his unnecessary ‘Planet Of The Apes‘ remake. Other than Rick Baker’s insane makeup effects, the movie adds nothing new to the franchise.
8. Breathless (1983)
Taking one of the most influential films of all times and making it a Richard Gere 80’s film is a crime against cinema. The original 1960 French ‘Breathless‘ basically started the French New Wave movement while the 1983 film fell into obscurity.
7. The Karate Kid (2010)
One of the most obvious cash-grabs when it comes to remakes. The casting of Jackie Chan in the Mr. Miyagi role was obvious but attempting to cash in on the quick fame of Will Smith’s son Jaden ruined any chance for the project.
6. Carrie (2013)
2013’s ‘Carrie‘ failed because it didn’t even try. While Chloe Grace Moretz is a wonderful actress, she doesn’t embody who Carrie is. You can’t mess up her hair, throw frumpy clothes on her and then expect people to buy her as this character.
5. Oldboy (2013)
The big flaw with Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy‘ is how good it would have been if there was no original to compare it to. You try to separate the remakes from originals but everything this tried looked weak compared to its Korean counterpart.
4. Total Recall (2012)
Other than keeping the three-breasted alien, 2012’s ‘Total Recall‘ is utterly disappointing. Paul Verhoeven’s 90’s niche sci-fi movie surprisingly worked but trying to capture that magic again proved to be impossible.
3. Godzilla (1998)
Roland Emmerich is a polarizing director but there’s nothing polarizing bout this ‘Gojira‘ remake. This massively marketed film was inescapable in 1998 but now, people wish they could forget the first American ‘Godzilla‘ movie.
2. A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)
A collective tear was shed while the iconic Freddy Krueger was completely destroyed with a pointless remake. This ‘Elm Street‘ remake took all the nostalgic fun of the ’84 movie and made it looks like dreary joke.
1. Psycho (1998)
How do you make a shot for shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho‘? Well you don’t but director Gus Van Sant sure tried. Other films turned iconic moments into cheap imitations but this Vince Vaughn-led stinker is the king of bad remakes.
Do you agree with my list? What horrible remake would you add to it?
Let me know in the comments below!
