Found-footage, Torture Porn, J-horror, and remakes defined horror in the aughts. Not surprisingly, the remake craze eventually moved on from 80s slashers to the hot Japanese horror market. Things started off well enough as Gore Verbinski’s American update of Ringu proved to be a great horror movie in its own right. And The Grudge – […]
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Nearly 40 years have passed since Children of the Corn stalked cineplexes. Among Stephen King adaptations, the 1984 mix of supernatural horror and slasher basics falls slightly on the lower end of the scale. Yet somehow Children of the Corn has become a B-horror movie franchise similar to the Hellraiser and Puppet Master series. To […]
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John Carpenter is a modern ‘master of horror’ so it’s not surprising that Hollywood eventually pillaged a handful of his movies for the remake treatment. While the Assault on Precinct 13 remake was decent and Rob Zombie’s Halloween update has its fans, the 2011 update of The Thing was pretty underwhelming. However, each of these […]
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When Americans remake Asian and European thrillers and horror movies, the results are often predictably bad. Every once in a while you get an American version of a foreign classic, like The Ring, that understands what made that concept work. Typically, you get something like the American remakes of Martyrs, Inside, or Pulse. These tepid […]
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Some movies just don’t need to be remade. Jaws, The Godfather, Goodfellas – these are just a few examples of movie that work every bit as well as they did upon release. Amongst the better horror movies of the 21st century, Austrian creepfest Goodnight Mommy wasn’t crying out for a remake either. Subtly unsettling, atmospheric, […]
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In the 1980s and 1990, Hollywood took a fancy to remaking European classics – the horror movie remake wouldn’t begin in earnest until the turn of the century. More often than not, these remakes missed what made these movies classics in the first place. One of the most common flaws of American updates of Euro-thrillers […]
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Sometimes remakes aren’t a bad idea. Not all movies – regardless of how much they’re loved – ages well. Maybe the effects are too dated. Or perhaps the story hasn’t translated past the period in which it was released. Good ideas can also get lost in bad movies. And occasionally, a filmmaker comes along with […]
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Later in 2022, Gary Dauberman’s (Annabelle Comes Home) highly anticipated Salem’s Lot remake arrives in theaters. Flying under the radar, the Firestarter remake quietly released in theaters and VOD platforms. Despite its relative lack of hype, this is a remake that makes some sense. On one hand, Stephen King’s novel boasts an interesting premise worthy […]
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