These days, it seems like most horror movies are remakes of ones from the 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s. The 2013 version of Carrie, is actually the 3rd film adaptation of Stephen King’s best selling first novel. If studios aren’t remaking classic English language horror films (most recently, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Evil Dead), then they are probably searching Japanese cinemas for a creepy ghost story like The Ring or The Grudge. A lot of the obvious horror movie remakes have been done already, but there are still some that remain untouched. Although it might be hard to beat the original in some cases, here are some horror movies we would like to see a remake of.
Rosemary’s Baby
Based on the novel by Ira Levin, and starring Mia Farrow as Rosemary, this film is a classic in the devil worship sub-genre. A young woman and her husband move into a new building and after she gets pregnant, their neighbours start to show a lot more interest in her and her unborn child. The 1968 version, directed by Roman Polankski, was a financial and critical success, and the themes (greed, the stress of a failing career), are still very relevant today. Luckily, NBC is currently filming a TV miniseries, starring Zoe Saldana, set to air later this year.
Poltergeist
This story of a family who move into a house haunted by multiple malevolent spirits is a supernatural favourite. Although the Steven Spielberg-produced original was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1982, a modern day reboot with come with even more realistic, creepy special affects. A remake is scheduled for 2015, and it is sure to include one of the best tag lines in horror movie history: “They’re here.”
Hellraiser
There aren’t very many horror movie monsters scarier than Pinhead and his evil Cenobites. Written and directed by horror movie master, Clive Barker, the original Hellraiser wasn’t a huge box office hit, but it is still a classic that has been included on many top horror movie lists. Talks of a remake have been swirling around since the early 2000’s, but last year, Clive Barker himself, announced he is working on a reboot and it is sure to be just as terrifying as the first.
Prince of Darkness
Directed by another master of horror, John Carpenter, the 1987 film Prince Of Darkness, portrays a version of the”Anti-Christ” that will give you nightmares. Although the film was not well received, it has gained a cult following simply because it was made by Carpenter. If an updated version added more developed characters and better special effects, it could be a chilling look at the evil that could possibly be lurking behind every corner.
The Howling
Werewolves have that wild animal instinct that make them a terrifying and strong adversary. Add the fact that they look and seem human the majority of the time, and you have a movie monster that can provide surprise scares, and gory kills. The original was made in 1981, and spawned multiple sequels, but a modern day reboot would include better special effects, and hopefully, a resurgence for the werewolf sub-genre.
It
The 1990 TV movie version of Stephen King’s novel, It, featured a shapeshifting monster that was capable of transforming into its preys worst fears at any given time. Most of the time it appeared as a not-very-amusing clown named Pennywise. This film is probably the reason so many people list clowns as one of their phobias. Guillermo Del Toro has expressed interest in directing a remake but he remains busy with other projects. Cary Fukunaga (who directed and produced episodes of HBO’s True Detective) signed on to do his own adaptation in 2012, but not much has come of it. Yet.
