Hollywood has always been in love with sequels and remakes, especially when it comes to horror movies. You can barely be considered a successful horror property unless you have at least 4 films under your belt. And we can all agree that the vast majority of the time, these amount to diminishing returns. (Did we really need 6…count ‘em…Leprechaun movies, including “Leprechaun in Space” and “Leprechaun Back 2 tha Hood?”) Halloween is sneaking up on us, so what better time to take a look at 10 horror films that did the impossible — they improved on their predecessors or originals. Starting with #10….
#10. The Blob (1988)
Admittedly, the original “Blob” didn’t set the bar too high in order to be beat. But by any standard, 1988’s “The Blob” was nasty, sick fun, with Shawnee Smith and Kevin Dillon taking on a much scarier Blob than Steve McQueen ever had to face. And the film’s sense of humor really gave it an edge — not only is the Steve McQueenish jock character the first to go, but actor Paul McCrane meets a fate in this film even worse than his melting death in “Robocop” or his helicopter death on “E.R.” Mental note: Never be anywhere near Paul McCrane.
The rest of list after the jump….
#9. Saw II (2005)
The first "Saw" was a mixed bag, with some very clever ideas and some chilling scenes, but also some elements that left many viewers groaning. So it was shocking to see that "Saw II" far surpassed the original (and remains the best in the series). Not only did it feature a razor-sharp story, but it also features...Shawnee Smith (of "Blob" fame), clearly indicating she knows a good sequel/remake when she sees it.
#8. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
This is the trickiest one here. The original "Dawn of the Dead" is a masterpiece. It's a tour de force of satire and unlike anything else ever done. So why is this 2004 remake on here? Well, in some ways, this version works better...if only as a pure horror movie. This is the film everyone expected to blow...and instead, it proved to be a genuinely scary, exciting, smart film. Whomever convinced Sarah Polley to take a break from her brilliant arthouse career to do this is a genius. Arguably the biggest surprise on this list.
#7. Cape Fear (1991)
Great original film. No doubt about it. But I give the (slight) edge to Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake, primarily because of the chilling and off-kilter acting of Robert De Niro and especially Juliette Lewis, who really makes the film come together. Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange are essentially pushed off to the sides, but with De Niro and Lewis being so hypnotizing, does it matter?
#6. The Fly (1986)
No one does "creepy" better than David Cronenberg, and "The Fly" is no exception. With a tiny but brilliant cast (Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis both deserved awards), the film melds terror, tragedy, science fiction, and humor together. And it gave us one of the most famous taglines of all time with "Be afraid. Be very afraid."
#5. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
How often does a director take a sequel and satirize its predecessor? Not very often. But Joe Dante's insanely hilarious "Gremlins 2" throws the horror out the window and goes purely for the comedy -- and it comes up aces. How can you not love a film with a network public service announcement that says "Because of the end of civilization, the Clamp Cable Network now leaves the air. We hope you've enjoyed our programming, but more importantly, we hope you've enjoyed... life." Dear Joe Dante: Please come back to feature filmmaking.
#4. The Exorcist III (1990)
Am I insane? Can "The Exorcist III" really be better than the original? Well, I think the original is fantastic, but I give the slight edge to this one. William Peter Blatty writes and directs this adaptation of his own novel "Legion" and comes up with a film that contains one of the scariest moments of all time. More than 3 decades of seeing horror films in the theater, and "The Exorcist III" remains the only one to actually make me leap out of my seat so high that I landed on the floor.
#3. The Ring (2002)
Don't get me wrong -- the original Asian film "Ringu" is scary beyond belief, and is a masterpiece all its own. That said, "The Ring" does the seemingly impossible -- takes a terrific film and tweaks it to make it even better. It retains all the scares but tightens the storyline and provides a final few minutes that packs even more of a wallop than the original. When I heard this film was coming, I couldn't imagine the need to remake "Ringu." Now I can't imagine horror film history without it.
#2. The Thing (1982)
There's certainly nothing wrong with 1951's "The Thing from Another World" but let's face it -- John Carpenter's "The Thing" is his magnum opus, and one of the flat-out scariest films ever made. Featuring multiple sequences of nail-biting suspense and some mind-blowing gore, it's hard to imagine changing anything in this film to make it better. If you haven't seen this one in a while, go back and watch it again -- 26 years on, it's still scary as hell.
#1. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Jeff Goldbum's second appearance on this list (maybe he and Shawnee Smith should team up!) Not only is 1978's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" the best remake of all time -- it's arguably the best horror film ever made, period. Building upon the legendary original, it ramps up the horror, adds a healthy dose of social commentary, and creates one of the most relentlessly suspenseful films in history. Most horror films focus on the protagonists trying to stop the horror. In this one, it's a foregone conclusion that stopping it is impossible -- the only question is whether you can survive. It's a terrifying vision of hopelessness, and remains the best example of how to remake a classic.
Awesome list.
If you had included Psycho, I wouldn't have been able to take you seriously. Thankfully, you didn't.
I didn't despise the Psycho remake -- I thought Anne Heche was terrific, and she managed to put her own spin on it. Outside of her, though, it felt totally unnecessary to me.
That said, while not better than the original, I felt the sequel PSYCHO II is vastly underrated, and genuinely funny and chilling. I think Hitchcock would have enjoyed PSYCHO II. A very worthy sequel. (Skip #3 though).
Totally agree on The Thing. It's one of my favorite movies ever.
But I've never been brave enough to watch Exorcist III. I was nine years old when I saw the first one and it scarred me for life.
You can handle it! Frankly, The Thing is scary as hell -- if you can get through that, take a whack at Exorcist III. Or if you need to laugh, watch The Exorcist II which is (unintentionally) hilarious!
What an awesome list. Sequels, from the silly to the sublime, are one of the special joys of horror. And I'm all for any pretext under which we can all gush about how unbelievably perfect The Thing is.
Did I ever post this on here? I don't know if I did. It's a music video that uses G.I. Joe's to re-enact THE THING.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT7AH4JyuNs
I'm glad Prom Night wasn't on this list. That remake was awful.
Prom Night is one of the very few horror movies released this year that I haven't seen, although it looked like it had little in common with the original outside of the name. Just like Hello, Mary Lou: Prom Night II - a pretty awful sequel that also had nothing to do with the original.
Awesome post! I highly recommend the original Dark Water, the 2002 Japanese version, which is SUPERscary.
Agreed. And I can't recommend the collection of short stories DARK WATER highly enough, by Koji Suzuki (of RING fame). The original short story for Dark Water is brilliant.