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When it comes to remaking horror films—remaking films of any genre, really—there’s typically no point in even going about it unless you have something new to add to the story. The only real exception is if it’s a foreign film that’s being adapted for a U.S. audience. But, even then, it’s best to bring a unique touch to the narrative, as opposed to simply going for a shot-for-shot approach hoping that it will translate as well in a new market as it did in its original market. All of this is to say that, for the most part, shot-for-shot horror remakes aren’t typically deemed massive successes.
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Even still, some of them are quite good. And, today, we’re going to look at the best and worst of shot-for-shot horror remakes.
6) Psycho
Given the presence of Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, Philip Baker Hall, and Robert Forster, it’s clear that some extremely talented people had faith in Gus Van Sant’s idea for a Psycho remake. But it was never going to work.
Of all the movies on this list, Psycho is the most shamelessly identical to its originator. The only differences are a bit of nudity, it being in color, and a completely unnecessary scene where Vince Vaughn’s Norman Bates is masturbating to Anne Heche’s Marion Crane, whereas in the original we just see him staring through the peephole (and that’s all we needed to see to get the gist). This is the very definition of a remake that makes you want to turn it off five minutes in and put on the original.
5) The Omen
The Omen was part of the glut of painfully average aughts remakes of great horror films that came out in the wake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre‘s success. Not all of them were bad (e.g. Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead), but most of them were. And that includes this, though thankfully it’s more just worthy of a “Why did they make this?” as opposed to the “What in God’s name were they thinking?” that accompanied the same year’s Black Christmas.
Points to The Omen for some inspired casting, such as Liev Schreiber, Mia Farrow, Pete Postlethwaite, and David Thewlis, who couldn’t look any closer to the original film’s David Warner if he tried. But the original film hinges so much on the type of ’70s atmosphere aughts cinema couldn’t come close to reproducing that it never comes across as required viewing. It doesn’t add anything to the story of Damien who, in this case, lacks the creepy subtlety of Harvey Spencer Stephens in the 1976 movie.
4) Funny Games
Michael Haneke’s 1997 Austrian film Funny Games is widely deemed a masterpiece. And extremely hard to watch masterpiece that you’ll never forget, just like Straw Dogs.
And, like Straw Dogs, it got a remake that lacks the original’s punch throughout. This one is particularly strange, because not only does it benefit from the presence Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, and Michael Pitt, but it too comes from Haneke. There was just no point in retelling this brutal story. All the higher budget and familiar faces do is make it feel less like a realistic nightmare and more like a Hollywood retelling that nightmare.
3) Carrie
This isn’t the last time we’ll see Chloë Grace Moretz on this list and, like with that other movie we’ll get to, Carrie benefits from her presence. But even she pales in comparison to her counterpart in the original film: Sissy Spacek.
And that’s the best way to summarize the 2013 version of Carrie. Everything here was already done better by Brian De Palma. Absolutely everything.
Stream Carrie on Prime Video.
2) Quarantine
[REC] is a fantastic found footage movie, even better than Paranormal Activity from two years later. And Quarantine, released one year after [REC], is similarly solid and benefitted by a devoted lead performance from Dexter‘s Jennifer Carpenter.
Basically, Quarantine is there for you if you don’t want to read subtitles, not unlike Funny Games and the next movie on our list. But on the upside, this one feels like it has a bit more of a reason to exist than Funny Games, primarily because of the execution.
1) Let Me In
To put it succinctly, Let the Right One In is a four-star movie out of five while Let Me In is a three-and-a-half-star movie. It retains much of the original’s emotional heft and makes its bigger moments and most important character dynamics continue to shine.
It’s not surprising this is the best shot-for-shot horror remake, because it comes from Matt Reeves, fresh off of Cloverfield and just a few years shy of his three for three blockbuster successes Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes, and The Batman. Plus, with Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins, and Stranger Things‘ Cara Buono all turning in excellent work, it more often than not plays like an art film, just like the original.
Stream Let Me In on Starz.
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