11 Pointless Horror Movie Remakes That Were a Total Waste of Your Time
Remaking a classic is usually just a waste of time. And, even if the remake is halfway watchable, wouldn't you rather just see the original again? Here, then, are some of the most unnecessary horror movie remakes of all time.
'The Wicker Man' (2006)
Neil LaBute's remake of the beloved cult '70s film led to this laughably awful remake, which gave us such terrible, much-memed Bad Movie Moments as Nicolas Cage begging "Not the bees!"
'The Haunting' (1999)
A remake of the elegantly subtle 1960 classic directed by Robert Wise (in which no ghosts are ever shown) became this over-the-top, CGI-run-amok howler in which the ghosts are no longer evil, but are simply sad. Between this and the "Star Wars" prequels, Liam Neeson nearly quit acting.
'Psycho' (1998)
Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot remake Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 shocker was an exercise in pointlessness and couldn't come close to matching the eerie, iconic power of the original.
'Rosemary's Baby' (2014)
We know this was a TV remake, but, the original is such a classic that we would be remiss if we didn't flush this turd. Nothing against Zoe Saldana, but NBC's version of the chilling Ira Levin novel can't begin to compare to Roman Polanski's masterful 1968 version starring Mia Farrow as Rosemary. Reviewers called it "dreadful" and "dull" and faulted it for relying too heavily on gore.
'Carrie' (2013)
While a female-directed version of Stephen King's novel about a psychic misfit sounds like a great idea, Kimberly Peirce ("Boys Don't Cry") and star Chloe Grace Moretz add nothing new. Everyone goes through the motions but you'd be better off rewatching Brian De Palma's 1976 version, starring Sissy Spacek.
'The Fog' (2006)
Remaking a John Carpenter film -- one of the modern masters of horror -- is never a good idea. The original 1979 film might not be as well-loved as some of his other films, but the remake, starring Tom Welling and Maggie Grace, was hated by critics and audiences alike.
'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (2010)
Sure, there was an Oscar-nominated actor in Freddy Krueger's striped sweater (Jackie Earle Haley), but this blasé and CGI-heavy reboot of the 1984 classic was to quote the critics, "a by-the-numbers bad dream."
'Halloween' (2007)
Increasingly awful sequels have already diluted the legacy of John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic, but Rob Zombie's reboot is just a shadow of the original. Quick-cut editing and gratuitous gore replaces suspense in this well-intentioned misfire.
'Village of the Damned' (1995)
Sadly, even John Carpenter behind the camera didn't help make this remake of the campy 1960 original worthwhile. Those blond alien kids are still creepy but the cheese factor in the remake was even higher.
'The Omen' (2006)
"The Omen" (1976) was never as big a hit as "The Exorcist," but it's still a classic. Just try improving on its disturbing "All for you, Damien!" scene. This remake, starring Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles was dismissed as "disastrous," "clunky," "gratuitous," and "unnecessary."
'The Town That Dreaded Sundown' (2014)
This lesser-known 1976 B-movie about a real-life, hooded serial killer who terrorized a small town and was never caught still has the power to scare, so why remake it? The 2014 version has its admirers, but many considered it "cookie cutter carnage."
