Horror movie remakes keep audiences screaming?

By Robert Rinaldo
Entertainment Editor

The recent release of the remake of the 1985 horror film “Fright Night” marks the

continuation of a trend of horror film remakes. This trend has brought about the release of hits such as “Dawn of the Dead” (2004) and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2003) while also creating flops such as “Prom Night” (2008) and “The Stepfather” (2009).

With the upcoming releases of “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” and “The Thing,” it’s a wonder whether these films will match the quality of their predecessors or fall completely short. Here are some examples of horror film remakes that may have even surpassed their predecessor.

“The Thing” (1982) : It’s almost hard to believe that this film is a remake, but it is a reimagining of the 1951 film “The Thing From Another World,” both of which were adapted from the novel “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr. Directed by John Carpenter (“Halloween”) and starring Kurt Russell (“Miracle”), the film proved to be a more faithful adaptation than the original film.

Despite a poor box office run, “The Thing” developed an immense cult following and is widely considered to be the best horror remake and one of the best horror films of all time.

“The Fly” (1986) : The original 1958 film is one of the most influential science fic-tion/horror films of all time, so a remake of this movie was a risky move. Fortunately, this version starring Jeff Goldblum (“Jurassic Park”) lived up to the quality of the predecessor while retaining only the basic premise.

The film is best known for its critically acclaimed makeup and creature effects as it captured the horrifying transformation Seth Brundle (Goldblum) from human to fly.

“The Blob” (1988) : Thirty years after the first film, this remake wonderfully renews the sense of popcorn fun, bumping up the action from the occasionally plodding original, thanks to a more aggressive alien blob, and adding both gory effects and more believable “teenagers” than Steve McQueen The film was praised for its update of special effects, in particular those used for the Blob itself.

There are rumors that another remake will be made, but nothing has been confirmed.

“The Ring” (2002) : Considered the best remake of an Asian horror film, “The Ring” captures the original’s ghost-story creepiness with atmospheric direction from Gore Verbinski (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) and a critically acclaimed performance by Naomi Watts (“Mulholland Drive”). The success of the film opened the way for American remakes of several other Japanese horror films, including “The Grudge” and “Dark Water.”

The story continued in the sequel “The Ring 2” and a third film, “The Ring 3D,” is scheduled to be released sometime in 2012.

“Dawn of the Dead” (2004) : Zack Snyder took a big risk by taking on the remake of the classic by George A. Romero, but it paid off. The most noticeable difference between the two is the change of the zombies from slow and lumbering to fast and sprinting.

With Sarah Polley (“Road to Avonela”) and Ving Rhames (“Mission Impossible”) staring, the film proved that even a highly esteemed classic can be updated and still hold up in a new generation.

Films such as these provide hope that horror remakes can stand on their own without much comparison to their predecessors. Only time will tell of whether or not upcoming remakes will be able to follow in the footsteps of these successful films.