Remaking a horror movie – or any movie, for that matter – usually doesn’t make sense unless you’re bringing something fresh to the story. Adapting a foreign film for American audiences is one exception, but even then, it’s better to offer a new take rather than just recreating it scene-by-scene, hoping it will be equally popular here. Generally, these exact copies don’t tend to be very successful.
Despite their mixed reputation, some horror remakes are actually quite well-made. Today, we’ll be exploring both the best and the worst of these shot-for-shot remakes.
6) Psycho
With such a strong cast—including Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, Philip Baker Hall, and Robert Forster—it’s obvious many skilled actors believed in Gus Van Sant’s vision for a remake of Psycho. However, the film ultimately didn’t succeed.
Okay, so of all the remakes on this list, the Psycho remake is the most… well, it basically just copies the original. The only changes? A little bit of nudity, it’s in color, and – seriously, why? – they added this totally awkward and unnecessary scene with Vince Vaughn’s Norman Bates. In Hitchcock’s version, we just see him peeking through the peephole, and that was enough! Honestly, that one scene made me want to switch off the remake and go straight back to the original. It’s just… unnecessary.
5) The Omen
Look, I remember when they remade The Omen back in the 2000s, and honestly, it was just one of a bunch of horror remakes that came out after the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre did well. Some of those remakes were okay – I actually liked Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead – but most of them weren’t great. The Omen remake falls into that middle ground. It wasn’t terrible, but it definitely made you wonder why they bothered. It was nowhere near as bad as the Black Christmas remake that came out the same year, though – that one was truly head-scratching!
The 2006 remake of The Omen features strong casting choices – Liev Schreiber, Mia Farrow, Pete Postlethwaite, and David Thewlis, who remarkably resembles the original Damien’s actor, David Warner. However, it fails to capture the distinctive 1970s atmosphere that made the first film so effective, and therefore doesn’t feel essential viewing. This version of Damien also lacks the unsettling nuance that Harvey Spencer Stephens brought to the role in the 1976 classic.
4) Funny Games
Michael Haneke’s 1997 Austrian film, Funny Games, is considered a masterpiece, but it’s a deeply disturbing and unforgettable experience, much like the film Straw Dogs.
Similar to the film Straw Dogs, this remake doesn’t have the impact of the original. It’s especially odd because it features talented actors like Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, and Michael Pitt, and was even directed by the same filmmaker, Haneke. Ultimately, revisiting this violent story felt unnecessary. The increased budget and well-known actors don’t enhance it; instead, they make it feel more like a polished Hollywood version than a truly disturbing experience.
3) Carrie
You’ll likely see Chloë Grace Moretz appear on this list again, and she definitely improves the movie Carrie, though Sissy Spacek, who played the role originally, still gives a more impactful performance.
That pretty much sums up the 2013 remake of Carrie. Brian De Palma’s original film did everything in this version better – truly, everything.
Stream Carrie on Prime Video.
2) Quarantine
[REC] is a truly excellent found footage film, and many consider it even better than the later hit, Paranormal Activity. Quarantine, which came out a year afterward, is also very good, boosted by a strong performance from Jennifer Carpenter, known for her role in Dexter.
If you prefer to watch a movie without subtitles, Quarantine might be for you, similar to Funny Games and the next film we’ll discuss. However, Quarantine feels more purposeful than Funny Games, mainly due to how well it’s made.
1) Let Me In
Simply put, Let the Right One In is a fantastic movie – we give it four out of five stars. Let Me In is also good, earning three and a half stars, and it successfully keeps the emotional power of the original while still making the key relationships and important scenes stand out.
It’s no wonder this remake is considered the best of its kind, given it’s directed by Matt Reeves. He previously made the exciting film Cloverfield and later achieved huge success with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes, and The Batman. The strong cast, including Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins, and Cara Buono from Stranger Things, deliver fantastic performances, giving the film an artistic quality similar to the original.
Stream Let Me In on Starz.
I’m really curious to know what everyone thought of those horror remakes that basically copied the original movies, shot for shot! Let me know if you enjoyed any of them in the comments, and let’s chat about it all over on the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-04-20 16:18