Comments on: The 10 Worst Remakes of All Time

By: alphabetsoup

alphabetsoup — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:28:14 +0000

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was NOT a remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The screenwriter had never even seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And it’s a fantastic movie, to boot. So if not for the second reason, for the first, it should not be on a list of worst remakes, as it is a film based on a book by Roald Dahl, and that’s it.

By: thomwade

thomwade — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:47:01 +0000

Uh…that is “Day of the Dead was far more terrible than”…

By: thomwade

thomwade — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:31:46 +0000

Day f the Dead was for more terrible than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-that film’s only real crime was the backstory of Willy Wonka. But Day of the Dead? Pure awful shit.

By: LivingDeadPunk

LivingDeadPunk — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:34:33 +0000

I can’t believe that no one has mentioned Day of the Dead or The Hitcher.

By: droidguy1119

droidguy1119 — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:01:48 +0000

Sorry, I meant to say “modern” remake. I’d say Chainsaw remake started a trend and that’s the batch I’m talking about. Maybe The Ring even started it. Just to make it easier, instead of “modern”, I’ll say “post-2000″ remakes. And I wouldn’t consider Oldboy a remake because it’s going to say “based on the comic book by” and not “based on the screenplay by”, which is a key difference. Since Park Chan Wook changed so much about the comic book in making the original version (the only key similarity, from what I understand, is that a guy gets locked in prison for 15 years with no explanation and then is released and tries to find out why — I’m pretty sure the entirety of the mystery in the movie, the villain, and most importantly the entire ending are unique to the film), it seems less like a remake unless they’re using his script.

Although it’s definitely true that without the other film, they wouldn’t be doing this.

By: jcove

jcove — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:34:29 +0000

My husband and I agree with all the choices on this list. But most of the remakes made recently (and will be remade) are pure abominations!
The original “Wicker Man” was a great film! It was very creepy, especially the end. The end gave me chills all over. Although I think the remake was one of the best comedies I have ever seen. I laughed so hard through the whole thing. Wait. That movie wasn’t supposed to be funny.

By: LadyFrontbum

LadyFrontbum — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:19:47 +0000

One good thing about TCM was ‘Song to the Siren’ in the opening(?) credits :)

By: James Gunn

James Gunn — Fri, 15 May 2009 01:30:53 +0000

All right guys, I can see bumming out on Oldboy, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Adventures in Babysitting – but Clue is a fucking horrible film. Remaking it in a slightly worse than mediocre version would be an enormous improvement.
Droidguy – Saying Halloween is better than the Thing, The Fly, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, etc, seems wrong. Also, they may not be saying it’s a remake of Oldboy, but it wouldn’t be getting made if not for Oldboy – and it’s still a remake, as many remakes are simply reinterpretations of the original source.

By: droidguy1119

droidguy1119 — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:54:54 +0000

About the Oldboy remake: It’s not a remake of Oldboy, it’s a re-adaptation of the comic book, and from what I understand, the movie is only 25% faithful to the comic. Doesn’t make it a better idea, but it’s not going to be treading the same ground as Park Chan Wook’s film.

By: droidguy1119

droidguy1119 — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:50:26 +0000

I didn’t see your poll, so I didn’t get to vote. My opinions on the ones listed here:

Psycho (1998): Lame, but a fascinating curiosity of cinema. I don’t hold very many hateful grudges when it comes to terrible filmmaking decisions, so I think the remake is kind of oddly interesting, like a science experiment, and I don’t just blindly hate it because it’s a bad remake of Psycho.

The Wicker Man (2006): Holy shit, what a terrible fucking movie. I don’t know what a single person involved in this movie could have possibly been thinking.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008): I have yet to see the original, sadly, and I thought this looked horrible (I avoided it in theaters) but I ended up getting it on DVD to review and I thought it was far better than its reputation. Similar to Psycho, you can’t let your love for the original play a huge part in judging the actual film itself. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s not terrible.

Planet of the Apes (2001): Didn’t see all of it but what I saw was stupid.

Godzilla (1998): Terrible, but it has Jean Reno in it, which invariably makes it at least a little better.

The Fog (2005): Abominable. Good picture choice, though.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005): I liked it. Not perfect, but enjoyable to me. I didn’t grow up on the original, though.

Halloween (2007): The most unfairly maligned remake in recent history, and probably (this isn’t saying much) the best horror remake thus far. However, I think the purpose of remaking Halloween is to get to make a sequel to the Halloween remake, and that’s where we’ll see where Rob’s ideas are really going.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003): Weak. Jessica Biel in a wifebeater and jeans is the only reason to watch it. Also the John Larroquette narration at the beginning and end is awesome.

The Grinch (2000): I laughed a couple of times. Jim Carrey’s rendition of the song is good as well. Otherwise, bad.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004): I liked it. It’s not the original, but it’s very good. That said, I haven’t felt compelled to watch it in about five years, so maybe I’d feel differently if I’d just revisited it.

The Longest Yard (2005): I haven’t seen the original, but this is easily my least favorite Adam Sandler movie. Oh, so bad.

Did not see The Haunting (1999), Guess Who (2005), The Omen (2006), Greystroke, The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), or Sabrina (1995).