Moviefone's top ten rules to making a good horror remake

[TomServofan]

A good horror remake is hard to find. Moviefone made a few words of advice for all the filmmakers back in 2011 with an article that isn't there anymore but i printed it off of it long ago back in 2012 plus made an update version out there who have given us the good, the bad, and 'The Fog.' Here are 10 simple rules for successfully remaking a horror classic.

Find a horror movie that could use a remake: i mean under-appreciated, out-dated or never quite cashed in on it's potential. That could use a remake: Basket Case, CHUD, Lifeforce, Spontanous Combustion, Blue Monkey, Warning Sign, Blood Beach.

No carbon copies: if your plan of attack is to make a shot-to-shot word-by-word remake of an already successful original, then you have failed miserably. If we wanted to see the original, we watch it. Worst culprits: Psycho (1998) and The Omen (2006). Perfect horror movies that should never be remade: Jaws and American Werewolf in London.

Make it relevant: with your remake, you must say something about the way we live today and justisfy that with your remake's existence as vampires/zombies are popular these days and you got to say something about it. Good example: Dawn of the Dead (2004).

Honor the original: whether it's by using a memorable quote, having cameos from original cast members or sticking to the story a filmmaker can do alot of good will by refusing to fix what isn't broken. Good examples: Let Me In, Night of the Living Dead (1990), Cat People (1982), Funny Games (1997) and Cape Fear (1991).

Up the ante but don't overdo it: at least show something that the audience/fans havent seen before or else dont do the remake. Good example: The Blob (1988). The Fly (1986) and The Crazies (2010).

Stay away from torture porn: if mindless blood orgies are your thing, keep your karo encrusted gloves off the classics, the gag reflex can only be tested for so long, there are already enough gore feasts out there to please the bloodthirsty masses. Worst culprit: Halloween (2007).

A good cast doesn't make up for a bad script: Sometimes you can't turn chickenfeed into chicken salad with a good cast but a bad script. Worst culprits: A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Wicker Man, Fright Night and The Haunting.

Play to the original's strengths: means keep the suspense of the original and make the story your own without carving the heart out of it. Good examples: The Hills Have Eyes (2006), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Maniac (2012), The Ring (2002). Worst culprits: The Hitcher (2007).

If the original was good in Japanese, the American remake won't be: The only US remake of a Japanese horror movie that actually worked was The Ring and it worked wonders for it, time to move on. Worst culprits: Dark Water, The Grudge, One Missed Call.

If the original was rated R, the remake should not be PG-13: Now this is an important one! if your gonna make a remake of an R-rated horror movie, please don't sugarcoat the script for the sake of ticket sales! teens grow up and when they finally see the remake as R-rated as the original when they are old enough to see the remake, they'll be glad you didn't dumb it down. Worst culprits: The Fog (2005), The Stepfather (2009) and Prom Night.

[JBatmanFan05]

Good tips for what has now become a very sad pathetic segment of cinema.

You had ok remakes in Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Evil Dead (2013).

If the original was rated R, the remake should not be PG-13

A big one for me. PG-13 is proving to be a blight on movies.

[Gray Lensman]

A big one for me. PG-13 is proving to be a blight on movies.

That depends on how they get there - if you tone down something that was R for a PG-13 rating you most likely did something wrong. If the first pass gets that rating maybe not.

[Za Waldo]

CHUD was already remade. It's called Aliens.

[Za Waldo]

That depends on how they get there - if you tone down something that was R for a PG-13 rating you most likely did something wrong. If the first pass gets that rating maybe not.

I'm not sure I've seen many horror movies that are PG-13 that wouldn't have been better served by going for it a little more and just being R...outside of kids movies made specifically for little kid like Monster Squad or something.

[TomServofan]

Good tips for what has now become a very sad pathetic segment of cinema.

You had ok remakes in Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Evil Dead (2013).



A big one for me. PG-13 is proving to be a blight on movies.

What do you think of the ones i mentioned JBatmanfan05 and do you agree on the rules? even agree Jaws is so perfect that it should be forbidden to be remade?

[Joker Venom]

I agree with the guidelines laid out. Particularly, when it comes to not remaking films that were done perfectly the first time around.

Unfortunately, I hear a remake of An American Werewolf In London is in the works, and Max Landis is involved. Wonder how his father feels about that.

[Judge Dredd]

Only decent horror remake I can think of is Tom Savini's remake of Night of the Living Dead. Not a remake but Argento's edit of Dawn of the Dead was good.

[C_Miller]

Hard to find any faults with the list. There may be some that I'd expand on with exceptions, but they give great guidelines, that sadly aren't typically followed as evidenced by the examples they give.

A big one for me. PG-13 is proving to be a blight on movies.

I don't really agree with that, I actually think that it's a great thing for movies in the long run. IMO, the more ratings out there the better. The MPAA is a terrible organization to begin with very little transparency and oversight, but giving them something between PG and R gives us movies that can push the envelope a little bit while still maintaining their financial viability. For example, can you imagine what would have to be removed from The Avengers in order to get a PG rating these days or how much less money it would have made if it had been rated R? You can bring up Deadpool and It, but 3/4 of a Billion, is very different than 1.5 billion.

Plus Deadpool and It were special movies in terms of quality and ability to capture the cultural zeitgeist. If every superhero movie became an R rating, I don't think they'd be as successful if everyone under 17 had to go with an adult. And at the same time, PG is a tough rating to get when it's not a movie geared specifically for children. A lot of the violence in these superhero movies would have to be tone down hardcore in order to pull it down to PG. I know I'm only speaking of superhero movies, but that's where our Action Adventure movies are right now. There aren't too many of those types geared at a mass audience these days (unfortunately, in my opinion).

But to the point of the article, yes, no horror movie should be remade to go from R to PG-13. We call that a cash grab and the audience deserves better than that.

[TomServofan]

I agree with the guidelines laid out. Particularly, when it comes to not remaking films that were done perfectly the first time around.

Unfortunately, I hear a remake of An American Werewolf In London is in the works, and Max Landis is involved. Wonder how his father feels about that.

Thanks but damn American Werewolf remake might suck even with a CGI werewolf as you can't top Bakers amazing practical effects.

But do you agree Jaws is truly the most perfect horror movie ever? i mean it has stood the test of time and still is loved/beloved by everyone and huge on Netflix/amazon prime and the blu-ray market with it's amazing flawless restoration and still entertains audiences and scares them to be afraid of going to the beach. It should be forbidden to be remade eh? even Spielberg forbids any remake of the movie.

[jbmasta]

Thanks but damn American Werewolf remake might suck even with a CGI werewolf as you can't top Bakers amazing practical effects.

But do you agree Jaws is truly the most perfect horror movie ever? i mean it has stood the test of time and still is loved/beloved by everyone and huge on Netflix/amazon prime and the blu-ray market with it's amazing flawless restoration and still entertains audiences and scares them to be afraid of going to the beach. It should be forbidden to be remade eh? even Spielberg forbids any remake of the movie.

Jaws was lightning in a bottle, there's no weak link. It didn't even need a sequel (you know it's gotten sequelitis when Back the Future II uses the 19th installment in a gag).

Basically the key thing for a good remake is to take a new angle on the original while still retaining the spirit of the original. It should stand on its own as a good movie. If you go the prequel route, don't try to give too much backstory. Mystery is good for a horror movie villain.

[Joker Venom]

Thanks but damn American Werewolf remake might suck even with a CGI werewolf as you can't top Bakers amazing practical effects.

But do you agree Jaws is truly the most perfect horror movie ever?

Jaws was a classic in every sense of the word. It did everything a good horror movie should do. I don't think any other film did as good a job of building suspense, because you KNEW the shark was out there, you KNEW whoever went into the water was going to have a bad time of it, and when you heard the music building, you KNEW it was coming. But despite that, when the attack happened, it still scared the bejeezus out of you, and made you jump. That's amazing.

Not looking forward to an American Werewolf remake at all, as it's my favorite horror movie. And, as you pointed out, you can't top Rick Baker's fx work, so both the werewolf and the transformation will likely be done with CGI, and that already takes something away from it. Not only that, the original was a perfect blend of horror and dark humor. I don't know what the extent of Max Landis' involvement is, but I don't think he's as good a writer as his father is, and I get the feeling the script will be lacking, too. This was one of the movies that I was hoping they wouldn't attempt to do a remake of.

[TomServofan]

And besides we already have too many damned shark films when you can't beat the original

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Ughhhhhh how about just make a good film. I feel like most Horror remakes try to add a new twist or try to find some greater reason for existing. Something about the original worked. Find that primal reason and film a good story in a compelling way.

[Vakanai]

And besides we already have too many damned shark films when you can't beat the original

Meh, Jaws is great but no reason other shark movies can't be fun on their own terms. I'm looking forward to the MEG movie later this year.