The remake is something that has existed for a very, very, very long time. Some are celebrated for being good updates to an originally good film. But most are hated due to either a cashgrabby feel or poor understanding of the original movie. A lot of the time they simply cannot live up to that original movie, or offer an inferior product. We see this especially in 2022, where nostalgia is widespread, making people go back to the originals instead of the remakes. Tons of remakes come out every year, especially in the horror avenue of films (a tubi original Terror Train remake came out in October and it looks like complete trash!), leading most remakes to fade from the collective consciousness. So here’s ten of some of the most forgotten, maybe rightly so, remakes.
10) Mr Deeds (2002) / Remake of Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Adam Sandler is considered by some to be a comedy treasure, and by others to be a stain on American culture. Wherever you think he fits into the American consensus, it is strange for him to star in an early 2000s remake of a 30’s Frank Capra classic. That also takes place during the Great Depression while the remake takes place in 2002. A lot of people consider it just another Adam Sandler movie, especially during a time where most of his classics had already come out, not even comparing it to the original.
9) Halloween H20 (1998) / Remake of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
As a way to revitalize the Halloween franchise in the late 90s, Dimension decided to retcon three films and bring it back to the basics. Jamie Lee Curtis being terrorized by Michael Myers, and also other people I guess. Technically there’s parts retconned from all Michael Myers featuring Halloween movies, but it’s largely a remake of the fourth entry. Other than that there’s nothing much to talk about, it’s just a largely boring movie. While Halloween 4 isn’t the greatest, at least it’s entertaining. H20 and Resurrection are treated as a sort of joke in the horror community, especially due to the success of 2018, and they aren’t even that fun to watch.
8) Body Snatchers (1993) and The Invasion (2007) / Remake of Invasion of the Body Strangers (1956)
These are even more useless compared to a lot of the other entries on this list plainly because, there is a great remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers even if it is from the seventies. They’re even cheesier and they don’t need to exist. That’s really all there is to it. The funniest thing about specifically The Invasion was it was directed by Oliver Hirschbiegal (Director of Oscar Nominated Downfall) and stars Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman. Even with this, it’s incredibly mediocre and thus forgotten.
7) Oldboy (2013), Inside (2011), and Martyrs (2011) / Remake of Oldboy (2003), Inside (2008), Martyrs (2008)
The reason these are in the same entry is that they exist for the same reason. ‘Let’s Americanize and censor extreme, yet critically acclaimed foreign films’. These don’t need to exist, and they’re usually pale in comparison to the original movies. Especially due to them coming out years within the original’s original release date. It’s very good this died out, or else we could have seen an american remake of Parasite and Train to Busan. Oh wait….
6) Total Recall (2012) / Remake of Total Recall (1990)
22 years between two versions of a movie can be quite a long time, or it could feel like almost no time at all. With this it’s no time at all, to the point where many don’t realize, or forgot this movie still exists. While not being horrible, it misses a lot of the charm and humor the original had, even if the action scenes are a touch better because of less limitations. Overall a bland remake of an original sci-fi classic.
5) Beauty & The Beast (2017) / Remake of Beauty & The Beast (1991)
Another 90s remake, this time of an animated Disney classic. Disney has had some hits but mostly misses with live action remakes with big name actors especially in the 2010s, and Beauty and the Beast is considered one of the biggest misses. A lot of spectacular scenes in the original are completely toned down, and it just turns into a unimaginative film, that isn’t even so bad it’s worth noting (2020’s Mulan remake). This specific incarnation of this story didn’t need to be live action; some things are just best animated and fanciful.
4) Point Break (2015) / Remake of Point Break (1991)
A 101 in making an action heist movie boring, the remake of point break is just abysmal compared to its original version. The stunts of course are impressive, but you would get the same effect if you watched a live broadcast of X games but with more boring exposition. A lot of the joy of the original is just completely removed, to the point where you might as well just watch making of videos of the action sequences on youtube instead of the actual movie.
3) Planet of the Apes (2001) / Remake of Planet of the Apes (1968)
It does actually make sense for the Planet of the Apes franchise to get a remake (see the modern trilogy for example), but they didn’t need to do whatever this was. The original is a classic,. People who don’t even know the movie say lines from it, and there’s a reason for that. It also spurred a massive franchise in the 60s and 70s, so remaking the original movie is really tough. It doesn’t help that they hired Tim Burton, the absolute king of gothic romanticism to make a massive fantasy epic in the era of the Lord of the Rings era. His trademarks aren’t even on this, just poor writing. That’s why this movie has faded from public consciousness and the original is still more widely recognized.
2) Godzilla (1998) / Remake of Godzilla (1954)
Another instance of America remaking a foreign film, the 90s godzilla is an all around joke. It’s much more of a B movie version of Jurassic Park: The Lost World than it is a remake of any Godzilla film. There’s even mini velociraptor godzillas. Matthew Brodrick is the lead actor and is just Matthew Brodircking around the entire movie (in a negative sense), and many of the other actors are just forgettable. Toho dislikes the movie so much that the godzilla in this movie is referred to as “Zilla” removing the god from the title. This movie is also worth noting because TriStar wanted to create an entire trilogy of films and several spinoffs like the current Monsterverse but only got out an animated series before calling it quits. Overall a disappointing entry into the Godzilla franchise.
1) Robocop (2014) / Remake of Robocop (1987)
The remake of Robocop is forgotten due to a number of reasons; the fact the black comedy and fake commercials have been erased, a very generic style, borderline decent performances etc. etc. The original version of Robocop was at its heart a satirical action film, blending many elements perfectly to form a concise portrait of what it’s trying to say. However, the remake misses this, and even though a lot of the action scenes are indeed cool, they miss a lot of what made people love the original. That’s what it’s main flaw of being a remake of Robocop is, that it’s trying so hard to be “cool” and with the times, it leaves what made robocop such an iconic movie behind.