10 Horror Remakes That Are Better Than You Might Think
Steve Barton
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Halloween: Rob Zombie certainly didn’t nail a reimagining of John Carpenter’s Halloween in pitch-perfect fashion. There is an abundance of negative factors that come into play when studying this highly anticipated reboot. The pacing is horrendous, the casting is borderline embarrassing and the “Halloween” vibe earns serious neglect. That said, there aren’t many who could have made this one a certified masterpiece. John Carpenter did that quite well in 1978, and he may well be the only man capable of pulling off such a feat.
However, Rob’s attempt to bring Michael’s origin to the surface of things – something we hadn’t seen in previous installments – is noteworthy. Unlike countless filmmakers, Rob was driven to paint a more complex origin of the infamous Michael Myers, and whether you can support Rob’s first film as whole, it’s hard to deny the effort he put into the mythos of Michael Myers. The backstory makes for a completely new angle. It’s almost like watching a film from a completely different camera POV and catching a load of minor details you may have previously missed.
The casting could have been elevated quite a bit (sorry, Scout, but you fail), but at least we get a chance to see Brad Dourif in one of his greatest roles. This dude was born to play Sheriff Brackett.
Thir13en Ghosts: I won’t lie to you: The script for Steve Beck’s rendition of Thir13en Ghosts is a bit on the safe side. That said, it doesn’t really need to be overly intricate. William Castle’s original film is dreadful at best so virtually any director with a pulse could turn this one into a markedly improved product, even with a flat screenplay.
And that’s what we get from this reboot. The story isn’t spectacular, plot intricacies are nearly nonexistent, but what this flick has going for it is powerful visuals. The ghostly apparitions are quite jarring, and the breakneck pace of the film puts the original to complete shame. Hell, the introductory shot alone puts the original to shame. Is this remake amazing? No. But it’s a notably stronger effort than that offered by William Castle in 1960, and it’s profoundly more enjoyable than critics were eager to admit.
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