Movies
6 Horror Movies That Deserve Remakes
If you’ve read enough Kurt Vonnegut, you’ve probably heard of Kilgore Trout. He’s a (fictional) science fiction author with great skill at coming up with vivid and exciting premises, but almost no ability to actually turn those premises into novels that are worth reading. Most horror remakes have the opposite problem. They take material that is already well-known and well-respected and usually put it in the hands of someone with either equal or lesser skill than the original filmmakers, which is a similarly pointless exercise.
But what about those Kilgore Trout movies? The ones with great premises that suffered either through poor execution or a limited budget? Why not remake those movies, and thus bring audiences more exciting versions of premises that were somewhat wasted? We’d certainly have a more interesting slate of remakes to contend with than most of the IP-driven sludge that dominated the mid to late 2000s, even with the number of entries that turned out to be pretty solid. That’s what drove me to compile this list of movies that really do deserve the handsome, well-mounted remakes that so many minted classics have received in the last twenty years and change.
6 Horror Remakes We Need to See Made
A note: This is a chronological list, in no way meant to indicate the movies’ relative level of quality. Also, each and every one of these movies has its fans (including me, in some cases), so please know that this isn’t intended as an outright dismissal of the original works as a whole.
I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)
It’s a hell of a premise. A woman gets married to a guy played by Tom Tryon. Considering that he’s one of the most handsome men in the world, this seems like a great decision at the time, until she slowly begins to realize that he’s a monster from outer space. The movie was very ahead of its time, presenting a story about a woman who is trapped in a patriarchal structure and recognizes a problem but isn’t able to find anyone willing to believe that it exists. With the right budget and the right (non cis male) director and writer, this could really sing. Hell, Sofia Coppola basically already remade this movie as Priscilla. And Jacob Elordi might just be the modern-day answer to Tom Tryon, so… Let’s make it happen, folks.
Satánico Pandemonium (1975)
I think many would argue, correctly, that this Mexican nunsploitation outing is not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. But I think a remake could turn its already overwhelming and propulsive style into something even more lurid and captivating with the right filmmaker on board. Imagine. Luca Guadagnino going ham on the third act like he did with the ending of his Suspiria remake. Or Panos Cosmatos giving it the full Mandy treatment. Or hell, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez teaming up on this beauty, which they have already referenced by bestowing its title upon Salma Hayek as the name of her character in From Dusk Till Dawn.
Sorority House Massacre (1986)
Sorority House Massacre is a perfectly pleasant slasher movie helmed by Carol Frank, a rare 1980s female horror director, but it’s just so cheap. Considering the fact that it is loosely interrelated with the Slumber Party Massacre franchise, which just got a surprisingly solid remake in 2021, I think it’s time for Sorority House to get its due as well. If the vivid nightmare sequences are fleshed out and the female gaze is turned up to 11, we could have a hell of a good time on our hands.
Mimic (1997)
This is a remake where you wouldn’t even have to change directors. The original Guillermo del Toro movie, about a species of bug that has evolved to camouflage itself among human beings, was chewed to pieces by the Dimension Films woodchipper. But imagine the man who made The Devil’s Backbone and Blade II and Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth and Crimson Peak and The Shape of Water and Pinocchio coming back to remake his first English-language project, applying all the lessons he learned in the meantime. Glorious.
When a Stranger Calls (2006)
“But Brennan,” you’re saying, “this movie is already a remake of that 1979 movie with Carol Kane!” And you would be quite right. But here’s the thing. The 2006 remake makes exactly one good choice (expanding the terrifying “Have you checked the children?” opening sequence into a full feature instead of doing a pointless time jump and watching a cop wander around the city for an hour), and essentially no others. There is a very good full feature buried somewhere in the When a Stranger Calls premise, but nobody has quite been able to find it yet.
Winchester (2018)
Making a movie based on the most historical and aesthetically interesting building in California and giving it a boilerplate Conjuring plot with absolutely no sense of place is a criminal act. (Did I mention it was shot in Australia?) Also, I hardly think a demon twink was the worst of the real Sarah Winchester’s worries, to be completely honest. Let’s try this again. Once more, with feeling!
Shudder knows summer is the perfect time to watch scary things in air-conditioned places. Which is why the beloved streamer is giving us newer movies like Heresy, Whistle, This is Not a Test, and Smothered. While it’s always fun to see recent titles arrive alongside classics and deep cuts, my eye isn’t on the films this month. Most of my picks this May are television series and documentaries. Maybe that means I want longer comments with my media and an open library. Or perhaps I’m just reminding myself that I’m a cool nerd and making it your problem too. Whatever the case may be, I have curated another list of titles that I believe deserve our attention. Check out my top five priorities while surfing our favorite streamer below.
Tales From the Crypt (1989 – 1996)
Our beloved 90s anthology is finally making its way to our most cherished streamer. As someone who hasn’t seen Tales From the Crypt since I was a tyke, I’m so giddy that I get to watch it as an adult. More importantly, I get to binge it as John Kassir (the voice of our favorite ghoul) intended. I have been floating since this news was announced at the Overlook Film Festival in April. My insomnia and my Crypt Keeper are about to be reunited, and all is going to be alright in my little world. Come for the celebrities and stay for the puns and wicked deaths. I sincerely hope you call out of work each Friday as a new season gets added to Shudder.
You can watch Tales From the Crypt: Season 1 on May 1st. Subsequent seasons will premiere on Fridays, concluding with Season 7 on June 12
Horror Noire: History of Black Horror (2019)
Based on Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman’s book of the same name, Horror Noire: History of Black Horror is simply that girl. It unpacks the complicated history of Black people in the genre with humor, honesty, and heart. It even gets into the conversations no one seems to want to have and makes room for Black horror icons to actually be heard for once. You could hear the record scratch on Bluesky when this Shudder Original disappeared a few months ago. So, we can all rest easy knowing that it’s coming back home and we can continue to have it in our regular rotation. Horror Noire made many of us feel seen and made us better cinephiles and critics. It’s worth the Shudder subscription on its own if we’re being completely honest.
You can watch Horror Noire: History of Black Horror on May 4th.
The Terror: Devil in Silver (2026)
Your favorite unsettlingly stoic anthology has returned for a new season, and this time, Dan Stevens is in the mix. Stevens plays Pepper, a man with bad luck and a bad temper who gets himself committed to a psychiatric hospital. Any horror fan knows that’s the recipe for many horror bangers, and that’s why I will be sat. The cast also includes CCH Pounder, Judith Light, and Marin Ireland. However, my heart belongs to Karyn Kusama, who is in the director’s chair and the queen of tension. As a Momma Kusma stan account, I am so ready for her to raise my blood pressure and send me to the ER. The demonic duo of AMC+ and Shudder is cooking with this one.
You can watch episode one of The Terror: Devil in Silver on May 7th. Subsequent episodes will premiere weekly, concluding with the season finale on June 11th.
In Search of Darkness 1990-1994 (2024)
We all love to see our faves get together and discuss the horror eras we have romanticized. Which is why watching genre royalty unpack the “lost” decade of horror is something we all probably want to see. As a 90s kid, I feel like we ate pretty well in my day. So, I want to collect all of these stories like infinity stones. Some of the faces we can expect to see are Heather Langenkamp, John Carpenter, Frank Henenlotter, Tim Balme, and Michael Gross. My little nerd heart could bust, and I am happy Shudder is opening the library this May.
You can watch episode one of In Search of Darkness 1990-1994 on May 11th.
Something Is About to Happen (2023)
Things take a turn for a woman who loses her job as a computer programmer. The only movie in my roundup this month goes to the one I perhaps know the least about. Truthfully, I am just here for horror movies about women going through it. Excuse me as I gesture to the world and my bank account. More importantly, Spanish-language horror rarely fails me. So, I am willing to look past the two-hour and two-minute runtime. I am ignoring that it is listed as a romantic horror. I’m doing this because I expect my kind of chaos, and I hope I am right. From one down girl to another, I am rooting for this character on sight.
You can watch episode one of Something Is About to Happen on May 15th.
That is what I plan to use my Shudder Saturdays for this month. Let us know what you’re plotting to hit play on in the comments because we’re nosy.
Is anyone else remembering we have movies at home and logging in a lot of Netflix hours this spring? I know I am, and I keep finding more hidden treasures on this app. They collect so much international media and never tell us they have it. I find this frustrating as I pull up late to things I’m probably going to love. Quite a few foreign films make it into my lineup this month. Two of them I have never heard of before and are newer titles that should be getting some attention, in case they’re some of the best of their respective years. One is French, and we all need to revisit it for reasons that I’ll explain later.
Another thing worth noting about Netflix’s recent additions is an American show called Man on Fire. This serialized adaptation of A. J. Quinnell’s novel of the same name stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. He’ll be playing the character my generation associates with Denzel Washington because of the 2004 film adaptation. As a nerd who has been wondering why Yahya hasn’t been on my screen for a minute, I will probably have finished binging this before you even make it to the end of this article. I digress! Here are the five movies I plan to watch this month on Netflix!
180 (2026)
An act of road rage leaves a young boy in critical condition and his father seeking revenge. As usual, Netflix has not really advertised this South African thriller. However, I love revenge and am always game for a new release. So, I’m happy the powers that be put this in the recent lineup. It looks good, which gives me hope that this is going to be a gritty and bloody adventure. Fingers crossed, a few of you also hit play on this one because I’d like more quality South African thrillers that are easily accessible in America. I’m tired of hunting them down years after the fact.
Benedetta (2021)
A nun has religious visions that threaten the core of the Church while she is also having a secret affair in the 17th century. You are probably confused as to why Paul Verhoeven’s French psychological romantic drama is in my Netflix round-up. Especially if you clocked the long run time, and now I love a 90-minute or less movie. Listen! If you give me a nun having visions and having a lesbian affair in a period piece, it is my sworn duty to tell everybody. It is also my job to rewatch it for reasons. Don’t say I never did anything for you!
Him (2025)
A young athlete discovers why you should never meet your heroes when he is invited to train with a football legend. People were way too mean to this movie. It’s giving Neon Demon and Black Swan for Black male athletes. It’s not perfect, but the aesthetics and vibes are on 10. More importantly, Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers deliver some pretty fantastic performances that keep you locked in. I’m excited to revisit it and see if I like it more (or less) than when I caught it in theaters. Hopefully, more people will do the same now that the more biased discourse has died down.
Mudborn (2025)
A spirit terrorizes a video-game designer and his pregnant wife. I have no idea what to expect from Meng-Ju Shieh’s Mandarin supernatural horror film. However, I’m excited to see what this spirit is about. Again, Netflix continues to drop the ball on advertising international films. So, it’s up to us to find it in the streets and raise the alarm. In a perfect world, this movie will be the nightmare fuel I’m always seeking out. However, at the end of the day, I’m just happy to show up and support international films helmed by people of color. It’s a win-win situation, however I look at it.
Scream (2022)
A new Ghostface is terrorizing Woodsboro 25 years after the original killing spree rocked the town. As a Wes Craven stan account and fan of Radio Silence, I was so happy this movie turned out awesome. I can still say this is one of my favorite horror wins of this decade because it showed this franchise still had some life in it. It also introduced us to our Core Four, led by my new favorite final girl, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera). As someone who enjoyed these first six movies, I will always clear my schedule for a marathon and am happy to see Scream (2022) on Netflix this month. I plan to rewatch it and continue being salty that I will never know how this new trilogy was supposed to end.
That’s what I have this month. Happy Netflixing to each and every one of you!
