Tag Archives: Nosferatu

Nov 23 2025

Remakes I Find Better Than the Original

So, I mostly tend to be in the camp of “leave movies alone, stop making unnecessary remakes”. But every so often, they’ll remake something that either I didn’t like the original at all, or was surprised at how much better something turned out. Here are 20 remakes that, to me, are better than the original. I’ve ranked them, but outside of my top 5, a lot of them are pretty interchangable.

NUMBER 20

Title: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Year: 2005
Remake of: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988)
Starring: Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, and Liam Neeson (voice)
Directed by: Andrew Adamson
Why it’s Better: Just for production value alone. This film is beautiful, and a very good adaptation of the book.

NUMBER 19

Title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Year: 2003
Remake of: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Eric Balfour, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, and Andrew Bryniarski
Directed by: Marcus Nispel
Why it’s Better: I absolutely hated the original. Like hated. I was surprised that I liked this one as much as I did. Sure, it’s got that glossy feeling that a lot of horror had in the 2000’s, but it’s still a lot of fun.

NUMBER 18

Title: The Phantom of the Opera
Year: 1989
Remake of: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Starring: Jill Schoelen, Robert Englund, Alex Hyde-White, Bill Nighy, and Stephanie Lawrence
Directed by: Dwight H Little
Why it’s Better: The original is a classic, of course, but I’m not a huge fan of silent films. This one leans much more into horror, and I’m all about that!

NUMBER 17

Title: Thirteen Ghosts
Year: 2001
Remake of: 13 Ghosts (1960)
Starring: Tony Shalhoub, Matthew Lillard, Shannon Elizabeth, Embeth Davidtz, Rah Digga, and F Murray Abraham
Directed by: Steve Beck
Why it’s Better: This is by no means a great movie. But I’ll be darned if I don’t love it to pieces! The setting of a glass house is so cool, and the ghosts look incredible!

NUMBER 16

Title: Romeo + Juliet
Year: 1996
Remake of: Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, and Pete Postlethwaite
Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Why it’s Better: I do like Shakespeare’s stories, but lets be honest, most of the adaptations are stuffy affairs. This one takes the story into modern times, while still holding on the the essence of the story. Absolutely wonderful!

NUMBER 15

Title: Dawn of the Dead
Year: 2004
Remake of: Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Mekhi Phifer, and Kevin Zegers
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Why it’s Better: I’m generally not a fan of zombie movies, and I find the originals by Romero uninteresting. But this one is amazing. It also one of the greatest openings in horror movie history!

NUMBER 14

Title: Crime and Punishment in Suburbia
Year: 2000
Remake of: Crime and Punishment (there are so many…)
Starring: Monica Keena, Vincent Kartheiser, Ellen Barkin, Michael Ironside, Jeffrey Wright, and James DeBello
Directed by: Rob Schmidt
Why it’s Better: Boy did I love this film when it came out. I was 19, and deeply in love with Vincent Kartheiser. I’m not sure it’s a completely accurate adaptation, besides the move to modern times. But I love it.

NUMBER 13

Title: The Grudge
Year: 2004
Remake of: Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, William Mapother, Clea DuVall, Bill Pullman, and Takako Fuji
Directed by: Takashi Shimizu (who better to direct then the director of the original!)
Why it’s Better: I’m almost ashamed to say it, but I’m just not a fan of J-horror. I find it so weird and disjointed. So yes, I prefer this American remake. That noise still haunts me…

NUMBER 12

Title: The Amityville Horror
Year: 2005
Remake of: The Amityville Horror (1979)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Rachel Nichols
Directed by: Andrew Douglas
Why it’s Better: I hated the original so very much, that literally anything would have been better. What we got was just a fun haunted house story. And who doesn’t love Ryan Reynolds?

NUMBER 11

Title: The Blob
Year: 1988
Remake of: The Blob (1958)
Starring: Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, and Joe Seneca
Directed by: Chuck Russell
Why it’s Better: I have trouble with most old timey films. They have to be exceptional for me to be on board. And the ’58 version was just kinda slow and silly. This one takes that idea and cranks it up to 11. The practical effects are absolutely amazing. So much fun!

NUMBER 10

Title: Dorian Gray
Year: 2009
Remake of: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
Starring: Ben Barnes, Ben Chaplin, Colin Firth, Maryam d’Abo, and Fiona Shaw
Directed by: Oliver Parker
Why it’s Better: Two words: Ben Barnes. fans self Oh, we need more? Again, old timey movies aren’t my bag. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is actually one of my favourite books (yes, I can deal with old timey books, just not movies), and I find this version to be the superior film.

NUMBER 9

Title: The Crazies
Year: 2010
Remake of: The Crazies (1973)
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, and Christie Lynn Smith
Directed by: Breck Eisner
Why it’s Better: Another Romero zombie film, I didn’t like it for the same reason I didn’t like his “of the Dead” series. This one ratchets everything up, and is leagues better than the original. I love the fact that it’s not dead coming back to life, but a virus that makes you homicidal. Great film.

NUMBER 8

Title: Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves
Year: 1991
Remake of: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) There have been many other adaptations of this story as well.
Starring: Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, Alan Rickman, and Michael Wincott
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Why it’s Better: I find this one to be the best of all the Robin Hood films that I’ve seen (except maybe the Disney cartoon). It’s fun, it’s romantic, it’s a little silly, but oh so good!

NUMBER 7

Title: Dune
Year: 2021
Remake of: Dune (1984)
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, and Javier Bardem
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Why it’s Better: Do I really need to explain? Lynch’s Dune (1984) is one of the silliest, most confusing and disjointed movies I’ve ever seen. Dune part 2 is also excellent.

NUMBER 6

Title: The Mummy
Year: 1999
Remake of: The Mummy (1932)
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Kevin J O’Connor, and Oded Fehr
Directed by: Stephen Sommers
Why it’s Better: Again the problem with old timey stuff. I only saw part of the original, and that was enough. This version turns it into an action adventure movie, and it’s all the better for it. Plus, 90’s Brendan Fraser? Whew fans self

NUMBER 5

Title: Sleepy Hollow
Year: 1999
Remake of: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, and Christopher Walken
Directed by: Tim Burton
Why it’s Better: I love the original cartoon, it’s very cute, but this version is the ultimate version. All the changes they made fit into the lore perfectly. This is Burton at his finest!

NUMBER 4

Title: The Ring
Year: 2002
Remake of: Ringu (1998)
Starring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox, and Daveigh Chase
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Why it’s Better: I tried watching the original, but I just couldn’t get into it. Not a fan of J-horror. They have good ideas, but I guess it’s a cultural difference, I just don’t get their filming style, I guess. This one was, and remains, one of my favourite films. It’s creepy, atmospheric, and very well done.

NUMBER 3

Title: Nosferatu
Year: 2024
Remake of: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
Starring: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Willem Dafoe
Directed by: Robert Eggers
Why it’s Better: I just did a whole post about this film, so I won’t repeat myself here. But my god, I love this film!

NUMBER 2

Title: It
Year: 2017
Remake of: It (1990)
Starring: Jaeden Martell, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, and Bill Skarsgård
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Why it’s Better: I have a love for the original since I first saw it when I was 9. Tim Curry rocked the role of Pennywise. But I can’t deny that this is the better film. Both movies, however, had trouble with their part two’s. Not bad, but really not as good.

NUMBER 1

Title: Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Year: 1992
Remake of: Dracula (1931) There have been a literal tonne of Dracula movies, some great, others laughable, but this one started it all (I know, I know, Nosferatu came first. But the 1931 version was the first authorized adaptation).
Starring: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Sadie Frost, Cary Elwes, and Richard E Grant
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Why it’s Better: I won’t deny the effect that the classics have had on modern film. Without the original Universal monsters, we might not have near as many great movies as we do. But it stands that I have trouble with old timey films. But this one. So lush, so beautiful, romantic, sometimes creepy. Simply put, perfect. Besides Keanu’s accent, of course! haha

Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I had making it. I’d almost forgotten how much I like blogging (and making lists. I love lists!)

M.

Nov 16 2025

Mel’s 5 Second Review: Nosferatu

Nosferatu (2024)
Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson, and Emma Corrin
Directed by: Robert Eggers

So, I’ve been meaning to write about this one since I saw it in the cinema when it came out. But I’ve been really bad at blogging these days, so I never got around to it. I’m trying to break the cycle now, so here it is.

Newly-wed Ellen is haunted by an evil vampire who is infatuated with her. When her husband goes to the vampire’s castle to settle the agreement of buying a new house in Germany, he becomes a prisoner while the vampire is free to pursue Ellen.

I went into this very hesitantly. Nosferatu (1922) is, of course, a classic, and I absolutely adore Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). I didn’t think that this movie would show me anything new while remaining faithful to the source material. I also am not a huge fan of Robert Eggers as a director. Well, I was very wrong. I absolutely adored this film. At 2 hours and 12 minutes, it’s quite long for a horror film, but it didn’t feel long to me. I found the pacing, while, yes, a little slow, perfect, and I was never bored. Didn’t look at my watch once!

I know that Eggers is a stickler for detail, and wants everything in a period piece to be perfect. So I was not surprised at how beautiful the film is. The costuming, the sets, the setting, everything was on point. The one tiny nit-pick I have is why do the characters all have British accents when this film takes place in Germany. I was quite surprised at that. But otherwise this film is near perfect. Bill Skarsgård already proved that he was able to portray a monster in It, and he does it again here. He absolutely oozes evil from every pore. And I was rather surprised at Lily-Rose Depp. I honestly didn’t think much of her besides the fact that she’s Johnny’s daughter (nepo-baby!!). But she embraced this role whole-heartedly and really gave it her all. She was wonderful. The rest of the main cast I already knew were going to be great.

So do I recommend it? Absolutely, with a caveat. If you’re (very) easily bored, or are not a fan of horror, then no. I tried to show this to my mom and she made it only a quarter of the way through, saying it’s boring. But me? 9.5/10. Very nearly perfect!

M.

This film is currently streaming on Prime.

Nov 17 2023

Mel’s 5 Second Review: The Last Voyage of the Demeter

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Woody Norman, Chris Walley, Stefan Kapicic, Jon Jon Briones, Martin Furulund, Nikolai Nikolaeff, and Javier Botet
Directed by: André Øvredal

Demeter

Ok, so I went into this not knowing what to expect. I can tell you what I was hoping for though. A genuinely scary vampire film. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the various tame Dracula‘s, or even the Twilight‘s, but I wanted to be scared this time. And let me tell you, this film is almost there. Almost. The Nosferatu-esque makeup is genuinely creepy, and it moves with the creep factor that only Javier Botet (or Doug Jones, for that matter, but it’s Botet in this film) can bring. It does a good job of making the story feel claustrophobic and atmospheric. Having the whole film take place on a ship might’ve been risky, especially since it runs at 2 hours, but I was never bored. I was actually nervous for the characters, which is probably because they do a good job of setting them up, and the actors do an excellent job of portraying them.

Despite all this, the ultimate scare factor just wasn’t there. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, maybe I’ve just seen so many horror films that they leave me cold in the scares department. Or maybe it was that the kills were mostly done with cgi. The blood just doesn’t fall right when it’s not really there. I miss practical effects, but cgi can be a good companion to it when used sparingly. Unfortunately, it was not used sparingly in this film. I was still horrified at the burning scenes, but I think that has more to do with me being inherently afraid of fire than of it looking good. When makeup was really used, it was done very well, so why didn’t they… ah, never mind. Cgi is the thing now, I guess I should just get used to it.

In the end, though, I did quite enjoy the film, and would recommend it to anyone who loves vampire films like I do (Marilyn Manson’s If I Was Your Vampire popped up quite randomly on my Spotify as I write this, I’m amused). I give it a very respectable 7.5/10. 

M.

This film is available for rent or buy on YouTube and Amazon Prime.