1. The Shining
Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film is now considered a horror movie masterpiece. So it begs the question: Who would dare make a remake of it?
Well, Stephen King -- the book's author – hated the film and helmed the 1997 remake, readapting the book himself into a teleplay. The film aired as a three-part miniseries on ABC and starred Stephen Weber, best known for his role on the TV show Wings, in the role of Jack Torrance.
While fans of King well argue that 1997 film is a faithful -- therefore better -- adaption of the book, it is still inferior to Kubrick's classic film.
2. Frankenstein
The 1931 film is an iconic classic that still holds up today and is considered one of the greatest films ever made.
Kenneth Branagh directed the 1994 remake and starred as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, with Robert DeNiro cast as the “Frankenstein” monster. While the movie was a faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel of the same name, it received mixed reviews and bombed at the box office.
3. The Haunting
This 1999 remake of the 1963 film of the same name starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson.
The film not only received negative reviews, but also bombed at the box office. The movie did have one fan though, Roger Ebert, who actually gave it a decent review.
4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Not even the combined star power of Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig could save this 2007 remake. The film currently holds a score of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.
5. The Wolf Man
A high-profile remake of the 1941 classic, the film starred Benicio del Toro as The Wolfman, as well as Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, and Emily Blunt.
Despite the large publicity campaign and all-star cast, the movie was critical and commercial failure.
Ron Meyer, the head of the studio behind the film, summed it up best:
"One of the worst movies we ever made. The moment I saw it I thought, 'What have we all done here?' That movie was crappy. We all went wrong. That’s one we should have smelled out a long time ago. The script never got right … The director was wrong. Benicio [del Toro] stunk. It all stunk."
6. House on Haunted Hill
A 1999 remake of the 1959 horror classic — which starred the iconic Vincent Price — cast Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, and Chris Kattan (no joke).
7. The Wicker Man
The 2006 remake, starring Nicolas Cage, was a critical (it holds a 15% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and commercial bomb.
The film earned five Razzie Award nominations, including Worst Actor (Cage) and Worst Remake.
8. The Omen
The 2006 remake of Richard Donner's classic 1976 film starred Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, and Mia Farrow (making this the second film she appeared in that dealt with the spawn of Satan). While the film received mostly negative reviews, it was a modest box office success.
9. Village of the Damned
John Carpenter’s 1995 remake of the iconic 1960 film starred Christopher Reeve and Kirstie Alley.
The movie was both a critical and a commercial failure.
10. Willard
The 2003 remake of the 1971 film of the same name, was a critical success — mainly because of Crispin Glover's creepy performance. Unfortunately, the film bombed at the box office.
11. Psycho
Gus Van Sant's 1998 shot-by-shot a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1960 film is misguided at best.
The movie was a critical and a commercial failure and was awarded two Razzies, for Worst Remake and Worst Director (Van Sant).
The film is best summed up by J. Hoberman's review for the Village Voice: "The movie lacks the chutzpah to even be a travesty."