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Nowadays, Hollywood remakes are a dime a dozen (or rather, a billion dollars a dozen), with production studios opting to adapt and modernize beloved and previously established pictures to turn a profit. It can be quite the hefty challenge to live up to the reputation of the original, yet when done effectively can yield lucrative and memorable results. Though a rare and special feat, some of these re-imaginings have completely blown their predecessors away and have rightfully taken the title as the best on-screen adaptation. Many of these films have breathed new life into their original source material, building on and expanding a story or character in a deeply impactful manner.
Some of cinema’s greatest and most renowned filmmakers and talents have helped craft these outstanding remakes, with renowned visionaries like Francis Ford Coppola and John Carpenter taking a stab at modernizing classic pictures. Jeff Goldblum gave a tour-de-force performance as a scientist transforming into a fly-hybrid creature in sci-fi thriller The Fly, while Lindsay Lohan made her silver-screen debut in dual roles as the sneaky twins Hallie and Annie in the romantic comedy The Parent Trap. Remakes can provide an opportunity for great talents to shine in this way, using their skills to transform something already good into something even greater. These remakes were even better than the originals.
8 Bram Stoker’s Dracula
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Though countless films have been made about the famed vampire ever since Bela Lugosi first starred as the cape-wearing, cross-loathing creature of the night in 1931’s Dracula, the esteemed and innovative Francis Ford Coppola created arguably the best adaptation with 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The Gothic horror picture touts an impressive cast, including Gary Oldman as Count Dracula, Winona Ryder as his object of desire Mina Murray, and Anthony Hopkins as the infamous vampire hunter Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Coppola’s version is a terrific blend of sensual and macabre, showcasing stunning visuals, breathtaking costumes, and remarkable performances by its gifted leads. Coppola opted to invest a significant amount of the budget in costumes to effectively showcase the actors, whom he considered the “jewels” of the feature. Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a hit with both audiences and critics, grossing over $200 million and winning three Academy Awards.
7 The Thing
Known as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre, John Carpenter directed the 1982 sci-fi horror classic The Thing, a re-imagining of the John W. Campbell Jr. novella and the 1951 picture The Thing from Another World. The admired filmmaker was such a fan of the original that he even paid homage to it in Halloween, and he watched it several times for inspiration before production began. Despite being negatively received by critics and a box office dud upon its initial release, Carpenter’s The Thing has since been reevaluated by fans and reviewers and is now considered a milestone of the horror genre and a classic. Literary critic John Kenneth Muir heralded the movie, calling it “Carpenter’s most accomplished and underrated directorial effort,” and Complex named it the “greatest genre remake of all time.” Many acclaimed filmmakers have expressed their appreciation for The Thing and cited its influence on their own work, including Guillermo del Toro, J.J. Abram, and Quentin Tarantino.
6 The Parent Trap
Lindsay Lohan made her big-screen debut in Nancy Meyers’ 1998 romantic comedy The Parent Trap, a remake of the 1961 film of the same name starring Hayley Mills. More than 1,500 young actresses auditioned for the dual roles of Hallie and Annie, with Myers looking for “a little Diane Keaton” to play the parts. She found her perfect twins with Lindsay Lohan, with the hopeful beating out future big names like Scarlett Johansson and Michelle Trachtenberg. The young and ridiculously gifted Lohan delivered a star-making performance and shines as the mischievous twin sisters, who scheme to reunite their unwitting parents after being separated at birth. The Parent Trap was a homerun with both critics and moviegoers, with the Los Angeles Times calling Lohan “the soul of this film as much as Hayley Mills was of the original” and that “she is more adept than her predecessor at creating two distinct personalities.” For her stellar portrayal, the actress won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film.
5 Little Shop of Horrors
Starring a slew of comedy greats like Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, and John Candy, 1986’s dark comedy horror-musical hybrid Little Shop of Horrors centers on a floral shop owner who discovers a Venus flytrap that feeds on human blood. The picture is an adaptation of the Broadway musical and 1960 Roger Corman film, and was a knockout remake thanks to the incredibly superb cast and hilarious man-eating flower Audrey II, who required 60 puppeteers to bring her to life. The campy and charmingly off-kilter Little Shop of Horrors has since developed a cult following and remains a cinematic great, with audiences polled by CinemaScore rating the version an “A-” and praising the film. Time magazine said, “You can try not liking this adaptation of the Off-Broadway musical hit – 'it has no polish and a pushy way with a gag' – but the movie sneaks up on you, about as subtly as Audrey II.” Little Shop of Horrors currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%.
4 Ocean’s Eleven
Stepping into roles first originated by the iconic Rat Pack can be quite the daunting task, but George Clooney and his band of cunning misfits managed to do so superbly in Steven Soderbergh’s 2001 heist comedy Ocean’s Eleven. The caper features an esteemed and dynamic cast including Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, and a plethora of other outstanding performers. The story, like the original, follows Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Pitt) as they plan a heist of $160 million from their rival and casino owner. Though the 1960 Sinatra led picture is sleek and Cool with a capital C, Soderbergh’s is stylish and fun from start-to-finish. The exciting stars and chemistry between them is thrilling to watch, and the remake’s immense success led to two highly-lucrative sequels entitled Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen, as well as 2018’s newest installment Ocean’s 8 with an all-female cast. Steven Soderbergh has recently mentioned interest in creating a sequel to his trilogy.
3 The Fly
The always entertaining Jeff Goldblum stars as an eccentric scientist who slowly begins to turn into a fly-hybrid creature after one of his experiments goes wrong in the 1986 sci-fi horror flick The Fly. Body horror genre expert David Cronenberg directed the remake of the 1958 classic, and teamed up with famed special effects and make-up artist Chris Walas to conceptualize the gruesome transformation of the ill-fated scientist, which was intended to be a metaphor for the aging process. Cronenberg later expressed, “For me though, there was something about The Fly story that was much more universal: aging and death – something all of us have to deal with.” Though considered a gory adaptation of the original, The Fly proved to be a worthy gamble, garnering critical acclaim for Goldblum’s intense portrayal and for its brilliant special effects; Goldblum won the Saturn Award for Best Actor for his iconic performance.
2 Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The 1956 version of the sci-fi horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers is widely regarded as an allegory about McCarthyism, and its subsequent 1978 remake offers a strong critique of consumerism and the paranoia from Watergate. For the Phillip Kaufman adaptation, acting great Donald Sutherland stars as San Francisco health inspector Matthew Bennell, who discovers that humans are being replaced by alien duplicates that are devoid of any emotion. Invasion of the Body Snatchers has been hailed as one of the greatest remakes ever, and as one of the best science-fiction horror films of all time. Variety praised the 1978 version, writing that it “validates the entire concept of remakes. This new version of Don Siegel’s 1956 cult classic not only matches the original in the horrific tone and effect, but exceeds it in both conception and execution.”
1 The Maltese Falcon
Widely regarded as one of the greatest male stars of classic American cinema, the legendary Humphrey Bogart portrays a San Francisco detective who takes on a case involving three eccentric criminals, all of whom are competing to find a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette in 1941’s The Maltese Falcon. A remake of the 1931 picture of the same name, John Huston’s film noir was praised upon its release, with Variety calling it “one of the best examples of actionful and suspenseful melodramatic story telling in cinematic form.” The Maltese Falcon helped establish both Bogart and Huston as respected and highly-revered Hollywood talents, and has been cited by some as the first true film noir. Several 11.5-inch falcon props were made for the movie, and one was auctioned off in December 1994 for $398,500, becoming the highest price paid for a film prop at the time.