17 Movie Remakes to Stream That Are Better Than the Original

The 2012 “Maniac” is a super-violent slasher film that follows a schizophrenic serial killer (played by Elijah Wood) as he murders women. It’s shot almost entirely from his point of view, with Wood’s face only occasionally visible in mirror reflections. The original 1980 film was shot guerrilla-style with a very small budget; both were lambasted upon release for their excessive violence, but the more recent version was praised for its unique filmmaking style and was considered one of the year’s best horror films.

The 2012 action-thriller “Contraband” stars Mark Wahlberg as a former smuggler who’s forced to return to the game after his wife’s brother (a drug smuggler himself) loses his drugs in a surprise DEA raid, resulting in his boss threatening to kill his family. With an all-star cast that also includes Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi and J.K. Simmons, it was a remake of 2008’s “Reykjavík-Rotterdam,” one of the highest-budget Icelandic films of all time. The original starred Baltasar Kormákur, who directed the remake.

A remake of the South Korean film “Il Mare,” 2006’s “The Lake House” is a fantasy romance in which an architect living in 2004 (Keanu Reeves) and a doctor living in 2006 (Sandra Bullock) correspond via letters left in a mailbox, even though they’re two years apart in time. It didn’t receive especially great reviews, but for fans of romance, time travel, and the two leads, it’s a pleasant diversion.

A remake of the 1966 French film “L’Appartement,” which in turn is loosely based on Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” 2004’s “Wicker Park” follows Josh Hartnett (during his brief reign as an A-lister) as he tries to track down his missing fiancée (Diane Kruger). Years later, while in a new relationship, he thinks he sees her, but it’s actually Rose Byrne, who acts just like his lost love. The film was scorned by critics for being overwrought, convoluted, and hard to follow, but also praised for being faithful to the French original.

In the original, British “Fever Pitch,” Colin Firth and Ruth Gemmell play a couple who fall in love while the soccer team Arsenal works towards a championship title. In the 1997 remake from the Farrelly Brothers, the film is transposed to Boston, with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore in the lead roles and the Red Sox replacing Arsenal. It’s a cute, charming romantic comedy with plenty of chemistry between the two leads, but it’s obviously not for Yankee fans.

The original 1973 “The Crazies,” written and directed by B-movie horror legend George A. Romero, is about a small town whose residents either die or become homicidal maniacs after accidentally being exposed to a biological weapon. It bombed but has since become a cult favorite. The 2010 remake of the same name has the same plot and stars Timothy Olyphant, and even though it wasn’t a huge hit, it was praised for being cleverer, tenser, and more action-filled than the original.

The basic plot of “Freaky Friday” is one of the simplest and most iconic in film history: a mother and her daughter somehow switch bodies, and gain a new understanding of each other’s lives. The 1976 original, a classic in its own right, stars Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster as the mother-daughter duo, and the 2003 remake starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. Lohan’s and Curtis’ performances were especially well-reviewed, especially that of Curtis, who gives a comedic tour de force playing a teenager.

2004’s Denzel Washington-starring “Man on Fire” is a remake of the 1987 film of the same name starring Scott Glenn, which in turn was based on the 1980 A.J. Quinnell novel of the same name. The original film takes place in Italy, but the remake moves the action to Mexico City, where a former CIA agent-turned-bodyguard played by Washington attempts to track down the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy businessman. It performed well at the box office and was Quinnell’s preferred adaptation.

The original “The Kindergarten Teacher” was released in Israel in 2004, and was well-reviewed enough that it was remade four years later in the U.S. with star Maggie Gyllenhaal. Both films are about a disaffected kindergarten teacher who goes to great lengths to protect the talents of an especially gifted student. The film, and Gyllenhaal’s performance specifically, received high praise.

1977’s “Pete’s Dragon” is a Disney live action/animation hybrid musical fantasy in which a lighthouse keeper’s daughter befriends a runaway orphan and his pet dragon. While critics appreciated its premise, it has largely been relegated to the Disney dustbin due to its excessive length, sluggish pacing, and tired formula. The 2016 remake did away with the music and turned it into a drama about the boy’s discovery of the dragon and its repercussions, and was praised as one of the year’s best, most soulful movies.

Roger Corman’s 1960 “The Little Shop of Horrors” is a cult-classic B-movie that’s best-known for its (very) black comedy and the presence of a young Jack Nicholson in the cast. It grew in popularity thanks to late-night TV broadcasts throughout the ’60s and ’70s, which led to it being turned into an Off-Broadway musical in 1982 – and, in 1986, into the classic film we know and love today. With music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (before they became Disney legends), thoughtful direction from Frank Oz, and star turns from Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, the surprisingly affecting film is a must-watch.

The original “Ocean’s 11” is remembered for being a perfect vessel for the Rat Pack to chum it up while planning a massive Las Vegas heist, but the film itself is actually pretty contrived, thinly plotted with little to no characterization, and oddly merry. The 2001 Steven Soderbergh-helmed remake, on the other hand, is an excellent and hugely influential ensemble piece starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and many more A-listers. It’s fast-paced and witty, a whole lot of fun, and a perfect popcorn film.

The original “3:10 to Yuma” is a classic western that stars Van Heflin as a struggling, impoverished rancher who’s tasked with transporting a dangerous outlaw (Glenn Ford) to justice. The suspenseful, expertly shot film was a critical hit upon its release. The 2007 James Mangold remake, with Christian Bale as the rancher and Russell Crowe as the outlaw, was regarded as an improvement on the 1957 version, however, with more greed-driven corruption, stronger lead performances, deeper exploration of morality, and more wit and tension.

The animated 1967 version of “The Jungle Book” is a Disney classic, still popular among children for its iconic characters including feral child Mowgli, Baloo the jolly bear, Bagheera the panther, and evil tiger Shere Khan as well as classic songs like “Bear Necessities.” Jon Favreau’s 2016 live action/CGI remake also received critical acclaim for its faithfulness to the original storyline, stunning visual effects, sincerity, and heart.

John Wayne won his only Oscar for his performance in 1969’s “True Grit” as Rooster Cogburn, an aging U.S. marshal tasked by a young girl with tracking down the man who murdered his father. He plays a classic antihero, and the film went down as a classic, if unassuming, western. The Coen brothers’ 2010 remake focused more on the character of the young girl, Mattie (a star turn for Hailee Steinfeld), and was extremely well-reviewed thanks to its great cinematography, pacing, and performance by Jeff Bridges as Cogburn.

Before it was adapted into the critically acclaimed, four-time Oscar winner (including Best Picture and Martin Scorcese’s first win for Best Director), “The Departed” was a 2002 film from Hong Kong called “Infernal Affairs” follows a police officer who infiltrates an organized crime syndicate and another officer who’s secretly a spy for the same syndicate. Scorcese’s remake moves the action to Boston, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Jack Nicholson as a mob boss based on gangster Whitey Bulger. It’s a taut, tense crime thriller, and it’s gone down as one of the best films of the decade.

You probably only know “The Maltese Falcon” as the 1941 film noir starring Humphrey Bogart as San Francisco private eye Sam Spade, but this classic film was actually the third adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel of the same name. The 1931 film hewed very closely to the source material, the first had a slightly looser tone, and had references to homosexuality and nudity; unfortunately, due to the 1934 imposition of the Hays Code, which censored such “improprieties,” the film was largely forgotten and was completely overshadowed by the remake. Bette Davis starred in a 1936 version of the Hammett novel – a looser interpretation, under the title “Satan Met a Lady,” in which “Sam Spade” became “Ted Shane.” It is even more thoroughly forgotten than the 1934 film.