If something, in this case, a movie, is tremendously successful, one might want to enjoy its success by emulating the same goodness years later. And with movies, it is a seemingly simple procedure - you take a popular movie, you pick a good cast, and re-shoot it take by take. Et voila, an instant hit! However, this isn't exactly the case - a remake can go wrong in so many unimaginable ways, leaving just the shell of the original's glory. Want to find out who failed the most in trying to live up to some iconic movie's fame? Well then, be our guest and check out this list of the worst movie remakes ever!
As you're about to see, no movie and no genre is safe from being regurgitated and copy-pasted into a new, abhorrent life. From classic rom-coms like Overboard to superhero movies like Fantastic Four and horror flicks like Jacob's Ladder, they were all perfectly good movies up until someone decided to remake them. Remake them into such bland, boring, and lifeless movies, we'd all wish to unsee them or get a refund for wasting an hour and a half or so.
So, scroll on down below to check out our contenders in the worst movie remakes list. We do not suggest you watch any of them, except for maybe when you are dead bored, the internet is out, and 2006’s The Wicker Man is the only thing you've downloaded. Be sure to vote for the remakes you've hated the most and share these terrible movies with your friends!
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#1 Psycho (1998)
1998 | 1 hour 45 minutes | Directed by Gus Van Sant
Starring Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore
Hitchcock's original 1960 Psycho is undoubtedly a legendary movie that has made it into the history of cinema. Its 1998 remake, however, is an entirely different story. Shot almost take by take, this version of Psycho is, somehow, completely bland, uninteresting, and creepy in all the wrong places. From shoddy wardrobe to dubious acting and cinematography, this Psycho rendition should be hidden away from our eyes.
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47points
#2 Overboard (2018)
2018 | 1 hour 52 minutes | Directed by Rob Greenberg
Starring Eugenio Derbez, Anna Faris, Eva Longoria
2018's Overboard is a remake of the original 1987 romantic comedy with one catch, and it's reversing the lead character role. And if you'd ask us, it doesn't work at all. Here we meet Kate Sullivan (Anna Faris), a struggling, middle-class single mother who successfully convinces a rich playboy with amnesia (Eugenio Derbez) that they are married. Needless to say, they do fall in love with each other, and there's a gloriously cloying happy ending. Some critics scolded the director for churning out yet another remake, and they were probably right, as the role reversal gag, the simplified jokes, and sub-par performances make a perfectly good romantic comedy into a bona fide creep show, somehow.
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44points
#3 The Wicker Man (2006)
2006 | 1 hour 42 minutes | Directed by Neil LaBute
Starring Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Leelee Sobieski
1973’s original The Wicker Man is suspenseful, horrific, and undoubtedly original, and that's what you'd expect from its remake (well, minus the original part, perhaps). However, that is absolutely not the case with this remake! You might like to write it off to the presence of Nicolas Cage, who's a bona fide anise seed of Hollywood, but in fact, he's probably the greatest thing that happened in this movie. There's no suspense, no horror, the dialogues are laughable, and the cinematography is absolutely sub-par. But, if you're in for the most boring horror movie probably ever, try your luck with 2006’s The Wicker Man.
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41points
#4 The Mummy (2017)
2017 | 1 hour 50 minutes | Directed by Alex Kurtzman
Starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis
An awakening of an ancient Egyptian princess setting her malevolence loose might sound like an unspoilable premise for a nice thriller movie; however, 2017’s The Mummy manages to spoil it just fine. Deemed as the finest example of exploitation, The Mummy garnered nothing but negative reviews and damnation from experts for its regurgitated ideas and visuals. There's one, but here - even if the critics smashed this movie to smithereens, then the audiences somehow still liked this movie, so there's no definite answer whether The Mummy is the worst remake ever or, actually, a perfectly entertaining movie.
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40points
#5 Footloose (2011)
2011 | 1 hour 53 minutes | Directed by Craig Brewer
Starring Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid
Okay, so we all know the original Footloose and its premise (inspired by a couple of real stories, by the way) with a rebellious teen coming to a small town where dancing and music are prohibited only to shake things up. And although some praised this version of Footloose for its relevance to the younger generations and the energy it carries, others called it a purposeless, witless, and humorless movie. So, try it if you like, but in our minds, nothing tops the original.
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37points
#6 Annie (2014)
2014 | 1 hour 58 minutes | Directed by Will Gluck
Starring Quvenzhane Wallis, Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx
2014’s Annie is actually the third film adaptation of the original 1977 Broadway musical. And, it seems that with each adaptation, the story of Annie the orphan has lost more and more of its charm. Although this most recent adaptation has a nice touch of bringing the story to the modern day, it is also followed by cotton-candy sweetness, hackneyed tropes, and loads of materialistic values. Annie tries really hard to be unlike the Annies before it; however, these over-the-top efforts do no good to the movie.
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32points
#7 Fantastic Four (2015)
2015 | 1 hour 40 minutes | Directed by Josh Trank and Stephen E. Rivkin
Starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan
Fantastic Four is a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel's longest-running superhero team and their adventures. Now, you'd rightly think that alternate universes, body morphs, and various villains make for an inherently good premise. However, 2015’s Fantastic Four manages perfectly well to make it completely awful. It's way too dark to be inspiring, there's zero chemistry between the actors, and the climactic battle between good and evil isn't climactic at all. So, even if you are a die-hard fan of Marvel's, you might want to skip this rendition of the Fantastic Four.
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30points
#8 Jacob's Ladder (2019)
2019 | 1 hour 29 minutes | Directed by David m. Rosenthal
Starring Michael Ealy, Jesse Williams, Nicole Beharie
The premise in Jacob's Ladder is as harrowing as it is intriguing as it follows a war veteran struggling with his mental health upon homecoming. The original is an absolute horror classic telling a tale we can all somewhat relate to in a very chilling way. However, this contemporary retake is a jumble of copy-paste tropes that, in the process, has lost all of the story's intrigue and thrills. To be curt, both the horror and the story are simply not there anymore.
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28points
#9 Bewitched (2005)
2005 | 1 hour 42 minutes | Directed by Nora Ephron
Starring Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine
1964’s TV series Bewitched is nothing but charming, whimsical, and adorable; however, even with an amazing cast, this didn't translate into the 2005 Bewitched movie at all. Although the remake had loads of potential, a sad directing style and a confusing script led this movie to be a total flop, and even Nicole Kidman couldn't save it. So, if you loved the original series, you'll be completely disappointed by the movie.
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28points
#10 Swept Away (2002)
2002 | 1 hour 29 minutes | Directed by Guy Ritchie
Starring Madonna, Adriano Giannini, Bruce Greenwood
Swept Away follows the exact same premise as its 1974 original - a wealthy, uber spoiled, and unhappy socialite gets stranded on a Mediterranean island with a communist worker. And while this clash of social classes and an opportunity for love seems like a very nice story, albeit not really original, the modern take on Swept Away manages to strip it of all of its charms. It's bland verging on boring, the characters are more like caricatures, and the only redeeming quality this movie has is the beautiful sceneries of the Mediterranean.
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28points
