At this point, if a movie exists that was even moderately successful, chances are it's already been rebooted/remade or, at the very least, there have likely been discussions to do so. Sometimes, the outcome is great, even if they're not typically better than the original. From 2004's Dawn of the Dead to Martin Scorsese's The Departed, to even the 2012 movie Dredd (a much better Judge Dredd film than Sylvester Stallone's), a remake or reboot done just right can be well worth your time.
Of course, there's also the seemingly unending list of bad remakes you have to contend with. Whether it's a cast that doesn't shine, subpar writing and directing, or making a movie so polished--thanks to CGI or a more marketable PG-13 rating--that it loses the impact of the original. We've all seen these movies before, and it's time to take a look at some of the absolute worst.
Take a look at our least favorite remakes and reboots of movies we love. For better or worse, these movies all got made and released. They didn't measure up to the films they were based on and, for the most part, didn't turn into the franchise the studios certainly hoped they would (We see you, Dark Universe).
Did we miss out on your favorite bad remake? Sound off in the comments below and let us know about your favorite reboot hate-watch. Also, make sure to check out our look at revived TV shows that should've stayed canceled.
1. Point Break (2015)
The original Point Break is arguably the greatest thing ever committed to film. Keanu Reeves as an FBI agent who goes undercover with a gang of surfing bank robbers led by Patrick Swayze? Never has there been a better idea. Unfortunately, the remake isn't anywhere near as good. Surfers are replaced with adrenaline junkies who like all manner of extreme sports, while Reeves and Swayze are replaced by actors who just can't hold a candle to the iconic duo. Oh yeah, and the bad guys were also ecoterrorists for some reason. This is a bad movie. Thankfully, there is a great remake of Point Break called The Fast and the Furious, a movie you've probably seen once or twice.
2. The Mummy (2017)
Tom Cruise's The Mummy is a remake of a remake of a remake that was supposed to launch a brand-new cinematic universe: The Dark Universe (so spooky). The movie didn't have the horror of 1932's Boris Karloff version, nor the charisma of Brenden Fraiser's version. I'm leaving out the Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee one from 1959, but I'm assuming that one's at least decent because of the cast. 2017's The Mummy was bogged down by its attempt at building a world that could support a cinematic universe while trying to maintain a consistent tone and theme. Is this a sci-fi action movie or is it horror or is it a mystery? Who knows? What I do know is that I love retweeting the two Dark Universe tweets.
3. Men in Black: International (2019)
What happens when you take a successful franchise like Men in Black and infuse it with the natural charisma and chemistry that Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson shared in Thor: Ragnarok? We'll never know, because their team up in Men in Black: International completely obliterated any hint that the two work well together on screen. Not only was this a subpar Men in Black movie, but the two actors leading also didn't seem excited or even interested in anything they were doing, making for a true slog of a film.
4. Ninja Turtles (2014)
Let's be honest, this actually could have been worse than it turned out. Originally, producer Michael Bay wanted to make the turtles space aliens for some reason. Still, the movie that came out was a poor relaunch of the series, with massive grotesque turtles that were horrifying to look at. Seriously, who designed these monsters? Megan Fox was pretty good as the new April and the revised origin story for the turtles worked her into the mix--similar to the new origin in the IDW Comics take on the franchise. Nothing about the movie is good enough to erase the nightmare fuel of the CGI turtle designs, though.
5. Fantastic Four (2015)
Who doesn't remember this crash and burn of a movie? Beyond all of the behind-the-scenes turmoil on the Josh Trank-directed affair, Fantastic Four was just a bad movie. Of course, the original Fantastic Four movies weren't very good. At least they tried to have fun, though. Trank's Fantastic Four was a dark, sci-fi movie that didn't particularly make much sense or embrace the excitement of the characters it was based on. Had Trank's original version of the movie seen the light of day, it might have worked better. Then again, in the age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it likely wouldn't have had much life beyond that first film anyway.
6. Psycho (1998)
If you're going to do a shot-for-shot remake of a beloved movie, just stop what you're doing and throw your idea in a garbage can. Because unless you're somehow better than the original, you're always going to be inferior. Gus Van Sant is a beloved director with some heavy-hitting films under his belt. But his remake of Psycho, which is practically a carbon copy of the original with a different cast, misses the mark. It turns out Vince Vaughn can't out-creep Anthony Perkins and Anne Hecha is nowhere near the level of scream queen as Janet Leigh. Remaking a classic like this might sound like an interesting idea on paper, but now we all know it should never ever be done.
7. Death Wish (2018)
For some reason, Eli Roth decided that a remake of a movie about a vigilante taking to the streets with a gun and murdering those he has perceived as wronging him would be a good idea to tackle in 2018, as mass shootings continued to rise in the United States. The remake of Death Wish (a semi-popular movie franchise from the '70s) is so incredibly tone-deaf to the realities of the modern world it's set in that you'd laugh at it, were it not such a gruesome and passionless movie. In the starring role, Bruce Willis is seemingly sleepwalking through scenes because, well, that's what he does these days.
8. Hellboy (2019)
Guillermo del Toro perfectly understood Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics and what the writer/artist was trying to accomplish with his books. This made for two great movies. When Neil Marshall signed on for a rated-R version, I was game. The Descent is one of my favorite horror movies of the '00s. David Harbour as Hellboy? Hell yes. Ian McShane as Professor Broom? I'll take it! Sadly, the movie that Marshall made was not good by any means. It packed a lot of different Mignola stories into one movie and was all over the place. It was visual whiplash--not my tempo. There was a lot of promise behind most of the creatives behind the movie, but the script was sloppy, and frankly, we don't need Hellboy spouting a bunch of f***s just to get that sweet, sweet R rating. The funny thing is that I'd be down with seeing this director and cast do it all over again with a different writer.
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Do you remember the first time you saw the original A Nightmare on Elm Street? The low-budget gritty slasher film was terrifying. It was dirty and disturbing, and felt all too real. The idea of a psychopath with knives for fingers hunting people in their dreams was all it took to keep kids shaking in their beds at night. The 2010 remake? Not so much. The gritty scares are replaced with over-the-top CGI moments, and even Freddy himself--now played by Jackie Earle Haley--feels like just another scary movie monster, rather than the charismatic and downright creepy version Robert Englund embodied. What's more, the dream kills are unimaginative and the kids aren't interesting enough to root for. You'd be better off watching A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, which is clearly the worst of the original franchise, but still better than this remake.
10. Planet of the Apes (2001)
Mark Wahlberg goes to the future, and the Abraham Lincoln statue was an ape. Ape-raham Lincoln. Listen, I know that joke is very played out. Planet of the Apes is a movie that didn't need a remake, and it certainly didn't need Tim Burton's style attached to it. Burton is a great director, without a doubt, but how many people were clamoring for a gothic version of the classic sci-fi movie? And unlike the original--which is great on its own merits--Burton's Planet of the Apes is dry and boring. You know where the movie is headed, and aside from aesthetics, Burton doesn't add anything new. The film has aged a lot better since it's come out, but it's still rough.
11. Robocop (2014)
On paper, the 2014 remake of RoboCop should have been great. It has a fantastic cast (including Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson), plus the very concept of RoboCop remains interesting and visually exciting. Not only was the resulting film far less entertaining than the original, it was rated PG-13. The original's R-rating led to a more gruesome and visceral movie. The remake, by comparison, felt way too safe.
12. Halloween (2007)
What's the one thing Halloween didn't need to go out of its way to do? Explore the backstory of Michael Myers. Nobody told Rob Zombie that, though. His take on the franchise spent way too long examining who Michael was before he became a faceless killer (known in the original film as "The Shape"). What's more, in typical Zombie style, the kills in his movie were filled with a type of hatred that didn't match with the original concept of the killer. Zombie's Michael Myers was a relentless butchering machine and, honestly, it was hard to watch.
13. Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)
Everything about 2016's Ghostbusters screamed "this should be really fun." Sadly, it didn't live up to that expectation. Paul Feig (The Office, Bridesmaids) was directing and writing alongside Katie Dippold (Parks and Recreation), and the cast was fantastic: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. Two of the biggest issues with the movie were that all the characters felt like overly-wacky comedy relief, and it felt like a typical studio movie featuring a third act with nothing but sloppy CGI fights. Another issue lies in the fact that it's a remake of one of the most iconic films of the '80s, and when Sony delivers a movie that's "OK" at best, it's a bummer. You expect more with such a celebrated property.
14. The Wicker Man (2006)
While the original 1973 Wicker Man is widely considered one of the greatest horror movies of the 1070s, the remake is easily one of the worst of the 2000s. Writer/director Neil La Bute might have made some acclaimed indie dramas in the '90s, such as In the Company of Men, but he shows very little affinity with horror, delivering a ludicrous and woefully unscary film. Nicolas Cage, playing the cop investigating the disappearance of a girl who might have been taken by a pagan cult, delivers a typically over-the-top performance, inspiring a variety of gifs and memes but removing any chance the film ever had of being an effective chiller.
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