The Fog, Prom Night, Friday the 13th, Maniac, My Bloody Valentine, Poltergeist, Firestarter, The Toxic Avenger, and soon, Silent Night, Deadly Night. These are just some of the 1980s horror films that have since been remade. There are plenty more that could be listed alongside those, and very nearly as many that are just as ripe for a remake. What follows are a few of those ’80s scarers that have, to date, never received either a remake or a legacy sequel. Some of them weren’t the best movies. We’re not saying they were. But we are saying a remake of them could work, perhaps even going so far as to fix the problems present in the original.
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Admittedly, there are also some really excellent ’80s horror movies that don’t feel like they would work today. For instance, Sleepaway Camp, the ending of which would not play at all these days but was and remains hugely effective as a 1983 film. But these films that follow, they could be pretty great as a modern day horror flick.
1) The Island
There is no better type of movie to try to remake than 1980’s The Island. Specifically, it had a great concept that was not executed well, so there’s really no where to go but up. It was directed by Michael Ritchie, who was certainly talented, but really only excelled with comedic materiel, e.g. The Candidate, The Bad News Bears, Fletch, and The Golden Child. He knew how to pace stuff like that, but not so much an adaptation of a Peter Benchley (Jaws) action-thriller-horror work.
Michael Caine starred in three horror thrillers in a row, all three of which were ambitious but none of which quite landed as well as they could have. The Island was first, then Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill, then Oliver Stone’s The Hand. Here he plays Blair Maynard, a British-born American journalist and Navy vet who wants to learn about the Bermuda Triangle. He and his son travel there and, while fishing, are capture by a group of pirates and held hostage.
Rent The Island on Amazon Video.
2) An American Werewolf in London
There are two entries on this list where the original is so highly regarded, it helps explain why no one has tried to touch it. One of them is John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London. Then again, while it hasn’t received a remake, it’s not as if Hollywood has found it truly untouchable, as 16 years later it received a very loose sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris.
Perhaps An American Werewolf in Paris is the true reason why no one has attempted to remake London. That sequel was so critically maligned it may have put the concept on ice. But it’s possible, as long as a few key factors are covered. For one, the iconic transformation sequence would be kept in no matter what, but they would do well to avoid CGI for that. They may just want to avoid CGI for the werewolf altogether. Two, the North York Moors opening sequence is integral to making the film as a whole work as a horror film instead of an outright comedy. It establishes the tension and the rest of the movie builds off that. Three, the humorous yet frightening dream sequences should remain present, but this is where the filmmakers could get really creative and make the new take on the narrative their own. Lastly, while this is a werewolf movie, it’s just as much a love story, so they need to cast two leads who can replicate the chemistry shared by David Naughton and Jenny Agutter.
Stream An American Werewolf in London on Prime Video.
3) The Funhouse
Tobe Hooper’s slasher movie The Funhouse has some pretty interesting turns in its plot and a very memorable mood. The mood is definitely something that should be retained in a remake.
The villain, however, could remain mostly the same or be entirely altered. The trepidation comes from the fact the killer is intellectually disabled, which works for Jason Voorhees because it’s barely received a mention throughout 12 films, but it’s very much obvious here. The Funhouse would be tricky in spots to make work for a modern audience, but it’s not an impossible task. Not to mention, carnivals are a great horror film location, and outside the odd Hell Fest here or there, it’s an underutilized locale.
Stream The Funhouse on Prime Video.
4) Scanners
David Cronenberg’s Scanners is the other film on this list that has such a high-quality original it might make studios nervous to try and replicate that quality. In fact, Hollywood seems to have avoided Cronenberg’s filmography outright. Sure, there was The Dead Zone TV series, but the only one who has remade a Cronenberg film was Cronenberg.
That likely wouldn’t be the case here, so what is most important is that a director is enlisted who can similarly balance science fiction and horror. A remake was announced way back in 2007, but it never went anywhere.
Stream Scanners on HBO Max.
5) Christine
One of the best Stephen King movies of the ’80s, Christine is a movie that works because you believe the characters. And you believe the characters because of the work of the cast, particularly Keith Gordon.
A Christine remake needs to have someone who can play the tragic character of Arnie Cunningham as well as Keith Gordon. Car chase sequences aren’t hard to replicate, and if anything the scene of the Plymouth rebuilding itself is easier to do now, but Arnie is a factor that absolutely must be nailed.
Rent Christine on Amazon Video.
6) Curtains
Some underrated horror movies should have started franchises. Others are like Curtains, which are underrated horror movies that are fully one-offs. Curtains is an old-fashioned mystery slasher, and as the continued success of the Scream franchise has shown, there’s still a market for that.
While the original Curtains is solid, it’s not spectacular, so with a higher budget and a similarly on-point cast, it could make for a successful streaming original. And, considering the original hasn’t accrued the fanbase of the Friday the 13ths of the world, they could even keep the killer the same. As far as scripting goes, Curtains wouldn’t need many alterations.
Stream Curtains on Prime Video.
7) Ghoulies
A horror movie featuring a pre-fame star (Mariska Hargitay), Ghoulies was a massive hit for Empire Pictures. It was also incredibly low budget and showed every ounce of its limitations.
As anyone who has seen Ghoulies (or anything from Charles Band) knows, it’s a very silly film, filled with magic spells and the like. If a remake lost the magic element, it wouldn’t be a fatal loss. However, there’s still an opportunity to keep this IP alive, and it would be fun to see the Ghoulie toilet seen in a modern movie (that scene was unforgettable on the original film’s VHS case, yet didn’t actually happen until Ghoulies II, which is the best of the bunch).
Stream Ghoulies on fuboTV.
8) The Gate
Some horror movies develop a cult following, but are best described as an interesting concept that wasn’t executed as well as it could have been. For instance, The Gate, starring a young Stephen Dorff.
The narrative follows a little boy who accidentally opens a gateway to Hell, which then releases a bunch of little two-toed, horned demons. The little demons then try and initiate the rise of their malicious Gods via a spell. It’s up to the little boy and his pals to save the day. In short, it’s a horror movie that is aimed at kids even more than adults. There’s nothing particularly frightening and even the little demons are more cute than scary. The issues come more on the writing front, as the script oscillates between cliche, cutesy, and outright confusing. With a tightly written script and the right child actors (one of the things the first one nailed), though, a The Gate remake could make for a solid Netflix or HBO Max original.
Stream The Gate on The CW.
9) Dolls
It’s surprising Dolls never got a sequel, because there was more to explore here. The core of it is pretty simple: an elderly couple uses their own, hand-crafted dolls to teach fatal lessons on adults who behave poorly.
If they could find the right actors, a Dolls remake could be great. It just has to retain some of the original’s dark foggy night atmospherics, ensure the dolls are practical creations instead of CGI, and find the right child performer to serve as the lead.
Stream Dolls on fuboTV.
10) Pumpkinhead
A great horror film with a sad ending, the late, great makeup artist Stan Winston’s directorial debut, Pumpkinhead, is an interesting late ’80s scarer. And considering how its central themes of loss and revenge are always relevant, it’s ripe for a remake.
Lance Henriksen stars as Tom Harley, whose child is run down by some reckless youthful dirt bikers. He strikes a deal with a witch to exact his revenge, via a big ugly demon. The thing is, every time this “Pumpkinhead” kills, a piece of Harley is killed too. There have been rumors of a Pumpkinhead for quite some time now, and it even seemed to gain some traction in 2021, but nothing has come of it as of this point.
Stream Pumpkinhead for free with ads on The Roku Channel.
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