The top 3 films worthy of a remake

Fed up of tiresome Hollywood remakes? So is Louise MacGregor, who just so happens to have a list of the films that truly deserve another shot at the big screen…

You may or may not remember the original release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; what you probably do know about it, is that it was a landmark in horror and movie history. Relentlessly violent, physically taxing, and totally fantastic, it spawned handfuls of sequels to elaborate on the story of Leatherface and his family. The film remains one of the most influential horror movies of the seventies.

Imagine my glee, then, when I discovered a remake was in development. I was queuing outside the cinema with the rest of the greasy-haired, sweaty-palmed horror fanatics, practically jigging with excitement. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D! That’s Leatherface in a whole new dimension! Cut to me leaving the cinema with my nose wrinkled so far it was in danger of disappearing into my face. Good it was not. The problem was, the franchise hasn’t been out of the social consciousness long enough for a reboot to be necessary or even enjoyable. There are far better horror franchises begging for a remake, and on that tenuous premise, here are the ones I think are crying out to be brought slashing, stabbing and shrieking back to life…

Hellraiser

Let’s be brutally honest here; Hellraiser isn’t a great film. It looks fantastic, the prosthetics are genuinely great and Pinhead is a fantastic villain, but the adaption of Clive Barker’s The Hellbound Heart could have been better. The story jumps about between timelines, the acting is slightly embarrassing and it’s dated horribly – like a bottle of milk that had been opened in the same year, it’s gone terribly cheesy. Scrap Clive Barker from production and let Rob Zombie direct it- I’d love to see his take on the fantastic plot after he triumphed (yes, triumphed) in his Hallowe’en remake. That said, I’d like to see Rob Zombie’s take on the Teletubbies, so maybe I’m just biased.