12 Great Directors Who Helmed Terrible Movie Remakes

5. John Carpenter - Village Of The Damned (1995)

Josh Brolin Oldboy remake
Universal Pictures

As the '80s started to wind down, John Carpenter, the vastly talented filmmaker who had delivered some of the best and most memorable films of the last two decades (a fact that was yet to be acknowledged by either the critics or the public), struggled to land projects.

After the misguided anti-thrills of 1994's In the Mouth of Madness, he soon found himself attached to a remake of 1960 horror classic Village of the Damned, which - on paper - sounded like an avenue well-suited to Carpenter's style.

It wasn't meant to be, though; Village of the Damned ultimately emerged as one of Carpenter's biggest failures, both artistically and financially, as the once great filmmaker - zapped of his spirit and energy - delivered a remake that awkwardly paled in comparison to that of the 1960 original, which had starred George Sanders.

Whilst the 1960 version was made memorable by way of its strange, unsettling atmosphere and eerie performances, Carpenter's remake feels like the worst kind of TV movie; it's all clunky dialogue and stilted direction. Mark Hamill even pops up, and he's terrible in the role of Revered George, the town minister, whilst everyone else - Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley - phone in their performances from down the street.

Carpenter later admitted that he'd been "contractually obliged" to make Village of the Damned, and wasn't all that interested in it creatively. It shows.

 
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Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.