2. The Fly (1986)
Based On: The Fly (1958) The master of body horror, David Cronenberg's The Fly was his mainstream horror coming-out party. He had already directed the cult horror films The Brood, Scanners, and Videodrome (as well as the successful if not box-office smash The Dead Zone), but The Fly was really the vindication of his style. Known for perhaps being a little too oblique for the slice 'em and dice 'em flicks in vogue, The Fly isn't a mainstream horror movie made by Cronenberg, it's a Cronenberg horror movie that happened to become mainstream. Watching it now is remarkable, not only does it hold up extremely well (well, aside from some of the outfits and the outdated technology), it is remarkably strange for a movie that was a major box-office success. Jeff Goldblum is perfect as Brundlefly, and I've always had a crush on 80s Geena Davis. But as Seth Brundle grotesquely transforms into a fly the movie takes off into another level, while it is scary and gross it is also intensely dramatic and oddly beautiful. The Fly is a marvelous movie, it is far better than the original and proves that a unique film can be made from a remake.