10 Most Terrifying American Horror Movie Remakes

As a rule of thumb, movie remakes tend to pale in comparison to the original. This is particularly true when it comes to the horror genre, with Hollywood atrocities such as 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, 2007's Halloween, and 2015's Poltergeist being just some examples of remakes gone wrong.

However, remakes become an entirely different beast when it comes to world cinema. Each nation is entrenched in its own histories of folklore, traditions, and fears which strike a chord with their audiences when transcribed on film and translating this context into Hollywood isn't easy.

This failure to understand what made these films successful has resulted in the disasters of One Missed Call, Pulse, Martyrs, the latest reboot of The Grudge, and so many other casualties that massively missed the mark.

However, despite the lengthy list of bad remakes, there are a few shining beacons that show it is possible for Hollywood to occasionally understand what made these movies tick.

Whether it's through recontextualizing the terror to lend a new perspective to events or simply by recapturing the essence of the original, these are the remakes that got it right.

Released six years after South Korean filmmaker Jee-woon Kim blew audiences away with his intensely eerie A Tale Of Two Sisters, The Guard Brothers helmed the remake, The Uninvited.

The Hollywood version follows the same set-up as the original: a teenage girl (Emma Browning) is released from a psychological hospital after being traumatised as a child by her mother’s death. Upon arriving home she’s overjoyed to be reunited with her sister (Arielle Kebbel) but is dismayed to discover that father (David Strathairn) is now in a relationship with Rachel (Elisabeth Banks), their deceased mother’s carer.

Much like the original, the large family home takes on an ominous presence as strange events begin to occur. Despite its vastness, the setting possesses a growing sense of claustrophobia that gradually encloses around viewers as events progress.

This film’s biggest success is its lingering mystery that constantly drives the plot forward. As the sisters become convinced that Rachel is up to no good, their investigation brings them to harrowing revelations that touch upon themes of family, loss, and guilt.

While it lacks the subtlety of the original (its reworking of the iconic kitchen scene being a prime example), The Uninvited nevertheless succeeds as a captivating horror mystery.