10 Movie Remakes Better Than The Original

by James Hunt

1. The Thing

The Thing Poster
Universal Pictures

One of the finest horror films of all time, 1982's The Thing is a masterclass in pulling off the "killer in the room with you" scenario.

Interestingly though, despite the film being heavily inspired by 1951's The Thing From Another World (right down to an extraterrestrial being thawed from a block of ice), here the creature is already in humanoid form, ambling towards the crew and regenerating limbs when wounded.

For the 1982 edition, John Carpenter focused entirely on this latter idea of regeneration, and replication. His edition came with a haunting, dissonant score, and a creature you never see in its original form. Instead, any member of the cast could be lying about who they really are at any time, and therein lies this movie's genius.

Outside of some iconic visuals and believably terrified acting performances from Kurt Russel, Keith David and more, it's the Thing's core premise as an entity that stand out. Some supremely effective, laboured-over practical effects bring it to life like nothing else, and things like this movie's "head-crab" will never, ever be outdone.

[ST]

Which other remakes do you think are better than the original? Let us know down in the comments.

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We love teamwork! Who doesn't? This article is a collaborative effort between James Hunt, Simon Gallagher, Scott Tailford, Josh Brown, Ewan Paterson and Ben-Roy Turner.
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