10 Movie Remakes That Are Actually Worth Watching

7. Come Out And Play

La Totale True Lies
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The Original: Three years after The Exorcist and eight years before the film adaptation of Children Of The Corn, Spanish director Narciso Ibanez Serrador brought evil children to the screen in Who Can Kill A Child, in which two English tourists arrive on an island where the children have killed all the adults. Atmospheric and disturbing, this is 70s Eurohorror at its finest.

The Remake: Come Out And Play follows the original fairly closely, so viewers expecting instant gratification and jump scares should look elsewhere. Mexican director Makinov (who also wrote, produced, edited and shot the movie) prefers atmosphere and slow burn suspense to all violence and gore, and his film has a closed-in, stripped-down feel that’s appropriate for the admittedly slender narrative.

The picture’s claustrophobic feel helps build a sense of mounting dread that pays off (and then some) in the third act, but to reveal any more would be unthinkable. If you’re looking for a small scale picture that knows how to generate thrills with scant resources, you’re better off watching Come Out And Play than the concurrent Paranormal Activity 4.

Contributor

Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'