5 Best & 5 Worst Asian Horror Movie Remakes Ever Made

1. The Eye

A creepy little Hong Kong-Singaporean film by the Pang Brothers about a young, blind violinist who starts seeing mysterious ghostly figures following a successful cornea transplant that restores her sight, The Eye is an eerie slow-burner that charmed critics both in its homeland and worldwide. The remake, despite being directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud who suitably freaked out audiences with their 2006 French-Romanian horror Them, is pretty terrible to put it bluntly.

Even star Jessica Alba’s gorgeous chops couldn’t save the film from being anything but a vapid, non-scary waste of its $12 million budget. Gone are the cultural connections and pathos of the original, swapped for slicker but nonetheless unremarkable Hollywoodized production values. Gone too is the chemistry between original leads Angelica Lee and Lawrence Chou, replaced by Alba and co-star Alessandro Nivola who have about as much chemistry as two planks of wood.

Yet another American remake whose scare factor is watered down by a PG-13 rating, Moreau was reportedly so disappointed with the end result that he even deliberated taking his name off the film. No doubt a sentiment felt by other cast and crew, including Alba whose performance earned her a Golden Raspberry nomination.

Which of these do you think deserves to be considered the best and worst? Share your reactions below in the comments thread.