9 Movies That Were Better Remakes Than Official Remakes

Remakes are a fickle beast. Unlike reboots which can reinvigorate a franchise, or sequels which can take it somewhere new, remakes are a straight rehash of the film that came before it: often just updating a setting to appeal to younger audiences. It's a rare remake that turns out to be anything worthwhile.

That is until we start talking about films that don't even realise they're remakes in the first place. Movies can often capture the same tone and storylines of those that came before them and spin them into something completely new - functioning as a remake that's unofficial in nature, but completely justified by bringing a big breath of minty fresh air into the franchise.

Confused? Read on and all will become clear.

Poltergeist, the classic horror story dressed up as a family friendly movie, is a classic of the genre. As such, it's of course been replicated several times in distasteful fashion, cheaply remade to draw in new watchers in 2015 and falling flat on its face for critics and audiences alike in the process.

Much more fitting of the Poltergeist branding instead would be James Wan's Insidious: another dark story that follows a young child trapped in a paranormal dimension.

Instead of little Carol Anne communicating through the TV however, it's Dalton's spirit that roams free whilst his body is stuck in a coma, resulting in his father having to come and rescue him from 'The Further'. Ramping the tension up impossibly high and taking the family terror to literal new dimensions, Insidious functions perfectly well as a modern-day adaptation of Poltergeist, proving that its sad 'official' remake completely missed the mark.