Hollywood just can’t help itself when it comes to remakes and reboots. Like a horror villain that refuses to die, the industry keeps digging up classics in the hope of cashing in on nostalgia. But not every remake deserves a resurrection. Some are so poorly executed that they make you want to build a time machine just to stop them from being made. Here are 10 of the worst reboots—movies that showed some tales are best left untouched.
10. Fantastic Four (2015)
No list of reboots gone wrong would be complete without this superhero flop. Even though fans were eager for a new take on Marvel’s First Family, what they received was a joyless failure. Behind-the-scenes chaos between director Josh Trank and the studio certainly didn’t help, and the result was a drab, poorly written movie that massacred Dr. Doom and took the fun out of the source material. The darker direction had potential, but reshoots and tone confusion dug any holes it might have had deep. Fans are still waiting for Marvel Studios to make this one right.
9. The Mummy (2017)
Universal attempted to kick off a shared monster universe with this remake, headlined by Tom Cruise, but the end product was more like an advertisement for upcoming sequels than a film unto itself. Lost was the goofy appeal of Brendan Fraser’s take, replaced by a confused narrative, inconsistent tone, and clunky exposition. Rotten Tomatoes says it didn’t even work as a monster film. The “Dark Universe” failed before it even started.
8. Godzilla (1998)
Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla is more commonly remembered as less of a monster movie and more as a bad attempt at copying Jurassic Park. The redesign of the monster was panned, the storyline was unmemorable, and the characters were dull. Critics and fans alike were let down by how much the film diverged from the original’s nuclear allegory foundations. As Rotten Tomatoes so aptly puts it, this was a giant misstep for the King of the Monsters.
7. Hellboy (2019)
Substituting Guillermo del Toro’s imaginative world-building and Ron Perlman’s flawlessly cast hero was always going to be a tall order. Unfortunately, this reboot collapsed under the strain. With ungainly CGI, incoherent storytelling, and obtrusive edginess, the film was a try-hard reboot in all but name. David Harbour did his best, but the toneless atmosphere and sloppy pace had fans pleading with del Toro’s version to come back.
6. The Wicker Man (2006)
Nicolas Cage gave one of his greatest meme performances here, and not for reasons of praise. This remake of the 1973 cult classic attempted to make the story contemporary but fell into inadvertent humor. Such moments as the now-infamous “Not the bees!” scene became internet treasure, but the movie itself was a jumbled mess of cringeworthy frights and confounding decisions. Rotten Tomatoes labeled it a misfire that lacked the eerie atmosphere of the original.
5. Red Dawn (2012)
The original Red Dawn’s Cold War paranoia was understandable in the 80s, but the 2012 remake seemed to have no idea what it wanted to convey. Replacing the Soviet Union with North Korea didn’t increase the stakes, and the new cast couldn’t give life to the underwritten script. Without emotional resonance and anything meaningful to discuss, this reboot felt like a soulless cash-grab on a bygone idea.
4. Point Break (2015)
Making the adrenaline-addled cult classic into a generic action movie was a huge wipeout. Although the reboot upped the ante with even more outrageous stunts, it lost everything that made the original so special: the characters, the charm, and the themes that drove the plot. Reviewers like BuzzFeed panned the weak acting and lack of energy, while long-time fans simply wanted their Bodhi and Johnny Utah back.
3. Bangkok Dangerous (2008)
Nicolas Cage resurfaces—this time in a lackluster remake of a hard-hitting Thai action movie. The original was full of raw energy and original visual style. The remake? Not really. Critics trashed it for lifeless direction, bogged-down pacing, and flat performance from Cage. Rotten Tomatoes indicated that all the style and bite of the original were lost in translation.
2. Psycho (1998)
Why remake a flawless film shot-for-shot? That was the question everyone had when Gus Van Sant remade Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho in 1998. Starring Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates, this remake added nothing to the equation and merely reminded audiences how perfect the original was. BuzzFeed and Rotten Tomatoes both list it as one of the most pointless remakes in movie history.
1. One Missed Call (2008)
Scoring the dreaded 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, this American rehashing of a Japanese horror success is the perfect definition of a botched reboot. Lacking suspense and bogged down by subpar acting and formulaic frights, One Missed Call taught us that not everything J-horror deserves a Western remake. Congratulations, you dodged this bullet.
Certain films are lightning in a bottle—splendid due to when and how they were created. Attempting to repeat the formula without realizing what made the original work tends to end in catastrophe. These 10 reboots are the best examples of why, sometimes, it’s best to leave the past alone in peace.