“It’s always very interesting to bet who’s going to go first and who’s going to have the most unbelievable death. It’s always fun to play with that and create more expectations. It’s an interesting part of horror movies.”
-Alexandre aja, director of “Mirrors” (2008) and “Crawl” (2019)-
With every great adaptation out there, there’s at least ten horrible ones waiting to be released. You might find that the film industry attempts to grab as much money as possible by producing movies based off the most popular horror novel out there. It doesn’t always mean that they’re a success.
Depending on the trailers, many movies that would have otherwise flop somehow manage to catch the attention of the public. An example of this are movies like “Ouija” (2014) or “the Nun” (2018).
From paranormal horrors like “The Haunting” (1999) to B-rated films like “Maximum Overdrive” (1986), this list will be covering the top ten worst horror adaptations.
The Wicker Man (2006)
(Based off “The Wicker Man” by Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer)
The original was a work of art. The remake with Nicholas Cage, however, might as well be a parody version. It has the same scenes as the original. It’s the ending that really ruined the whole movie.
Nicholas Cage tried to make the sacrifice scene as horrifying as the original. It’s just that it’s almost overdramatized with him shouting “not the bees” over and over again. You can’t help watching him burn alive and thinking about how grateful you are that it’s over.
The Mangler (1995)
(Based off of “The Mangler” from Stephen King’s Nightshift)
It might sound ridiculous that a machine becomes possessed by a demon after a virgin’s blood sprays on it, but that’s the entire premise of the movie. If you don’t believe it, watch the trailer!
The Mangler attempted to be good. It even brought in Robert Englund, the actor who played Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, but it fell apart. It’s just hard to make a demon possessed machine scary on the big screen.
The Amityville Horror (2006)
(Based off “The Amityville Horror” by Jay Anson)
Honestly, there’s a lot of shirtless wood chopping done to the point you’re wondering if you’re supposed to be scared or not. The concept of a ghost girl with a bullet wound in her forehead is cool, but it’s just never clear what her purpose is.
If you want a better film that depicts the Amityville Horror, you should watch the Conjuring II. If you’re looking for a movie featuring shirtless Deadpool, this is the movie for you!
Children of the Corn (1984)
(Based off “Children of the Corn” from Stephen King’s Nightshift)
The beginning scene where the kids murder all the adults in the town of Gatlin is great! Nothing is more frightening to watch than adults being killed off in a diner while a little boy watches in horror over a milkshake. It’s after this that it goes downhill.
A married couple happened to get lost and end up in Gatlin. They befriend two children, who happened to be the only pair not affected by the influence of the corn demon. Honestly, the movie would have been better if it focused on kids murdering adults.
One Missed Call (2008)
(Based off of “Chakushin Ari” by Yasushi Akimoto)
This falls under the same trend as the Ring/Ringu series. It’s originally based off a novel written by the director of its Japanese film counterpart. The main issue is that instead of just sticking with the original version, someone decided to recreate an American version.
Thankfully, the film takes place in the U.S. unlike most of the films converted over from Japan to America. However, it suffered from cliches such as victims walking alone at night and ghostly figures that are never explained.
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
(Based off “Trucks” from Stephen King’s Nightshift)
Taken from an already out there Stephen King short story, Maximum Overdrive follows the plot of murderous machines. Everything from cursing atms to a truck with the face of the Green Goblin from Spiderman attacks all the humans and animals.
You can think of this movie as more of a comedy or a horrible B-rated film than something actually scary. Everything from the characters’ deaths to even Stephen King’s cameo couldn’t save Maximum Overdrive from being torn apart by critics and fans alike.
Psycho (1998)
(Based off “Psycho” by Robert Bloch)
While remakes can improve with special effects or the storyline, this is literally a shot-by-shot remake of the original Alfred Hitchcock classic. If you’re going to make a remake, you’re going to want to add something different to the fandom!
This version of “Psycho” was voted Worst Remake of 1998. Though, they should have known when they chose Vince Vaughn, an actor known for playing in comedies, for the role of Norman Bates.
Graveyard Shift (1990)
(Based off “Graveyard Shift” from Stephen King’s Nightshift)
Giant mutated rats with a taste for human flesh hidden in a secret underground cavern below the basement of a textile mill. This could have been great if it followed the original plot of the Stephen King short story.
Instead, the director chose to thrown in a rat exterminator played by Brad Dourif, the voice of Chucky from “Child’s Play,” into the mixture. Then, there’s the giant rat/bat creature they chose to showcase as the main villain. It looked too rubbery to be real.
The Haunting (1999)
(Based off “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson)
Like “Psycho” (1998), this was voted the Worst Remake of the year. With that in mind, the only saving grace is that the reason that brings Nell and the gang to the Hill House is an insomnia study. They aren’t told about the ghosts until their first night.
Other than that, it’s hard to take the movie seriously with Owen Wilson, another actor known for his romantic comedies, starring as Luke. The movie comes off as confusing with its ending where Nell sees herself as the only one able to stop the hauntings.
Carrie (2013)
(Based off “Carrie” by Stephen King)
Cannot stress this enough. Remakes should provide something new to the fandom. It shouldn’t be made just to show that special effects have improved over the years. Though, there might be people out there that disagree with this.
It was a shot-by-shot remake of the original “Carrie” (1976). Sure, there was a few difference such as the use of cellphones and more advanced technology, but it still retained the same plotline as the original with little added to advance the fandom.
And that’s been the top ten worst horror adaptations marked for the 2020 season. If you feel as though there’s a movie that deserved a slot on this list, keep in mind that there’s thousands of horrible adaptations that could have been chosen.
If you enjoyed this list, please be sure to like or comment. There might be a part 2 coming out soon.
What makes a good horror adaptation? Follow this link to see what was used to make this list.
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