Last Updated on August 5, 2021
#1 – The Creature from the Black Lagoon
It still amazes me that this has not been remade yet. Everyone recognizes the design of The Creature and yet we continue to get movies featuring only human monsters and no full creatures. Like KING KONG, The Creature has an underlying human element that can be exploited on screen to make him a hero, a villain, or both. Plus, with advances in effects, it would be easier than ever to realize a high quality version of this story today.
#2 – The Man Who Laughs
This Victor Hugo story has not been adapted in some time but has served as the inspiration for The Joker and other villains. Sharing similarities with both THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, THE MAN WHO LAUGHS concerns a horribly disfigured man who must try to set right the wrongs of his life while also trying to find happiness in the meantime. Part adventure, part romance, and part drama, the iconic Laughing Man imagery would definitely translate well to any number of modern re-tellings.
#3 – The Invisible Man
Another Universal classic awaiting a remake, THE INVISIBLE MAN was a staple of the 1940s. Since then he has been a supporting character in other films or similarly portrayed in movies like HOLLOW MAN. But, like Dr. Jekyll, the original H.G. Wells novel is ripe for updating. Plus, having an invisible protagonist can be easily achieved using modern technology. You don’t need to do anything special like have him fight robots or vampires to update this tale, just tell a classy thriller story. Imagine Kevin Spacey in the lead.
#4 – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
If Victor Hugo’s LES MISERABLES can be given the big studio Oscar bait treatment, why not his other seminal work, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME? The 1923 Lon Chaney version is a masterpiece of the Silent Era and the 1939 version starring Charles Laughton is equally as good. We haven’t had a true movie take since the Disney animated musical, so why not immortalize the characters in a sweeping epic take on the classic novel?
#5 – The Mummy
Yeah, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are already working on a reboot to THE MUMMY, but I want to be clear that we need to reboot the 1932 Boris Karloff horror movie and not the Brendan Fraser INDIANA JONES-style series. If you don’t think a mummy can be scary, just check out the original Universal horror movies. Karloff didn’t play a zombie version of the mummy but something akin to an Egyptian take on DRACULA. Definitely room for a movie like this today.
#6 – The Wolfman
I may be in the minority of those who liked the 2010 version of THE WOLFMAN starring Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro. So, this is more of a request for a sequel rather than a reboot. The ending to the film was left open enough to possibly make a WEREWOLF OF LONDON type film. Or, if a reboot is required, contemporize it and give us a modern day, classy werewolf movie.
#7 – The Phantom
I know that the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical came out back in 2004, but the Dario Argento directed version and the 1989 film starring Robert Englund provide a much more horrific and less romantic take on the Gaston Leroux novel. The idea of a disfigured, masked man hiding beneath the Paris Opera House is prime for a reboot that takes it into another setting. We have seen THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, how about another take on the tale? Nothing is quite as terrifying as Lon Chaney’s iconic make-up. Let’s see it in action with modern effects.
#8 – Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale has been adapted numerous times, most famously starring Fredric March in 1931. The last studio retelling of the film was MARY REILLY in 1996, but since then the story has been TV movie fodder. A serious take on the tale using up to date special effects could be a damn fine thriller. Hell, even an action movie would work.
#9 – The Blob
When was the last time we got a big budget film about an unstoppable monster like THE BLOB? The 1988 remake seems like the last major one with most movie menaces being of either the zombie or vampire variety in recent years. If GODZILLA can make a comeback, give me a new take on THE BLOB!
#10 – The Black Cat
The classic pairing of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff reached a sick height with THE BLACK CAT. While it shares a title with the Edgar Allan Poe story, THE BLACK CAT is instead a torture porn ancestor about necrophilia, Satanism, and revenge. Instead of one villain, you really have two going against each other while some innocents are caught in the middle. It would be a nice change of pace to see a movie like this today that doesn’t feature Freddy or Jason.
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