Movies That Could Actually Use A Remake...

The only real problem I have with remakes is most of the movies  redone simply do not need redone.  Case in point- "Halloween".  "Friday the 13th".  "The Omen".  Etc.  However, there are some movies out there that just didn't live up to their potential and could be better.  Here's an example.

"Let's Scare Jessica To Death"-  Had high hopes for this one, but could barely make it through the whole thing.  The premise is an interesting one, and this could've been great, but for me it just falls flat.  Jessica has been released from an institution and is ready to start her life over.  She retreats to an old Victorian farmhouse in a rural Connecticut town with her husband and friend and find a strange woman crashing there.  She starts being plagued by nightmarish visions, not sure whether it's really happening to her or if it's all in her mind.  Sounds good, right?  Wrong.  Zohra Lampert plays Jessica, and she is one of the most annoying actresses ever to grace the silver screen.  She drove me absolutely bonkers.  There are some great, nightmarish scenes in this movie, but still overall I just did not like it.  I kept feeling like I should like it, but just couldn't. 
The movie is muddled and just didn't really make sense to me.  I think if done right it could be a very creepy, unsettling flick.   Are you listening, Hollywood?

The Others

     2001's "The Others" is a delightfully old-fashioned, suspenseful ghost story.  Nicole Kidman delivers a multi-layered performance as the mother of two photo-senstive children living in an ominous Victorian mansion during WWII.  As the children are allergic to light, all the windows in the house are constantly covered- adding to the gloom.  As good as Nicole Kidman is in the movie, the young actors playing her children are fantastic.  They are truly chilling.  The movie wisely favors atmosphere, sound, and suggestion over special effects.

      Directed by Alejandro Amenabar, "The Others" moves slowly and surely, building up tension and suspense.  The fog-drenched and candle-lit cinematography is wonderfully old-fashioned, and the movie contains many clues and messages that pertain to the film's haunting climax- it definitely requires repeat viewings to pick up on them.  It's not your typical Hollywood ghost story full of slam-bang special effects- instead it relies on wonderful acting and mood to get its point across.   A welcome return to such classic ghost stories as "The Innocents" and "The Haunting (1963).  "The Others" will definitely make you think.  Bleak, dense, dark, and truly disturbing.  And the "Book of the Dead" is truly one of the most bone-chilling things I've ever seen in a movie.