10 Movies That Should Be Remade With Modern Special Effects

Special effects have developed and changed over the years, and some great movie titles deserve to be remade for the modern world with a fresh and updated look. The first movie that used special effects was Alfred Clark’s 1895 reenactment of the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, and since then, the world of cinema has progressed an incredible amount. Whether they differed from the original or not, plenty of the best movie remakes have also relied on special effects to keep audiences engaged and have transported them to all manner of fictional universes.

For example, some of the best sci-fi movies, like the Star Wars franchise and The Matrix, were particularly praised for their visual effects. Some of the best horror movies of all time were also recognized for the use of CGI and digital image optimization, especially in titles such as The Ring and Pan’s Labyrinth. In 1977, the Academy Awards made Best Visual Effects an official category and proved to the world that SFX was a permanent fixture in cinema. Since then, there have been some amazing movies that used special effects but now deserve to be remade with technological advancements.

10

Bedknobs And Broomsticks

1971

Bedknobs and Broomsticks was known for its fascinating use of live-action footage and traditional, Disney-esque animation. The film was based on the books The Magic Bedknob and Bonfires and Broomsticks by author Mary Norton and starred the iconic actress Angela Lansbury as Miss Eglantine Price. In the early 1970s, combining two different art styles on the big screen was groundbreaking, especially for a film that wasn’t science fiction.

As an enjoyable and wholesome watch for all ages, Bedknobs and Broomsticks was deserving of a modern-day remake a long time ago. Even though the film won the Academy Award for Best Special Visual Effects in 1972, other Disney titles from recent years have proved that there can be some improvement on their earlier animations. The football match scene would be fantastic to see with more up-to-date graphics, for example. Overall, the film’s tone and engaging storyline should be remade and reintroduced for a new generation of children.

9

The Blob

1958

Considered one of the best sci-fi monster movies of the 1950s, The Blob introduced audiences to a small community consumed by an amoeboid alien. With plenty of cheesy yet dramatic moments, The Blob’s special effects were mainly limited to the titular threat, a goopy blob that grew and enveloped everything and anything in its path. Although the visual era-appropriate impact was part of The Blob‘s charm, the film deserves a remake.

It’d be a manageable title to recreate, too. There was only one villainous figure, the alien, and it had no dialogue or an actual figure, so production wouldn’t need to spend months or even years working away at an army of blobs. The Blob also had several moments where the small Pennsylvania town’s buildings and streets were destroyed, something else that modern special effects could improve upon. Although there was a supposed remake already in the works, in January 2024, director Simon West stepped away from the project, and there has yet to be a further update.

8

2001: A Space Odyssey

1968

From the mind of the incredible director Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey’s release was a staple moment in cinematic history for envisioning how space travel would work in the future. Kubrick’s cinematography received significant praise, having used automated motion-controlled cameras to replicate the feeling of weightlessness in space, and it earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Director in 1968. Although he lost out to Carol Reed with Oliver!, 2001: A Space Odyssey did win the Academy Award for Best Special Visual Effects.

The film’s visual elements were stellar in the 1960s, so if it was remade over 56 years later, it could be a blockbuster hit. The possibilities of Kubrick’s vision were unlimited in 1968, so with the power of modern technology and the advancements in special effects, 2001: A Space Odyssey could be unstoppable in the present day. The entire film was a tense and exciting journey from start to finish, but some scenes would be even more impressive if it was remade, such as the legendary, psychedelic Star Gate sequence.

7

Logan’s Run

1976

In the year before Star Wars was released, the sci-fi world was dominated by Logan’s Run. For its time, Logan’s Run had relatively solid special effects, albeit imperfect, and was considered an enjoyable but cheesy watch. However, the powerful storyline that followed two warring societies and assassin Logan 5 (Michael York) was so brilliant that it was possible to overlook the film’s special effects style. The same could be said about Star Wars, which became a full-blown franchise that, with each installment, improved upon itself time and time again.

With modern-day visual effects, Logan’s Run could become another nostalgic movie that old and new audiences could fall in love with. The fabulous vision of Logan’s Run could also be fully realized and properly translated on the silver screen with new technology, which the original struggled with. In the 1990s, a remake of Logan’s Run was picked up. Since then, the project has had multiple directors and writers come and go, but it has remained in development hell since then.

6

Flubber

1997

1997’s Flubber, one of Robin Williams’ best movies, was actually a remake of the 1961 film The Absent-Minded Professor and an adaptation of the 1943 short story A Situation of Gravity by Samuel W. Taylor. Although Flubber received negative reviews from critics, it became a beloved family classic for audiences in the years after its release. The main complaint about Flubber was that its special effects were overused, which was unfortunate yet understandable considering its sci-fi-heavy storyline that followed Professor Brainard’s (Williams) wild experiment.

The “Flubber” creation had the physical appearance of luminous green slime with extreme elasticity, something many children today would likely engage with. Brainard’s experiment caused some corny but hilarious moments throughout the film, and overall, Flubber was enjoyed by audiences because of these same qualities. Present-day special effects have developed in such a way that they can be subtle yet still detailed, which would allow for a much better execution of Flubber than what was originally hoped and planned for.

5

The Birds

1963

Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece The Birds, one of the best classic horror movies ever made, created a universal fear of crows in audiences worldwide. The use of special effects in The Birds was interesting, and Hitchcock combined live-trained and mechanical birds, along with an optically altered layer of footage, to create some of the film’s most iconic scenes. In the 1960s, this was a thrilling image that shook audiences to their core.

A planned remake of The Birds was announced in 2007, but the project never made it to screens. In recent years, Hollywood has released several horror film remakes that utilized special effects to create significant and horrifying displays. A great example of this was the 2022 remake of Hellraiser, which demonstrated the evolution of SFX over the years. Considering the cultural impact The Birds had on the world of cinema, it would be an ideal title to be remade with modern visual effects.

4

The Shining

1980

The Shining only used one special effects shot throughout the entire film, but Cinephiles remembered it for years. The shot in question was an aerial view of the complex hedge maze, and production used a combination of physical models and superimposed footage to create the eerie moment. However, plenty of other moments in The Shining could have been made even better with modern-era special effects.

For example, Danny’s (Lloyd) frightening visions could be demonstrated in a more impactful way. Any moments with the ghosts could also be scarier and more dramatic with SFX. The Shining received a sequel in 2013’s Doctor Sleep, adapted from the novel of the same name by Stephen King, but the original was never remade. Considering the success of other remakes adapted from King’s books, such as Pet Sematary, The Shining proved itself worthy of being remade for a modern audience with era-appropriate special effects.

3

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

1988

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was set in a fictional, alternative universe focused on 1940s Hollywood and a world where cartoons and humans co-existed. The film won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects in 1989. Although the film’s animation was praised, special effects in the 1980s were considerably less impressive than in the present day and could still be improved upon.

However, one minor issue with Who Framed Roger Rabbit‘s visual effects was how actors reacted to the animated characters. There were a few moments when Eddie (Bob Hoskins) would speak with Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer), but his eye line didn’t align with where the cartoon rabbit stood. This was because all of the animation was done during post-production and not prepared ahead of time, and as the shoot was finished, it was difficult for this to be altered. However, with modern SFX, these small issues wouldn’t be an issue in a remake, neatening up an already well-received film.

2

Spaceballs

1987

Although the general tone and meta-ness of Spaceballs excused how it used special effects, there was no doubt that some of the film’s spoofs could have looked better. Spaceballs was a parody of the Star Wars movies and starred several iconic performers, including Joan Rivers as the voice of Dot Matrix and Mel Brooks as President Skroob and Yogurt. SFX was primarily used in shots that focused on the Eagle 5 spaceship, which special effects designer Grant McCune created.

In recent years, however, films have created spaceships using CGI and digital optimization. Even Spaceballs’ parody elements, such as the sight gag of the giant comb being pulled through the desert, could be improved with modern visual effects. Purposefully bad SFX would still be needed for the sake of comedy, naturally. However, because technology has developed so much in recent years, if a Spaceballs remake deliberately leaned into looking terrible, it would add to the film’s hilarity.

1

Air Force One

1997

Although several parts of Air Force One held up years later, its special effects did not. Air Force One starred Harrison Ford as the fictional President of the United States, James Marshall, and other legendary actors such as Gary Oldman as the ruthless villain Egor Korshunov and Glenn Close as Vice President Kathryn Bennett. Multiple moments throughout the film used special effects, including dramatic sequences that focused on the plane in the sky, which were created using a combination of models and live-action photography.

However, the biggest special effects blunder in Air Force One that audiences remember was the iconic crash shot at the climax of the film. This moment was created with purely CGI, and it was, unfortunately, quite noticeable. As the President’s plane crashed into the Caspian Sea, it was hard to ignore how fake it looked, which ruined the film’s dramatic ending. Although Air Force One was never a priority in regard to films that needed a remake, it was one that could be a lot more impactful and realistic with the application of modern special effects.