Hey, horror hounds! I will cut straight to the chase on this deeply philosophical question that keeps me up at night; which do I fear the most? Remakes or legacy reboots?

The idea of a legacy reboot wasn’t on our radar too long ago. In the past few years, we have had legacy reboots of Halloween, The Craft, The Omen, and Candyman, to name a few. The list keeps getting longer and longer, but I feel mixed about whether I like the legacy reboot more than a straight-up remake.

I struggle with this because I usually enjoy both. Some of you may be scratching your head, wondering what a legacy reboot is. A legacy reboot is when a franchise or movie is made with different settings, people, and places but has characters or happenings from the original movie or franchise entries that influence the film. It becomes a nostalgia play and can work well if done correctly. I know many folks who dislike the latest Halloween trilogy, but I thought it worked as a continuation of the original John Carpenter film. I also thought the nostalgia factor in Candyman brought a new dimension to the classic Tony Todd film. Likewise, The First Omen surprised me at how it unfolded and tied to The Omen trilogy.

Conversely, I was not impressed by the new takes on The Craft or The Exorcist: Believer. The films lacked the punch the originals had when they were released. Exorcist: Believer may have been better received if it wasn’t tied to the franchise. A movie about an exorcism isn’t out of the ordinary, and the only real tie was Ellen Burstyn and a surprise cameo in the end. Other than that, it was any basic exorcism flick. The Craft: Legacy didn’t even bother to name it something that didn’t sound like they were cashing in on the nostalgia factor. The film was a name and a short role away from being a generic teen angst movie with some witchcraft thrown in for good measure.

But what about the remakes, Brent?

I think the remake train came to a crashing stop when both A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th crashed and burned. They both have a different take on Freddy and Jason, but the attempt to modernize them fell flat. Each film failed to find an audience, and they killed any hope of a new series of films for the franchises. At the beginning of this article, I posted the Salem’s Lot poster from the 2024 remake. This film was another example of modern writers and producers not understanding what made the original films classics. Salem’s Lot (the book and mini-series) were slow-burn stories with heightening tension and growing dread. The quick runtime of the new take didn’t give the characters and terror time to breathe and grow, causing the narrative to feel rushed and incomplete.

The failure to launch new franchises with remakes appears to have brought about the legacy reboots. Yes, I consider Wes Craven’s New Nightmare to be in the same conversation as the other legacy reboots, but it has a place in the series. The legacy sequels have been controversial in their own right and have had plenty of detractors. I’m not sure which legacy sequel horror people despise more: Halloween or Netflix’s attempt to revive The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series.

Ultimately, it is a mixed bag on both sides of the divide. Each side has excellent films, and both sides have crappy ones. Most of it is in the eye of the beholder. The horror I like may not be what you like, but we can still respect each other at the end of the day. The horror community is a family, and we have to stick together if we like it or not. Now, go rewatch the Blumhouse Halloween trilogy again. When you decide you like it, you can come to talk to me about it, lol.

I hope you enjoyed this discussion. Please comment below about which type of film you like more, and I’ll catch you later!

Brent