With a new announcement for a remake around almost every corner it’s quite difficult to stay up to date on what’s getting the remake treatment these days. I’ve decided to pull together a small list of the upcoming remakes that are on their way to the big screen and hopefully find out which of these reboots may actually be worth seeing. Despite the majority of people asking “why” when it comes to a remake, Hollywood still seems to think they are great ideas. Asking “why” is actually a good question. Is it because Hollywood has simply ran out of ideas? Is it too much of a financial risk backing an original concept? Or do they genuinely believe that the classics may still find an audience when revisited? If you were to ask me I would say that it’s a little bit of all of those reasons. If you look at a lot of “original” horror films these days most of them fall flat and leave something to be desired. Yes there are plenty of great horror films being made these days but they are more often than not independent films that never quite get the attention they deserve. So maybe Hollywood feels that it’s a better idea to just remake something that has proved to do well in the past. Regardless of the reasons behind all of these remakes the truth is that they are happening whether we like it or not. So let’s take a look at some of the upcoming remakes and which ones may or may not hit the mark.

Because it’s the most recent announcement from Universal to get the remake treatment, I’ll start with the David Cronenberg classic Videodrome. Since I just featured this remake in a recent article I won’t spend much time with this one. Written by Ehren Kruger (Transformers II, III) and directed by talented commercial director Adam Berg this will mark Berg’s first feature length film which causes some major problems because he’ll be compared to David Cronenberg. While this film could benefit from a remake with todays technology it seems less thought has gone into it than many horror fans would have liked. The plan is “to modernize the concept, infusing it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller.”

From Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry) comes the remake of Carrie, one of which fans are much more excited for . With a slew of new images for the upcoming Stephen King adaptation it looks as if this remake is headed in the right direction. Chloe Moretz stars as Carrie White who couldn’t have been cast any better. She’s a fantastic young actress who is no stranger to the horror genre (Let Me In). Perhaps the most intriguing thing of this remake is that this will be a much more faithful adaptation of King’s first novel because there is going to be an element of found footage to the film which makes perfect sense if you have read the novel. The novel was built around a bunch of interviews given by some of the very few survivors and witnesses of the incident so I can see where found footage would work extremely well for the film.

Probably the most surprising remake at the moment has to be the Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi produced remake of their classic 1981 The Evil Dead. Surprising not because they are remaking it but because of how excited fans are when just a few months ago when it was announced it looked like the fan-base was going to commit mass suicide. Why the change of heart? Recent comments from Campbell and Raimi saying that, “it’s really bloody. It’s so bloody, it will make your head spin. I’ve seen almost all the dailies and they’re really going for it. It’s gonna be grisly and intense and non-stop.”

Here’s a remake that has been in development limbo for quite a while but just recently started picking up speed with the recent release of some great looking concept art from Paul Gerrard. Dimension is behind the reboot and is currently looking for a writer and director to helm the project. The concept art was part of a pitch that entailed a new look for Pinhead along with a much darker world than what we have seen before. Let’s hope this one falls into the right hands because there’s plenty of potential here.

Production for David Gordon Green’s remake of Suspiria is supposed to start as early as September. The film has already landed its leading star with Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) and while she may not be as high profile as Chloe Moretz this could be her chance to make a name for herself in this remake of Dario Argento’s classic. A major concern for this film is the director, while talented, he’s only made comedies up until this point with Pineapple Express, Your Highness, and The Sitter. This is certainly a legitimate concern but Green has been trying to get this film off the ground for years and so far is the only person with enough guts to attempt to bring this to life. Hopefully his passion for the project translates onto the big screen because filling Argento’s shoes is no easy task.

Being described as a “loose remake” of Silent Night, Deadly Night the only thing we’ve seen so far is a ridiculous one-sheet. It’s currently filming in Winnipeg and is being released through Anchor Bay. Attached to play the Sheriff Cooper is the amazing Malcolm McDowell but other than that not much has been said on the film. Considering the original film wasn’t that great and it’s not like theres a major following of it this may be the safest remake in the bunch.

This reboot has been very quiet and wouldn’t surprise me if very little people actually knew it was happening. This reboot will be penned by John Spaihts who was hired in order to come up with a new take on the very old classic. Spaihts version of the film plans to be much different from the most recent take on the classic by Stephen Sommers and Rob Cohen which was a much more action oriented film. Instead of being driven by action Spaights plans on making this reboot a legitimate horror film and says that he’s, “really excited to write something scary,” and when asked if he is more of a fan of the original Universal Monsters movies of the 1930′s or the more recent action-adventure themed movies he said, “They both have their virtues and they’ve all been tremendously popular films and really influential in the popular culture. I would hope to pluck some of the elements of both of those series.”

Arguably Chan-wook Park’s best film Oldboy has possibly the biggest fan following of all of these remakes and for good reason. News of an Oldboy remake surfaced years ago and since then has gone through more actors than I care to count so let’s just give the rundown of the ones that are currently in position to play a role in Spike Lee’s upcoming reboot. Currently Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, and Sharlto Copley have all been given a significant role in the film with Samuel L. Jackson just recently landing a spot in the film as well. This one has understandably been a tough one for fans to wrap their heads around especially with the casting mess that has surrounded it but finally with a more than solid cast this remake is well on it’s way to the big screen. While there’s not much of a chance at this film being better than its original counter part it does have the potential to be a fantastically hardcore thriller.

Well, there you have it. This is just a small list of an ever growing one but hopefully it gives you a good sense of what’s going on in the world of remakes. Hopefully one day there will be more original horror films making their way tot he big screen but for now we are just going to have to bite the bullet. So, which of these remakes are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments.