Horror remakes are often a source of consternation, usually seen as an unnecessary cash grab rife with uninspiring attempts to overhaul beloved properties. Let’s face it; horror movies get remade far more often than any other genre, and a lot of them miss their mark. But with the right property to remake, and the appropriate care put into it, horror also boasts some of the best. Films like The Thing or The Fly took lesser-known films from decades prior and transformed them into horror classics. They both exemplify what we want from an ideal remake; take something lesser known and use it as a foundation to borrow what worked about the film and transform it into something new and better. With that in mind, here are 5 retro horror movies that could use some dusting off and polish:

Maximum Overdrive

With the countless other shows and films of Stephen King’s work having been released or currently in production, I’d like to recommend one more to the mix; a long overdue remake of Maximum Overdrive. Originally released in 1986, this adaptation has often been considered among the worst, which is a shame considering King directed this one himself. But, King had never directed a feature movie before (or since), and the film was made at the height of King’s self-admitted cokehead days, so perhaps unsurprisingly the adaptation was abysmal. There’s an ‘80s charm to it for sure, but the dialogue and acting weighs down a really solid theme in which humanity’s reliance on technology rears its ugly head, this time in the form of homicidal, sentient technology by way of a passing comet. Decades later, technology has advanced so much farther than ever imagined, and our reliance on it commensurate with that growth. Which makes no better time than now for Maximum Overdrive to get an update.

The Boneyard

This straight-to-video 1991 proved why having a decent cover box was extremely important. The monstrous poodle with a pink bow meant I passed this up over and over as a child, until finally giving in to discover a surprisingly creepy story at the heart of the film. With a very atypical protagonist, the film follows a depressed psychic as she works with detectives to get to the bottom of the mystery behind a funeral home owner with three corpses of mummified children in his possession. Only, these aren’t dead children, but “kyoshi,” or undead cursed children that must feed on human flesh. While the movie winds up dragging in places and devolves into the giant poodle monster showdown touted on the cover, this is an insane diamond in the rough begging to be polished. There are surreal dream sequences that deliver the chills and the mummified children were the stuff of nightmares. In the meantime, at least it’s finally coming to Blu-ray!

C.H.U.D.

This 1984 sci-fi horror was heavy on the political critique and light on the actual creature feature many signed up for when renting this one. A well put together film that follows a photographer whose current project is capturing the essence of New York City’s homeless population, but there’s been a recent string of disappearances that seems indicative of a government cover-up. And it is, in the form of toxic waste dumping that has caused the underground dwelling population to mutate into cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers. It’s a matter of a plot that sounded way better than it is, because it takes far too long for the creatures to make their appearance. The viewer spends too much time getting to know George, the crumbling city, and the government cover-up. With a relocation to a new urban setting suitable of the plot, and a more balanced creature to social commentary ratio, C.H.U.D. could be something special.

Rawhead Rex

Without this ‘80s adaptation of Clive Barker’s short story, he wouldn’t have decided to take on a more prominent role in Hellraiser, so Rawhead Rex has that going for it. The core idea makes for a great horror movie setup; a monstrous Pagan god is released from his prison and begins to hunt down children, violate women, and literally piss on his followers makes for a very intriguing and gruesome story. Of course, Barker’s original story described the Pagan beast as a nine-foot-tall phallus with teeth, which makes translating that to screen sound laughable. But thanks to the extreme rush job, the special effects team had no time to create Rawhead Rex and the result is also somewhat laughable. There’s Heinrich von Schellendorf, who worked out for months to get in ferocious Pagan god rampaging shape, and he has to sport a mask that’s perpetually frozen in one expression for the entire film. That doesn’t even touch on the strange design, either. Barker has been wanting to give this one a crack for a while, and I think it’s past time that he should try.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

Originally airing on October 24, 1981, this made for TV horror movie is far better than it had any right to be. The exceptional Larry Drake starred as Bubba, the mentally challenged man that befriended a little girl in a small town full of prejudice and judgmental jerks. When the girl is attacked by a dog and found unconscious, the meanspirited post man assumes the worst of Bubba, accusing him of raping and hurting the girl, and poor Bubba is murdered by a group of vigilantes as a result. Shortly after, a mysterious scarecrow shows up, enacting revenge on those who wronged Bubba. So atmospheric and disturbing, and well-acted, that it’s one of the more overlooked gems in horror. So why remake this one? Because it was made for TV, the kills weren’t nearly as gratifying. In short, I want the shackles removed. Also, horror could use more scarecrows.