People often accuse Bollywood of stealing ideas and copying Hollywood movies but it’s not only Bollywood that takes serious inspiration from Hollywood. Even the globally popular Hollywood copies movies and remakes them time after time. Hollywood loves to take inspiration from the original ideas from all around the world. Turn these original ideas into remakes which if not become a critical success, but will surely gross millions. The word ‘copied’ is a bit rough, speaking in a literal sense. So let’s say the Hollywood was inspired from the Asian and the world cinema, and remade or adapted from them.
As a matter of fact a lot of popular Hollywood movies are exactly remakes of the Asian horror films. Movies like The Ring and Dark Water are remakes. The Oscar-winning thriller ‘The Departed’ is also a remake of the Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs (2002). There is a list of movies that Hollywood copied or made a remake of their own.
So let’s take a look at 10 Hollywood Movies That Are Copied From Asian Cinema!
1. Oldboy
Oldboy is a 2003 thriller neo-noir film directed by Park Chan-wook, a second installment of The Vengeance Trilogy. It tells the story of a man who is imprisoned in a cell for 15 years. He is unaware of the true identity of his captor or his captor’s motives. This film was also made in Bollywood as Zinda, but was not an officially sanctioned remake. Spike Lee directed an American remake which was not even decent, lacked a lot of things which made it a box-office disaster. Many people called it Lee’s worst directed film ever.
2. Ring
The 1998 Japanese psychological horror film directed by Hideo Nakata based upon the famous Japanese folk tale Banchō Sarayashiki inspired the American remake of the same name. Although the name of the main character was changed and a very few plot elements were altered. The Ring was followed by a sequel, the american remake performed well and it is ranked as the twelfth best horror film of all time by ‘The Guardian’.
3. The Departed / Infernal Affairs
Out of all the foreign language remakes in the Hollywood, ‘The Departed’ is perhaps one of the most successful remakes to hit the big screen. This entertaining crime thriller is based on the Hong Kong crime-thriller ‘Infernal Affairs’. This thriller starring Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson was a critical and commercial success, it has won four Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards.
4. The Grudge
Released in 2004, the American supernatural horror film is actually a remake of the 2002 Japanese film ‘Ju-On: The Grudge’. The film tells the story of a powerful evil curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow. The film did well at the box-office, it is recognized as the second highest grossing horror remake of the past 40 years behind ‘The Ring’. The remake’s plot is entirely the same with a different ending.
5. Pulse
A 2006 American horror film which is a remake of the Japanese horror film, ‘Kairo; Pulse’. It is the story about ghosts and spirits invading the world of the living via the Internet. The remake performed well at the box-office, however it was panned by the critics. They called it another stale American remake of a successful Japanese horror film.
6. Dark Water
A 2005 horror drama which is a remake of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name. The story follows a divorced mother who moves into a run-down apartment building with her daughter. There they experience supernatural occurrences, they are soon haunted by the ghost of the former resident of the apartment. The remake did average, the only good thing about the remake was Jennifer Connelly.
7. My Sassy Girl
My Sassy Girl is a 2001 Korean romantic comedy which was extremely successful in South Korea and was the highest grossing Korean comedy of all time. Due to the popularity and success, a number of remakes were spawned. Most notably, the American remake which was released in 2008. There was a Japanese drama based on the movie’s story, an uncredited Bollywood remake, a Chinese, and a Nepali film which performed well in their countries.
8. Shutter
A young photographer and his girlfriend get into a car accident, they hit a young woman, and left her to die. Soon the young photographer begins to discover mysterious shadows in their photographs. This Thai horror film is ranked among the top 10 Asian horror films of all time. The film was made again in the Hollywood with the same name. The American remake received negative reaction, but it was a box office success grossing nearly 6 times its budget.
9. The Eye
Story about a woman who receives an eye transplant that allows her to see the spirits and glimpse into the supernatural world. This 2002 horror movie was again made in Hollywood with the same name starring Jessica Alba. The Indian film ‘Naina’ is also a remake of ‘The Eye’. However the remakes failed to recreate the magic and were dismissed by the critics.
10. A Tale of Two Sisters / The Uninvited
A Tale of Two sisters is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror drama which is based on the folktale “Janghwa Hongryeon jeon”. The story follows two sisters, who after returning home from an asylum, start experiencing disturbing events involving them and their stepmom. The American remake received negative reviews, however performed well at the box-office.
