Movies That Deserve a Rerelease, as Chosen by VFX Experts

A big screen re-release, especially on a format like IMAX, deserves the biggest of directorial visions, and it's hard to find a film that holds up for spectacle and storytelling as well as James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Released in 1991, it hardly flew under the radar considering it was the most expensive film ever made at the time, and is widely considered both a masterpiece and one of the best sequels in existence. Nevertheless, it remains as pioneering now as it was then and deserves to be rediscovered by a whole new generation.

It is a seamless blend of practical and visual effects across an astonishing amount of sequences - Robert Patrick's T-1000 freezing into liquid nitrogen and shattering before the liquid metal reforms again, him rising up from a seemingly solid chequerboard floor or squeezing his face through solid metal bars. And all of this before we even talk about the iconic truck and motorbike chase.

Rewatching this film recently, it occurred to me that it is still so resonant as a guide for filmmakers in its use of visual effects. They are used so smartly alongside editing and on set work to augment or to showpiece. Pay attention and you notice how a cut is timed to give the illusion of something spectacular, or how a sequence will be mostly practical or created with miniatures, and then has mind-blowing hero moments in VFX. It reiterates how post-production is a part of the whole, to be thought of alongside the shoot and the edit and involved throughout to understand where it can have the best and most stand-out impact. Then you get something special.

I think that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fits the bill. Charlie Kaufman's script is a masterpiece of non-linear storytelling, jumping between memories, dreams, and reality. The film is a perfect fit for Michel Gondry who was in his prime at this time.

While the film didn't rely on flashy CGI, it does use amazing practical and visual effects to show the memory erasure process. These effects are seamlessly integrated into the storytelling, creating a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere that enhances the emotional impact. 

I just loved the forced perspective, hidden sets, and clever editing. It's one of the first times I really felt like the story led the VFX and not the other way around.

Although I didn't see the rerelease of Interstellar I do think it's super interesting to revisit the old classics and remake them with new techniques and artists. Great VFX don’t age — they just get better with time.

One film I’d love to see get rereleased is Alex Garland’s Annihilation. That shimmer? Haunting. The bear scene? Pure nightmare fuel. The VFX weren’t about flashy spectacle — they made you feel like reality itself was unraveling, and that’s not easy to pull off. 

Another one? Neill Blomkamp’s District 9. Those aliens felt real. The VFX blended seamlessly into the gritty, handheld style, making the prawns not just believable, but relatable. And considering the budget, it was a total mic-drop moment for visual storytelling.

Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 takes the original film’s world and pushes it even further with stunning visuals and a real sense of depth. Roger Deakins’ Oscar-winning cinematography perfectly captures the contrast of neon-lit cityscapes and desolate wastelands. Plus, the practical miniatures by Weta Workshop give the environments this tactile, grounded feel you didn’t get with fully digital worlds, at least back in 2017. 

For me, the standout scenes include the towering Joi hologram interacting with K and, of course, the Elvis hologram scene in the ruins of Las Vegas. That moment is such a visual and audio feast. As K and Deckard square off, these glitching holograms of Elvis and Monroe flicker in and out, and bursts of music and light create this weird, chaotic energy. It’s a brilliant example of what happens when two heavyweight VFX houses—Framestore and DNEG—team up to deliver cutting-edge effects that still feel totally in tune with the retrofuturistic vibe of the Blade Runner universe.

The UI design, done by Territory Studio, also deserves a shoutout. It’s futuristic but still has that retro-chic Blade Runner aesthetic, like K’s spinner controls or the forensic analysis screens in the police department. These little details add so much to the world-building without ever stealing focus.

Despite all this brilliance, the film didn’t smash it at the box office, which is puzzling to me. I guess its slower pacing and big philosophical ideas weren’t for everyone, but I think it’s a modern sci-fi classic. Honestly, it’s crying out for a remastered big-screen comeback.

Starship Troopers (1997), a film that had a poor performance on release, really pushed the boundaries on combining practical and digital effects that a number of its shots are still believable even to today's standards. Using practical effects as much as possible and having VFX for what can't be shot in camera or within budget and to digitally enhance the in-camera footage you can get results that hold up much better than even some of today's films. These complex practical effects also gave a reference for the CG artists to match throughout.

Lost In Space (1998) was a modest hit but below expectations and suffered from poor reviews. The amount of VFX shots (767!) was a record back when it was released and the level of complexity really made it a technical challenge. The motion capture was also cutting edge at the time. One full CG creature required realtime puppetry to control different parts of the CG animation. Another character required an actor's full facial scan with dots to control the CG face. It was also one of the early major VFX films made in London, using several VFX houses to complete the project within its tight deadline.

 

Dredd (2012) failed at the box office but really tried to push the boundaries when it came to using slow motion in a stunning and unusual way. VFX were involved right at the start of the project to help come up with solutions for effects while planning shots efficiently and keeping within budget. They used a Phantom Flex camera to get frame rates of 3000fps and higher, then played it back at a more normal rate. With trial and error they would look at what unexpected effects they could capture, and what they could add in VFX to replace what didn’t work so well. The slow motion effect would make what should be quite disgusting and gory shots look more beautiful and hypnotic, differentiating it from most sci-fi/action films.

I owe a lot of my VFX preferences and actual soul to the creature effects of the 80s and 90s, with films like Gremlins, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Tales from the Crypt, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, if you consider the UFO a creature, and of course, Beetlejuice. The practical techniques, the sculpted puppets, the lighting, the crazy makeup that we would still be wearing to clubs, and animatronics are cool and unpredictable.

I think the imperfection and unhinged nature of these production approaches can be even more appreciated given the advancement of new technology. Evil lord AI, as the all-encompassing umbrella of this, carries a similar unpredictability. It’s not about perfection, AI-generated effects can glitch or twist in ways you don’t see coming, the same way a latex puppet’s ear might flop wrong or a wire might pull too hard. Those surprises feel alive. They’re weird and, well, I think that’s cool.

When you lean into those happy accidents, instead of smoothing them out, you get closer to what made those 80s and 90s effects so unforgettable. It’s the same unpolished energy that made Gremlins feel like it might actually leap out of the screen or Beetlejuice’s sand worm look more like a fever dream than a creature. AI can’t recreate the hands-on charm of sculpted puppets or animatronics, but it can bring back that raw, chaotic, unhinged feeling that made everything feel just a little too real—and that’s exactly what we need.

An American Werewolf in London. The whole film is worth a rewatch, but the werewolf transformation scene is still the standard bearer for practical visual effects. Nowadays, a scene like this would be made using digital models and CG creature effects, but there is something awe-inspiring about the physical moulds, makeup, and epically clever hair growth Landis and Baker employed.

Visual effects are always best when used in service of the story. The artful way they created these moments connects you to the struggle and suffering the character is going through. Mixed with blood-curdling sound design, it all comes together perfectly.

To make things even better, David Naughton’s character wakes up naked at the zoo with a collection of onlookers gawking at him. Landis takes you from horror to humour, love, and then tragedy. They really don’t make ‘em like this anymore. 

Other notable mentions: Tron, Aliens, Children of Men, Contact, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Total Recall, Starship Troopers