2 Great 2000s Horror Remakes Are About to Drop Off Free Streaming

The mid-2000s were a golden age for horror remakes. Driven by the success of The Ring and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre earlier in the decade, a massive boom of reimagined 1970s and ‘80s classics hit theaters, such as House of Wax, Halloween, and The Last House on the Left. While the success of those remakes varied, many remain favorites today, but viewers are running out of time to stream two horror remakes from 2006 on Tubi.

Both The Hills Have Eyes and When a Stranger Calls remakes have landed on Tubi’s “leaving soon” list, meaning they’ll likely depart the free streaming platform at the end of the month. The two films hit theaters in 2006 and updated ‘70s classics. Director Alexandre Aja tackled Wes Craven’s 1977 The Hills Have Eyes, about a family hunted and terrorized by a clan of cannibalistic savages, and Simon West took on Fred Walton’s 1979 When a Stranger Calls, a tense cat-and-mouse game between a terrified teenage babysitter and an unknown, stalking, and psychopathic killer.

The Hills Have Eyes and When a Stranger Calls Proved the Success of Horror Remakes

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The Hills Have Eyes and When a Stranger Calls remakes weren’t the biggest critical hits (both earned lower critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes than their ‘70s counterparts), but there’s no doubt that the two movies validated the commercial viability of horror remakes in the mid-2000s. The two movies leveraged nostalgia for modern audiences to return big box office hauls, both grossing roughly $70 million against approximate $15 million budgets, and proved that audiences were willing to pay for reimagined horror IP that updated classics.

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Beyond their box office successes, the two films also proved that modern iterations of classics could successfully update older source material for 21st-century audiences with modern, faster-paced, and more visceral filmmaking. Even two decades after its release, The Hills Have Eyes is still regarded as one of the best horror remakes ever. Aja’s better-than-original remake improved the original in just about every way, from the amazing visceral, practical-effects-driven gore to the superior cinematography, acting, and emotional stakes, including the expanded backstory of the mutants. When a Stranger Calls, meanwhile, succeeded by stretching the best part of the original, those high-suspense opening 20 minutes, into a feature-length film filled with suspense and psychological terror from beginning to end.

Where to Stream The Hills Have Eyes and When a Stranger Calls After They Leave Tubi?

The streaming fates of The Hills Have Eyes and When a Stranger Calls remain uncertain. The two horror remakes currently only exist on streaming in Tubi’s free catalog. Since the streaming landscape constantly shifts, it is possible the two films could reappear on a rival platform in the coming weeks, but neither has yet appeared on a major service’s March 2026 newsletter. Both films are available to rent or purchase online.

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