warning: NOT your average slasher experience...

Rating: 6/10 (12 March 2006)

Not just for a remake, but for any horror film, this was not your typical set-em-up and knock-em-off time at the movies. Director Aja really went above and beyond for this remake of the 1977 tale of a family driving through the desert, only to be set upon by a group of wackjob, homicidal cannibals. The film has an odd look to it, sort of retro but in the current age. There's cell phones and nubile young blondes, but also a travel trailer right out of the 70s and a ton of oldies featured on the soundtrack. That's all moot compared to the mayhem that ensues during this gruesome, relentless bloodbath. There's choppings, gunshots, people set afire, rape, and even an icepick planted into a man's testicular area. But Aja brings out a more emotional element by extending his terror scenes. The audience is no longer laughing and munching popcorn. They're murmuring and hiding their eyes. One passage in particular features one girl being raped, another having her breast sucked, and finally an unexpected moment of shocking violence. Unfortunately, some of the seriousness is taken away because some of the actions are committed by mutants. It becomes all too aware we're looking at actors in make-up (laughably, one villain looks like Sloth from "The Goonies"), which somewhat takes away from the believability of it all. As well the above-mentioned fire scene, which just looks ridiculous. Plus the fact the hero takes so much abuse before finally standing up for himself, your patience runs thin. And if you've seen the original, one really effective scene is dropped, involving using a dead body in a lawnchair as bait. But for hardcore gore fans, don't you be worried for a second. This features more brutality and nihilistic carnage than the original. Which doesn't make it any better than the first one, though this a decent film. Technically it looks awesome, with very fluid direction from Aja, and a great recurring musical sting that has a subtle "bong....bong" to it. Though at times that standard, pounding "CLANG!" to scare an audience is overused when a character is only passing in front of the camera or scaring another. I can't say it's a great film overall, but is much better than the other remakes out today, but be forewarned again: DO NOT buy any food before going into the theater. You'll save $10 bucks, too.