Right-on remake of an underground splatter classic

Rating: 9/10 (13 March 2006)

I absolutely loved this remake of Wes Craven's gruesome 1977 original. The plot is very simple: a blandly average suburban family are stalked and besieged in the New Mexico desert by a clan of cannibals mutated due to radiation from A-bomb testing. Director Alexandre Aja very effectively builds the tension in the first half of the movie and then, with the skill of a surgeon, unleashes an avalanche of violence and brutality all the way until the closing credits. People aren't killed in this film, they are slaughtered. If you understand what I mean by this comment, then you'll likely enjoy this gore-soaked gem.
Unusually for a horror movie, much of the action takes place in daylight. However this actually raises the suspense as it highlights both the desolation of the film's setting, and the primal nature of the struggle between the protagonists. The minimalist soundtrack is also strikingly effective. In short this is a vicious, first-class gut movie that attacks it's audience over and over again. An absolute must-see.