Starts well, but degenerates soon afterwards

Rating: 4/10 (18 October 2006)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
The sneaky peeps in the US government conduct a series of radiation tests in the American outback that leave a number of the locals who inhabit the place deformed, deranged and psychotic. When a suburban American family breakdown there during a cross-country road trip, they find themselves trapped in a desperate battle between themselves and deformed monsters with an insatiable blood lust.
Here we have a glossy Hollywood remake of a low budget Wes Craven horror flick from the 70s. Which, of course, I've never seen. In fact the first I knew about it was when I saw it advertised on the side of a bus. Never mind, though, I wasn't around for the original Dawn of the Dead and still thoroughly enjoyed the recent re-make. Which sadly isn't the case with this one.
To be fair, it does open fairly well and delivers a promising start to what could be a great horror film. But it soons degenerates, with a clichéd, predictable set-up, a torrent of blood and gore that can't generate one great scare and some laughably misfiring monster make up/design. In the end, we have a film that looks great from the start, but rapidly goes down-Hill from there. **