Okay remake. Given the choice, see the original for real fright.

Rating: 5/10 (2 April 2006)

This remake of the Wes Craven classic is nowhere near as good. Certainly it has some great moments and visual images and the idea of a "modern" family having to fight off a family of savages is a frightening one, but some where along the way it lost its teeth. Certainly the fact that the studio asked that some of the more subversive touches of the original (baby for dinner anyone?) be trimmed doesn't help. It also doesn't help that this film has inspired countless remakes an homages over the last 30 years. Worse, I don't know how many retreads I saw in the last year. Why remake a film if you're going to de-claw it and then take the same path as every other film maker. Its pointless. Worse its about 20 minutes longer than the original film and as a result this film tends to stagger about for a good while before it seems to get its focus. Its not bad, but the remake is better and more out there. Given the choice, see the original.