A Mess

Rating: 5/10 (15 March 2006)

Yes, I am a fan of the original and at the time Craven made the 1977 version, he had little to no budget and yet the film is brutal and scary and disturbing. So now, decades later, with quite a lot of money, French director Aja is given the reins. The film has one flaw that a horror movie shouldn't have - it is rather boring. Now I like films to take their time - I'm a huge fan of Asian horror and they can be so effective at drawing things out so that dread is pushing down on your shoulders. But there were soooo many long scenes between the stranded family where nothing was happening and yes, at the end, when the "gloves come off" and it's REVENGE time - the movie picks up speed and lots of violence and gore and so what? The mutants in the movie are so outlandish that any reality factor goes out the window, they are basically fighting comic book monsters. While being stalked by REAL humans, by real depraved psychos is much more terrifying than subhuman monsters out of Tales From The Crypt comic book. The actors deliver and I do feel that Aja has talent as a director. But overall the whole thing felt like a big empty excuse to use a "brand name" in horror and show off the latest gore effects. Ho hum.