At least it improves..

Rating: 5/10 (14 March 2006)

Having not seen the original, I cannot compare the two.. but I am pretty sure I have seen a hundred other films just like this. A family are on the road with their caravan through the desert on the way to California, and unwisely decide to listen to a weird petrol store attendant's advice on taking a short cut. En Route, the tyres mysteriously blow out on their car, and strand them in the middle of nowhere with little water and (conveniently) no phone signal. Little do they know, this area used to be a ground for nuclear testing.. and the mutated survivors of these atrocities aren't happy about having strangers on their patch..
After a VERY slow start with a lot of bad dialogue delivered by third rate actors, the film finally gets going around the half-hour mark. Then, in a devastating sequence of events that is never topped, we get an attack on our protagonists which is so gratuitous it should satisfy even the most demanding gorehound. Sadly, after this high it soon degenerates back into a standard mediocre horror flick. We get the typical scenario of the mild mannered man who has finally had enough and proceeds to take revenge on those who have kidnapped his baby. There's a lot of blood & guts to come, but it is directed in such an unexciting fashion your pulse level won't rise above normal very often.
It doesn't help when there are many strange decisions taken by the characters that put them in more danger, you quickly lose sympathy for them. Why, for example, would you leave an infant and it's mother alone if you knew there were killers in the area? And why shoot a pursuer at point blank range when you can blow him up with your motorhome (which has all your supplies in it)? Also, how many times do you need to be reminded to tie your dogs up if they keep running away every five minutes? Yep, these are all very worthy questions, but not ones you'll find any sensible answers to here.
Overall though, despite my complaints above, I have to take my hat and say it was better than I thought it was going to be. At least after the snoozeworthy first third, the film is never really boring. It contains enough action to make it a hit with teen audiences, and you cannot possibly predict who will live or die as is common with most in this genre. The ending drops a strong hint there could be a sequel. Wow, I'm surprised. Is that the sound of a new franchise I hear? Hollywood must be very pleased.. 5/10