How a remake should be

Rating: 9/10 (12 January 2009)

I have spent the best part of the last 25 years or so (I'm now 35) watching a plethora of films of all genres, yet i have to say that i have a deep love for all things grisly and frightening, so i approached this with 1 part excitement and 1 part cynicism, mainly due to being sick of all the inept remakes that clutter our screens (a few movies being of notable exception). My excitement came from the knowledge that the directing reigns were being given to Alexandra Aja, of whom i have the utmost respect for producing the intense and blood spattered flick Switchblade Romance or Haute Tension if you prefer. The beauty of remaking a film like this is that it has a strong enough following within cult or genre circles without being quite so mainstream as say something like the Friday the 13th or the Elm Street franchises - so, with the exception of genre lovers there was probably little expectation IMO.
What young Mr Aja produces however is one of the most intense, bloodthirsty and at times disturbing horror films of the last 2o years; certainly at a time when i, and I'm sure many "true horror" fans are desperately trying to get rid of the taste of all the "oh so clever", self referential popcorn teens chillers of the post scream era.
If you have seen the original, I'm sure you'll be aware of the set up - Family in a motor home become stranded in the desert, miles from civilization and become prey to a group of cave dwelling mutants. So far so what ? Well for starters, unlike so many other films of this type, the characters aren't just your standard cinematic cannon fodder, and when horrible things start to happen to them, we actually give a damn and (as much as is possible) empathize and feel for them. Secondly, i have exposed myself to some of the nastiest stuff that has ever graced our screens, yet on repeat viewing a lot of films lose their impact at key scenes - some, however have that wonderful ability to give you a gut level reaction on future viewings. For me, this film manages this admirably; and during the notorious motor home invasion i still find myself appalled and shouting obscenities at the screen.
The blood and gore levels have been amped up to 10 on this one and those lovers of the crimson stuff will not be disappointed, but the film itself succeeds on so many more levels than your normal bog standard splatter fare - well paced, well acted by all and at times unbearably tense, this is what a real horror film should be like.