Michael Bay, director of such films as Armageddon, Bad Boys 2 and Pearl Harbor, added with Marcus Nispel, MTV music video director... lets just say this film wasn�t really one I was looking forward to. I was expecteing a horror film with sexy gals and hunks, sweating, with their bits dangling for the audience and a nice clean feel to it.
I was wrong in a way as the movie wasn�t as bad as I thought it would be. It has lost the grittiness and raw horror of the original, which is a shame, as this film really needed it. Instead we get a pretty good horror flick, with a few scares and sadly bugger all gore. Sure, in the original that worked, but in this new age, where we have the capabilities to do gore and such well, it feels like a missed opportunity.
There are more characters this time around, most of which are undeveloped. Leatherface is still here, stealing the show again, but he isn�t as good as Gunnar Hanson in the original, who felt very inhumane, a monster in a way. In this version they try to go into Leatherface�s past and say he has a skin disorder, which they shouldn�t do - this wrecks the mystery behind the character. Also, when he moans he seems too human, unlike the original where he sounds like a monster.
Good additions are R. Lee Ermey, the nasty sheriff in town, who has a few secrets of his own in the movie. Great performance, but strangely reminiscent of his LOUD MOUTHED drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket. The teens in this film are more developed and in a way better acted, Jessica Biel giving a nice performance as the shrieking beauty, yet they don�t seem real enough.
The cinematography and music used is okay, yet not as good as the original (man, I�m sick of typing that now!). It lacks the snuff feel of the original and the simple yet effective noises. It�s too clean man! But that is okay, as the fresh feel gives a chilled spooky look which is to be honest, quite scary. Great shots of the house are seen throughout.
Okay, here�s the verdict. The original is much better! However on its own terms it's a more than adequate horror movie and is much better than the more recent efforts like Cabin Fever and Wrong Turn. It�s just that this is getting too familiar now, this kind of film, the way it's shot and paced. It seems just like House of 1000 Corpses in terms of looks, and could�ve done better than it is. It lacks the originals feel, it has too much familiarity with other horror films of recent times, but other than that it will provide a few jumps and admittedly has one or two really scary scenes (the chase down the corridor!).
If you want to see a horror film at the cinema now, see this. You may as well, there isn�t much else. Here�s hoping the Dawn of the Dead remake does a little better however. |
