Absolute Horror Film Forum

Now the tag for this one should read, "It's the same - but different"

Unlike most remakes this is good ... That's right, I said good. Is it better than the first one - I'm probably going against the grain here, but in some ways it is - though it's still a dark thriller.

I think the cast is a lot stronger than the original and the comedy is toned down a little. And director and screenplay writer Glen Morgan (know for his work with James Wong - as well as producing X-Files, Millennium, an countless other projects) does a great job here and keeps the scary ambiance of the original.

The twist on the telephone calls is good one, and original, bringing that part right up to date.

It was the "Back-Story" of the killer which I liked the least. In the original, the killer could've been anyone in the audience - the POV camera made it feel as though you were the killer, or at the least looking through his eyes. In this new version, he's a screwed up kid from one screwed up family, who only wants love and affection (like all the other movie psycho's - and the circumstances are so extreme that it couldn't be you, could it?). It was this and the "killings" which ended up spoiling the movie for me.

Now this movie has gore. The killer likes to pop out the eyes of his prey - pretty much as in See No Evil (reviewed earlier) - except in this film there's no reason for the killer to do so. And in the extras, on the DVD, you get to see alternative death scenes, where the eyes remain in the skull. I personally think the movie would've been better with the variety, near the end, it was getting stale. Having said that, the best kill was poor old ol' Michelle Trachtenberg, who gets her eyes popped and then the killer lifts up her head, like a bowling ball and drags the kicking and fighting body down the hall.

Do I recommend this film - YES, even though of the few drawbacks I mentioned above, we still bought the film - and we will watch it again ... late at night ... in the dark ... with the mobile phones turned off ...

8/10

Come join me - We ALL float down here.
PENNYWISE.