New Moon

This weekend, J being an amazing and wonderful fiance, took me to see New Moon. Before I begin, I want everyone to know that I'm not a big fan of the books. Yes, I have read all four of them )and the 12 chapters of Midnight Sun that were released last year). And yes, I have seen the first movie. And yes, I realize that they changed some things about the books in the movies. And no, that does not upset me. Because the books needed changing. However, this is not a book review so I will leave it at that and begin my review of the second movie in the Twilight series: New Moon.

For those of you who have lived under a rock for the past few years, Twilight is the story of a young girl named Bella, played by Kristen Stewart, and a guy named Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, who turns out to be vampire. Well, Bella and Edward fall in love and begin the most forbidden romance since Romeo and Juliet. New Moon is the second movie in the series. It begins with Bella's eighteenth birthday party. While opening a present, Bella cuts her finger and bleeds. Chaos ensues as Edward's vampire brother, Jasper, tries to attack Bella. After this Edward decides that it would be safer for Bella if he left her. So he leaves and then she begins hanging out with this guy named Jacob,played by Taylor Lautner, who happens to be a werewolf. And that's basically the whole plot: Who does she love more, Jacob or Edward?

The plot isn't the best ever written, but you can't really blame the director or screenplay writer for that because the book didn't give them much to work with. However, you can blame the screenplay writer for the terrible, and I mean TERRIBLE, dialogue. Honestly, every sentence was completely cliche and unrealistic. No one in the world talks like these characters. And did I mention the melodrama? Everything is so over the top that it ends up being horrifyingly cheesy.

The acting, however, wasn't terrible. Lautner and Pattinson both did very respectable jobs with their characters. The did the best they could with the dialogue and lifeless characters. However, the best actor in New Moon was, by far, Dakota Fanning who plays the horribly evil vampire Jane who can inflict pain on anyone with just one glance. Unfortunately, Fanning only appears in one scene and has very few lines, but she did great with what she had. That being said, I cannot say that all of the acting was good. Because Kristen Stewart was absolutely terrible. She is unconvincing and cannot deliver any of her lines with the same power that Pattinson and Lautner do.

If you are looking for something deep and meaningful then New Moon is definitely not the movie for you. But it is a lot of fun. The scenery is beautiful and the leading men are even more beautiful! Director Chris Weitz did the most he could with the story, and I feel, that he made it even better than the book. New Moon is not the best movie of the year, but it was very enjoyable.

-H

Announcement!

Dear readers,

I'm so sorry J and I have stopped posting as regularly as we used to. Both of us are in school and with the holidays coming up (holiday season means final exams) we don't have much time for watching movies or writing reviews. I promise as soon as J and I get the time to watch movies again we will write more reviews. Please be patient and, for newer readers, please enjoy reading some of our older reviews. Thanks so much for reading our blog! We appreciate every single one of you!

-H

P.S- Next week is Thanksgiving break so we should have some time to watch some movies so be looking for new reviews next week!

Cruel Intentions

Cruel Intentions is a very interesting movie. Normally I don't like dramas but Cruel Intentions was an exception because it was very much a drama and I liked it very, very much. The plot was extremely intriguing and sexy. Cruel Intentions tells the story of Sebastian, played by Ryan Phillippe, who is extremely attracted to his step sister, Kathryn who is played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. The two come from a very wealthy family and they are very prominent figures in the New York social scene even though they are only seniors at a prep school. Sebastian is also very popular among the young ladies of New York and has quite a reputation of sleeping around then breaking the girls' hearts. Then Sebastian sees an article about a young virgin who wrote an essay saying that she plans to wait to have sex. Sebastian and his sister Kathryn then decide to make a bet: If Sebastian is able to sleep with this young virgin, then Kathryn will willingly give herself to him and if not she gets his Jaguar. This little bet turns into one of the most interesting movie plots that I have ever experienced.

Let me make this clear, the acting in Cruel Intentions was not amazing. The plot was incredible so the actors had a lot to work with. The dialogue, however, was not and therefore the actors had to work extra hard to make it come off as realistic. Which it never quite did. But that didn't really matter in the end. The entire plot was not very realistic, but both Gellar and Phillippe did a respectable job of being sexy and alluring. They portrayed their characters as realistically as possible and the insanity of everything just made the movie even more interesting. One thing that I must compliment Gellar and Phillippe on is their on-screen-chemistry. The two just play off of each other's strengths and create an amazingly sensual atmosphere.

The smaller roles in the movie are also played my well-known actresses. Annette, the young virgin, is played by Reese Witherspoon. While Cecile, another young woman that Sebastian is trying to seduce, is played by Selma Blair. Blair shows of a somewhat quirky side, while Witherspoon becomes a very romantic and down-to-earth young woman. Both actresses portraying their characters very convincingly and help to enhance the outrageous plot.

Cruel Intentions is a sexy thriller about betrayal and lust with an incredibly depressing and shocking ending. But it is incredibly fun to watch. However, I would only recommend this movie to mature audiences because of it's overtly sexual themes.

-H

Dawn of the Dead

Recently, J and I watched the remake of the horror classic Dawn of the Dead. Having never seen the original Dawn of the Dead I will not be able to compare the remake to the original. I will say this however, seeing the remake of Dawn of the Dead seriously makes me want to see the original.

Dawn of the Dead is about a young woman, Ana played by Sarah Polley, who wakes up to find that everyone in her town, including her husband who is sharing a room with her, have all turned into zombies. Ana runs out to her car and eventually runs into another group of survivors. All of the survivors gather together and decide that their best plan of action is to hide out inside a shopping mall where the zombies supposedly cannot get to them.

Dawn of the Dead was not what I would call a horror movie. It is suspenseful, yes, but not scary at all. Unless, you're scared of zombies, then you might not want to watch. But anyway, the movie is much more sad than it is, scary. The ending is completely depressing and yet extremely realistic, well as realistic as it can be with dealing with zombies. But you must, must, must watch the credits to see the full ending of the movie. If you turn off the movie before the credits you will completely miss the effect of the ending.

Dawn of the Dead is not the best horror movie I've ever seen. However, it is the best horror zombie flick I've ever seen. I specify horror zombie flick because Zombieland is the best zombie movie I've ever seen but it is no where close to being a horror movie. The gory costumes that the zombie wear in the movie are disgustingly realistic and amazing. The images of legless zombies with half of their faces gone is equally as disturbing and helped to create the tense and unnerving feeling in the movie. However, the scariest thing about the movie was actually one of the very first scenes. Ana wakes up to find that a little girl in her neighborhood has turned into a zombie then witnesses her husband transform into a crazed zombie. The idea that someone you love and care so much about could ultimately be the person who kills you is just too terrifying.

Sarah Polley who plays Ana was a very good actress. Her emotions of fear and sadness were both extremely believable. However, the best actor in the movie, who played one of my favorite characters, was Ving Rhames. Rhames played a tough cop who was the "leader" of the surviving group. He was an extremely believable actor. I could feel his pain when one of his friends was killed and I could also truly feel his anger towards and fear of the zombies.

I would recommend Dawn of the Dead to anyone who likes zombie movies. But you don't have to be a zombie fan or even a horror fan to enjoy the movie. Dawn of the Dead is a well-made, disturbing, and sad movie, but would be a good movie to watch on a rainy day.

-H

A Perfect Getaway

A Perfect Getaway is one of those rare horror movies that comes along every once in a while that is actually well thought out. J and I watched this a few days ago and I've had time to actually think about the movie and decide whether or not it was good. And I've decided that it truly was. It has a perfectly good plot, nice acting, and pretty amazing dialogue. A Perfect Getaway is about a newly wed couple who take their honeymoon in Hawaii. Once there, the find out about a murder that has taken place on one island and begin to fear for their own lives while hiking a trail on another island. On the trail the couple meets another couple who are also hiking. The two begin to hike together and both become increasingly suspicious of the other until one realizes a horrifying secret about the other couple.

The acting in the movie was actually surprisingly good. Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich play the main newlywed couple and both are actually very convincing. The love the two characters share is obviously shown by the two actors and they share a chemistry that is usually only seen with real couples in love. The other actors in the movie were convincing but not as much as Zahn and Jovovich.

Another amazing aspect of the movie was the dialogue. Every little line was important to the plot. It was incredible! Upon figuring out that the dialogue was so important, I began to pay very close attention to every sentence and also to every picture on the screen. Every little thing gave some clue as to what the twist would be and it's just up to the audience to figure it out! J and I both figured out the twist before the end but it was still surprising. The dialogue and plot were both incredibly well thought out and made for a very good film.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes a thrilling film. It was an entertaining movie that had an extremely well written plot and dialogue. It may not have a lasting effect but it's a fun movie to watch and try to figure out who the real killers are!

-H

Paranormal Activity

On Friday night at midnight, J and I went to the movie theater expecting to see a good but disappointing movie. I was very, very excited to see Paranormal Activity, but J kept telling me that I would probably be disappointed so I had to bring my expectations down by a lot. I was excited, but prepared for the worst. So, there we were in the theater, at midnight and slowly the theater began to fill up. And then the movie started.

If you haven't heard about this movie, then let me tell you a little about it. Paranormal Activity is director Oren Peli's first film. Filmed in the style of Blair Witch and Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity is filmed with a single, hand-held camera giving off a very realistic, documentary-like feeling. The movie tells about a young couple who move into a house together. After a few unnatural things begin to happen, Micah finds out that ever since Katie, his girlfriend, was a little girl she has been haunted by some sort of spirit. Micah then decides to bring home a nice camera to film the unnatural activity that is happening. After that, literally, all hell breaks loose. The couple discovers that the spirit that plagues Katie is a demon and is looking to destroy her. I won't tell anymore of the plot because then the entire film would be ruined. The movie relies on the fact that the audience has no clue what to expect. Every little bump in the night is a surprise and the movie would not be nearly as scary without the suspense.

The best things about Paranormal Activity were the plot and the actual filming, The way the film was shot was amazing. The movie was made for a mere $11,000 but the filming seemed very professional and well-thought-out. Every shot was made so that the audience would be looking in the background, trying to see something move or change. The day scenes, while not as good as those shot in the dark, were still very impressive. The dialogue between Micah and Katie make the movie very real because they talk like a real couple would talk if a camera was in the room. They fight, argue, make up, and fight again all in front of the camera which makes the movie seem all the more realistic and truly set the stage for the terrifying night scenes. The beginning of the movie is a bit long and boring and all you can do is wait for the night scenes. But at the end of the movie, you will dread the night scenes because they are so terrifying and the day scenes don't bring any comfort either because, by the end, strange things happen during the day too. And then, the ending. All I can say is "Holy crap." I will not say anything else except that the ending will shock anybody who can stay in the theater long enough to see it.

Paranormal Activity is the scariest movie I have ever seen. Ever. And I've seen many, many. many horror movies. And it truly scared me. I could barley go to sleep after watching it. And I wasn't the only one who was scared. If you've seen the previews for Paranormal Activity then you've seen the pictures of the audiences screaming their heads off because of this movie. I was very skeptical about this. I highly doubted that anybody in the theater would even jump or gasp, let alone scream. However, I was mistaken. By the end scene, almost everyone in the theater was screaming, even the grown men. I would guess, though, that Paranormal Activity is best viewed at night. I highly doubt that it would scare anyone who watches it in a brightly lit room in the middle of the day. However, if you do dare to go watch Paranormal Activity at night, then be warned. It has been said that Paranormal Activity is the scariest film since The Exorcist. While I've never understood what was so scary about The Exorcist, I'm sure the people who saw it the first night it was released were terrified. And I believe this will be the fate of Paranormal Activity. Thirty years from now, people will no longer fear things that go bump in the night like the monster of Paranormal Activity, but for now, Paranormal Activity will truly terrify anybody who walks into that theater. Paranormal Activity is the scariest thing I've ever seen and I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind shaking in fear and not being able to sleep with the light off for a few nights.

-H

Update!

I just wanted to thank everyone who went and Demanded that Paranormal Activity be shown in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The movie is actually be released tomorrow in the area and J and I will be going to a showing tomorrow. I will be sure to write a review for the movie as soon as I can after seeing it. Thanks again to everyone!

Trick r Treat

Trick r Treat is a nice little direct-to-video horror film. The movie tells four different stories that are all set in the same town on one Halloween night. One of the stories tells about a school principal who is a really a serial killer. Another tells of a 22-year-old "virgin" who goes to a party and gets revenge on the man who follows her down a dark road. The third tells of four children who decide to play a mean joke on an outcast girl by telling her the story of the Halloween School bus Massacre. And the last tells of a man with a dark secret who is chased by his personal demons. All of the stories are about different people but an overlying story about an odd little creature with a dirty mask link all of the others together.

Trick r Treat is an intricate film with an amazing plot. All of the stories originally seem to be separate, however, everything is connected together. And the story works in a perfect circle: starting at the beginning, then going back two hours, then going back to the beginning. And the way that the creepy little monster fits into the film is brilliant as is the overlying story of the Halloween School bus Massacre and the missing school bus driver who is haunted by his horrible actions. While watching the movie, I actually guessed who the bus driver was which could have ruined the movie. However, the film makers anticipated this so there is even a bigger twist ending. And this twist ending is sure to shock every viewer because it is truly disturbing.

Usually straight-to-video horror films usually have very weak stories and even weaker acting. However, the actors in Trick r Treat were surprisingly good. All of the actors were truly getting into their dark, evil, and creepy roles bringing the characters to life. Everything seemed very real and genuine which made the film all the more disturbing and enjoyable.

The movie has some disturbing elements including the murder of children and an odd rape-like scene. However, I would not consider the movie scary. Many of the scenes are bordering on humorous and the ones that aren't are just fun to watch. Trick r Treat is a really fun, enjoyable movie that is perfect to watch on a dark and stormy night when it's almost Halloween. Anybody can enjoy this movie, but a true horror fan may finally find a fun and new movie to watch year after year on Halloween night.

-H

Zombieland

This weekend, J and I saw a movie. But not just any movie, we saw what may possibly be the best movie that has come out this year: Zombieland. Zombieland is the perfect blend of horror, gore, and comedy. The acting was incredible, the gore was disgusting, and the comedy was hilarious!

The movie starts with a montage of zombies chasing after people and eating them. It is incredibly disgusting but also incredibly hilarious. I was laughing so hard and it was only three or four minutes in. Then we are introduced to the main character whose name we don't know. We see him running from zombies and he lists his rules for surviving zombieland. Then, he runs in to Tallahassee, played by Woody Harrelson. Tallahassee is a zombie-fighting machine. Every zombie he meets he kills in brutal, yet hilarious ways.

Speaking of Woody Harrelson, the acting in this movie was incredible. Woody Harrelson was the perfect choice to play the zombie-killing maniac. His crazy smile and wacky attitude fit the role of Tallahassee perfectly. And Abigail Breslin was the perfect pick for the sweet con-artist Little Rock who helps her big sister con the men out of their car and guns.

The acting was complimented by the gory images of zombies eating people and the somewhat scary images of zombies chasing people. But this movie was in no way scary, the comedy really outweighed the scariness and gore. However, there was one scene with a zombie clown that left me cringing.

I would definitely recommend this movie for anybody who wants a good laugh. This movie is, I think, the best movie that has come out this year and I can't wait to go see it again.

-H

Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In is a Swedish film about a young boy,Oskar, and his love for his neighbor, Eli, who ends up being a vampire. The film is very interesting and different from most horror movies. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a horror film. Despite the violence and mild gore, there was nothing remotely scary about the film. It was more of a love story than a horror film. However, the lack of scariness doesn't make the film any less enjoyable.

The movie is one that many people may find boring. However, I feel that the way everything is drawn out really adds to the suspense of the film. Nothing is really in-your-face and nothing will make you jump, but seeing a young girl brutally attack a man and drink his blood is in itself completely terrifying. The scenery also adds a eeriness to the film. The movie is set is Sweden in the winter, so the entire film takes place in white snow. All the colors, especially the red of the blood Eli drinks, stand out brilliantly against the white background.

However, the blood, the murders, the woman bursting in to flames, and all of the other intense sequences are not what made the film. The acting was incredible. Not the acting of the adults in the film, but the acting of the children was incredible. Both of the children were around 13 when the film was released which means they were even younger during the making of the film. However, the acted as if they had been acting for years. The movie was so intense and passionate, the love between Oskar and Eli so deep and hard to portray, but the two children truly made the film believable. They both out acted the adults and I think if anyone else had been chosen to play either on of these roles the entire film would not have been as good. The bond between Eli and Oskar was shown beautifully by the children and the audience will truly believe that these children are in love.

Let the Right One In is a deeply moving movie. It is not only a film, however, it is a work of art. I would recommend this movie for horror fans but also for fans of romance movies. Just be prepared to witness a very unconventional romance.

-H

Paranormal Activity

Hey everybody! There's a new movie coming out called Paranormal Activity. It is supposedly the scariest movie since The Exorcist. Even Stephen Spielberg was freaked out by the movie, claiming it was haunted and returning it to the place where he got it. Unfortunately, this is an independent movie so it will not be released in most cities. But you can go to this website and ask for it to appear in a town near you: http://www.paranormalmovie.com. I ask you all to go this website, click the yellow demand it button, and type in Spartanburg, SC. J and I would both love to watch this movie and write an amazing review about it for you. It will only take a few seconds to demand this movie and you can even demand it near you. Thanks for your time!

-H

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

When I started this post, I almost wrote Monsters Vs. Aliens in the title, instead of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. This mistake would have been understandable, given the similarities between the two. Both are 3d, family-friendly titles with a cast of excellent actors. Monsters had Seth Rogen and Reese Witherspoon, Cloudy has the more underrated, but just as good Bill Hader, Anna Faris and Bruce Campbell. Both movies have well done action sequences with slightly ridiculous elements, though Cloudy ups the ridiculous factor with man-eating chickens and a massive "foodalanche." Overall, the two movies are a lot alike, and almost equal. I would rate Monsters Vs. Aliens slightly higher, but only by a small margin.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' strongest point is its voice acting. All of the cast turn in strong performances, even with the smallest parts. Neil Patrick Harris is funny as Steve, the hero's talking monkey, Mr. T is excellent as an overenthusiastic cop, Bill Hader is wonderful as Flint. But voice acting, normally isn't what you go to see a movie for, so for the rest of the film, the 3d was enjoyable, but not really worth the extra money to see. I was surprised how much the studio downplayed the 3d in this movie. I was happy to see that they didn't use it as a gimmick in the film, intentionally making things fly at the screen, like so many movies do. Instead they used it more to just enhance the viewing than anything else. It reminded me of Up, which is just as good, and almost identical in 2d as it is in 3d. Perhaps movie studios are finally getting over using 3d as a gimmick and just maybe we'll see a movie that actually uses the format to its full potential. I'm still hopeful Avatar will be that movie, but I'm skeptical it will ever happen. 3d is most likely doomed to be a gimmick and to die a slow death like it did back in the fifties.
But back to the movie, coming out of the theater, I had a good time, but the movie was still a little forgettable. Apart from the 3d element, I would say that this movie is only a small cut above the average CG movie that comes out every week. Perhaps seeing Up earlier this year spoiled me, but I want something a little more in my movies, even if they are intended for kids. Up was amazing mainly because it was about something and it had a purpose. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is just there. I did enjoy this movie, but only as something fun to take my mind off of life for a little while, nothing more.

-J

Black Christmas

Black Christmas is another horror remake that J and I have watched recently. I have never seen the original so I cannot compare the two, however, I can say that the remake was completely pointless. The story was stupid and way too confusing for a horror movie of that type. Black Christmas tells about a young man who kills his family after years of abuse, goes to an asylum and the breaks out on Christmas eve to return to his house and reek havoc upon the young sorority sisters who now live in the house.

The movie was extremely gory and shallow. Because of some weird obsession with eyeballs, we get to see many character have their eyes ripped out of the sockets or gouged out or have something horrible happen to them. However, none of the gore was truly satisfying. Everything happened much too quickly. None the murder scenes were drawn out and nothing was very suspenseful. And on top of that, we know who the killer is the entire time. He wears no mask and his face is clearly seen almost every time he pops up. There is absolutely nothing mysterious or creepy about him despite his yellow skin that was caused by a liver disease, and even that bit of information is offered up early on in the film so there is truly nothing disturbing about this supposedly terrifying killer. I must say, however, that there are a few scenes depicting cannibalism that are quite disgusting. I still would not call them creepy though. There was nothing in this movie that was anything close to creepy.

Going into this movie I expected the acting to be the most terrifying aspect of the film. However, the acting wasn't as terrible as I expected. Michelle Trachtenberg and Lacey Chabert have starred in decent films, but horror doesn't exactly seem like their cup of tea. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Kristen Cloke, on the other hand, have both acted in The Final Destination films that I have seen and enjoyed. However, even a cast of young, pretty girls can't redeem this film. The majority of the acting feels very unreal and shallow, while the actor who played the notorious killer Billy overacted every scene he appeared in.

Black Christmas was only an hour and a half long, however, it felt like it took forever to watch. The ending was unoriginal and the entire plot was completely predictable. It wasn't the worst movie I've

ever seen, but it was no where near being the best.

-H

Eraserhead

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of finally seeing the cult classic Eraserhead. I first became intrigued by this movie when I saw that it came in at number three on a list of the most disturbing horror films of all times. Released in 1977, Eraserhead is a movie that is far beyond it's time, in some since. Despite the fact that it was made in the 70's, it was filmed in all black-and-white and lacks the dirtiness and grittiness of most horror films from the era. However, it does not need that grittiness to be on of the most disturbing films I have ever seen.

The beginning of the film is very strange. It feels like a very bad acid trip minus all the bright colors. The film begins with the floating head of a young man and some sort of lumpy, rocky looking structure in the background. On top of that, there is absolutely no dialogue for the first 10 and a half minutes of the film with the only noises being odd, carnival-like music. Not that this movie needed much dialogue at all. IMDB's trivia section on this movie even stated that the film even had trouble with funding because the script for the entire film was twenty pages long. But for anyone who goes to watch this movie, do not be discouraged by the lack of dialogue and the weird beginning. This movie gets much, much, much better.

I really don't want to say much about the plot of the film because I feel that this movie is more entertaining when you are not expecting what will happen next. However, I will say that the movie tells the story about a young man named Henry and his struggle with parenthood and that it will make you never, ever, under any circumstances, want to eat chicken again. But, anyway, it's not just that the movie is better when you don't know what's coming, it's that I couldn't tell you what this film was about even if I wanted too. I have absolutely no idea! Director David Lynch has never revealed to anyone what the meaning of the film is and I doubt he ever will. He has, however, come out and said that no one has even come close with guesses about the meaning. If I had to make an educated guess I would suggest that film is promoting abstinence and displaying the common fear of parenthood. But that's just my guess.

The style of the film is incredibly artsy so if that's not your thing, don't even bother with this film. If you don't mind thinking deep and terribly disturbing thoughts then you may just enjoy it. Many of the scenes are shockingly thought provoking and will make even the most fearless person squirm in their seat. It's not that the images are truly terrifying, the concept of the film (or at least what I believe to be the concept of the film) is on a completely different level than most horror films. It is so much deeper and will truly make you think about life, love, and how sometimes mistakes are made that cannot be fixed and how they can haunt you for the rest of your life.

Eraserhead is by far the most disturbing film I have ever seen, but I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys deep, thought-provoking movies. But be warned, once you see this film you may never be able to erase it from your mind.

-H

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

I suppose you could say that J and I have been on a horror remakes kick. First it was My Bloody Valentine and now The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. However, my review for this movie will be very different from the one for My Bloody Valentine. Partly because I have actually see the Chainsaw Massacre (and it is one of my all-time favorites) but mostly because this movie actually made sense, unlike My Bloody Valentine. But enough of that. I'll spend the rest of this review comparing the new and old Chainsaw Massacres. I will not bore you with taking a paragraph to summarize the plot because if you do not know this movie then you must have been living in a hole for the last thirty years, but I will say this. The plot in the new movie has been slightly changed. In the original film, the teens are driving through Texas when the meet a strange hitchhiker and pick him up. He goes crazy, pulls out a knife, and then the teens kick him out. After that all hell breaks loose and the bloody mess known as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre ensues.

Now I will discuss the changes made to the remake. The first scenes of the new film are similar to those of the original, however, there are a few minute differences that hardly make a difference to the film. For those of you who've seen the original but not that new film, the brother and sister characters have been replaced by a boyfriend and girlfriend and the crazy guy hitchhiker from the original has been changed to a crazy girl. The change made with the relationship between the characters does absolutely nothing for the plot except for gives it that modern cliche that insists that all relationships are doomed in the horror world. The change from male to female crazy hitchhiker actually worked quite well to escalate the tension of the scene. There is also one more major change that I think actually truly helped the film. This may be considered a spoiler so be warned......okay, for those of you who decided you don't give a crap about spoilers so here it goes: the hitchhiker in the new film actually pulls a gun out from between her legs and shoots herself through the head. This may sound very random, but the girl had previously been sobbing and saying things about "never going back" and other completely terrifying things. Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but the fact that this woman was holding that gun between her legs was equally disgusting and disturbing. But more than that, this suicide actually makes a lot of sense by the end of the film and it really helps to make the characters actions make sense. In the original film, the teens stumble upon this house while looking for gas, then the just walk inside without waiting for anyone to invite them in, the proceed to run around and scream in terror. Now, I'm not dissing the original film: it's one of my favorites and it's a classic. However, I do think that the characters got what they deserved in the original. They were idiots. They trespassed in a strange house in the middle of the country and didn't even think about the fact that they could be walking into the house of a crazed, cannibalistic, chainsaw-wielding family. In the new film, however, the teens come upon the house because they are sent to look or the sheriff so that he could look at the body of the suicide victim. And then when they couldn't find him, they saw the house and went to ask for a phone, where they actually talked to the man who lived there and went inside. Then, the only reason they went inside without permission was to look for their missing friend. So, while their actions were not completely intelligent, they weren't being down-right stupid either.

Okay, moving on. For a horror film of this type (the cliche slasher film) the acting was actually quite impressive. Jessica Biel was the only actor in the film that I recognized and she was the leading role. And she did surprisingly well in this role. Her fear was believable and her screaming was amazing. I mention this because, in the original film, the girl's screaming drove me insane. She didn't even sound scared, she just sounded somewhat bored and possibly even psychotic. So, Jessica Biel was a large improvement.

Now, for the most important subject: Leatherface. In the original, Leatherface was terrifying. He was a purely evil psychopath who choose his victims at random and feasted on them with his half-dead grandpa and other family members. However, the new film gave him a little more depth. We find out in the new film that Leatherface wears his masks made of other people's faces because of a horrible skin condition that he had as a child. While this does explain a lot, I think it takes away from his terrifying demeanor. Watching the film, I found myself feeling quite sorry for him and almost cheering him on. He has always been made fun of because of his skin so he deserves to wear the face of the pretty, young Jessica Biel! It may sound odd, but I think I liked him better when I thought he was just crazy and hungry for some human flesh!

The film also added in some other characters that were kind of strange and irrelevant. Leatherface is given some new family members, including an odd looking young boy and some random women. The women don't play much of a role in the film other than adding some strange sub-plot about the young hitchhiker from the beginning having a daughter who was kidnapped by Leatherface's family. The young boy, however, plays a pivotal role (*spoiler*) by helping Biel's character escape from Leatherface's house.

The ending of the movie was quite exciting. It was a little different from the original but it still worked. All in all, I think The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake did the original film justice. Those who enjoyed the original film should still enjoy the remake, maybe just not as much as the original. And for those who haven't seen the original, the remake can stand alone and be enjoyable for anyone.

-H