justjinni

mmm...leftovers!


tonight, i'm going to review a couple of recent horror remakes. i'm just giving my opinion here. if you want a plot description, go to wikipedia, dammit!

now, anyone who knows me knows that i hate remakes. the mere mention of someone daring to remake one of my favorite movies gets my blood boiling. but, i always have to watch them, even if i know they will suck. i have a need to know. sometimes, we get a pleasant surprise (see: the texas chainsaw masscare), sometimes a complete train wreck (see: friday the 13th), and sometimes we get a mixed bag (see: a nightmare on elm street).

now, 2010 brought 2 remakes that i was dreading. night of the demons, and i spit on your grave.

first, night of the demons. now...i am a huge fan of the original trilogy. the original film was a hallmark of everything that was good about late 80s/early 90s horror films. rife with over the top gore, pointless, vague ties to the supernatural, tongue in cheek dialogue, and naked linnea quigley...it had it all.

"eat a bowl of fuck, i am here to party!"

that line says it all, doesn' it?

so, when i heard that a remake was being filmed, starring edward furlong (who's looking more and more like he ate the t2-era edward furlong), and shannon "i was in american pie" elizabeth, i was very scared. but, upon its release, i bought a copy and viewed it immediately.

i was...suprisingly pleased. now, of course, you can't really view it as a remake, since they pretty much tossed the original out the window. but in that regard, they made a pretty entertaining little horror film. the origin of the demons is explained more (maybe a bit too much), the house is appropriately creepy, and the special effects are more than adequate. the demons each have an individualistic look, which is nice, since the actors playing the parts are largely interchangeable. and i think the "backdoor surprise" that diora baird receives might make a few anal virgins tighten their sphincters for a long, long time!

overall..it was enjoyable. not a new classic, and it'll never be a favorite of mine...but worth adding to collection, and worth watching again a few times.

next up...i spit on your grave. the original came to us from meir zarchi, and was nestled firmly into the exploitation era of horror, along with movies like cannibal holocaust, white slave, and cannibal ferox (aka make them die slowly). it was the very simple story of a woman who is brutally gang raped multiple times in a single day by four men. after healing from her physical injuries, she sets out to heal her mental injuries by brutally murdering all 4 men.

now...i was expecting this movie to be absolute crap. i didn't see how they could pull it off in this day and age. i was sure the rape scenes would be toothless, and the resulting murders would be limp and weak.

i was wrong.

the whole movie is shot in a very similar fashion to the original, with a hazy, scratchy feel to the film. the rape scenes were torturous and intense. they added a fifth member to the crew of attackers, mainly to explain how the authorities might be willing to turn a blind eye to such an incident. this addition doesn't hurt the flow of the story, though...it actually enhances it. it allows several possibly glaring plotholes to be explained quite plausibly.

i have to give special kudos to two of the attackers...rodney eastman, my beloved "joey" from elm street 3 & 4, and daniel franzese, most notably from mean girls. it was a nice treat to get to see eastman again, even if he was doing such horrible things. daniel franzese is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors...the guy is just so damn versatile. every part i've seen him in, he has played a completely different character.

you could tell this production was a labor of love. everyone, from the special effects team to the foley editor really hit it perfectly...you'll notice the foley especially when someone is being anally raped with a loaded shotgun. i never knew how chilling squishy noises could be.

eww.

but...here's the real shock for me. i really can't say which was better...the original, or the remake. that alone is the highest praise i can give any remake!

so...


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if you made it all the way down here... i promise to get better at this as i do more!