velvet_petal

I'm ok with the remake, but it's not in the same league as the original. I agree, DeNiro is a bit over the top, and Scorsese also goes a little overboard. The film is a little too in-your-face and loud, which I suppose was Scorsese's attempt at making the audience feel as uncomfortable as Nolte's character.

I think where a lot of modern thrillers fail is by showing the audience too much, or being too graphic with the violence. There's nothing as scary as the unknown; the unsettling silence. The scariest monster in the one you never actually see. I think one of the more enjoyable modern thrillers was/is Breakdown with Kurt Russell. It's very Hitchcockian in that most of the suspense comes from the unknown, the setting (in this case, extremely isolated), and the plight of the lead character. Nothing jumps out from behind a corner and lops of anyone's head. Not sure if you've seen it, so I won't go into anymore details of the plot. It's a good one, though.

Good gravy, look how popular you are!