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I finally got this on Netflix this past weekend, and holy crap was this a disappointment. I would first like to say that I really liked the original, even though some parts were slow and it was very 70's (but in a cool way), it had a very kick ass ending, especially for that time period.
That being said, this is what I thought of the remake:
*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
The only thing this remake had in common with the original was the initial base plot, characters, and location. By this I mean that it is set in a sorority house at Christmas with your house mother, girls that have already "gone home" for Christmas, heroine with suspect boyfriend, drunk/sleazy girl that you know will get gutted at some point, and perverted/creepy phone calls (which were a little sparse). There may be other similarities that I missed, but hey it's been a few months since I last saw the original.
After the first kill or two, and creepy phone call later, this movie pretty much turns into a slasher flick and really lacks the suspense that made the original so great. So, I tried to appreciate the movie for what it was(hey, I like slasher flicks just as much as the next girl), but it just got progressively dumb.
Amidst the sorority girl plot, there is a sub-plot told in flashback about the original family that used to live there. Abused child who grows up and goes on murderous rampage, killing most of his family and getting locked up for being totally insane.
Well, of course he escapes, and comes back to the house. Meanwhile we know from the start that there is a second killer, because the girls start getting murdered before the crazy guy even escapes! So retarded.
Giving the killers background I think was suppose to give "depth" to the characters, but they were totally uninteresting and every time someone was about to die (or just did), all they say is "you're/she's/they're my family now". It was really rather annoying.
Then we come to the ending. Our heroes seemingly defeat the killers and escape the house to safety. The movie should have ended there, instead there is the "aftermath", where the killers aren't really dead yet and reunite with our heroes to try to finish the rest of them off. It was like they were just trying to make the movie longer and/or just increase the body count.
Unless you just want to see this just because you liked the original (which is why I saw this despite the bad reviews), skip it unless you want something mildly entertaining to play in the background while you balance your checkbook and do your nails (which is what I ended up doing :) ).
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