- Film Review
- Reviewed By Sloan Freer
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4 out of 5
If there's one contemporary film-maker who understands seat-edge horror, it's Alexandre Aja. Here, the French director follows up the terrifying Switchblade Romance with his first Hollywood feature - a ferociously effective reworking of Wes Craven's 1977 cult classic. Like the original, the tale depicts a vacationing family (headed by Ted Levine and Kathleen Quinlan) falling victim to a murderous, mutant clan after breaking down in a stretch of American desert. Here though, the savages are not simply the spawn of inbreeding, but the genetically mutated offspring of miners who were caught up in the radioactive fallout from nuclear testing. This innovative twist is part of a dedication to realism from Aja and co-writer Gregory Lévasseur that takes this visceral remake to startling new heights. Once the brutal action explodes, there's no let-up, with gore precisely matched by atmospheric tension. Yet while the killers' casualness is deeply disturbing, it's the ordinary family's shocking survival tactics that give the movie its lingering impact.
Plot Summary
Horror remake of the Wes Craven 1977 cult classic, starring Aaron Stanford and Kathleen Quinlan. A family driving cross-country to California fall victim to a murderous, mutant clan after breaking down in the desert. They face a desperate struggle for survival that sees them behave in brutal ways they never would have imagined.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Doug Bukowski
- Aaron Stanford
- Ethel Carter
- Kathleen Quinlan
- Lynne Bukowski
- Vinessa Shaw
- Brenda Carter
- Emilie de Ravin
- Bobby Carter
- Dan Byrd
- Lizard
- Robert Joy
- Bob Carter
- Ted Levine
- Big Brain
- Desmond Askew
- Jupiter
- Billy Drago
- Goggle
- Ezra Buzzington
- Pluto
- Michael Bailey Smith
- Ruby
- Laura Ortiz
Crew
- Director
- Alexandre Aja
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