Sorry for the frequent entries, I'm on holidays so have time to catch up.

Okay, let's face it - I'm a horror girl. I love a good splatter as much as the next horror buff (though I prefer there also to be a mind screw in there). I saw the original of this film when I was in my teens, during a period where it was not banned in Australia (for those overseas, the original went through a couple of periods where it was banned in Australia due to the sexual violence).

Only one other person at my work has seen the original. When we saw there was a remake we both grimmaced. Still when it first came out she rented the remake and told me it was well done and I had to see it. So off to the quickflix queue I went and added the film to my list, putting it at the top of my queue.

Last friday night, after child was asleep and I was the only adult in the house, I put it in and watched it. It disturbed me. It was not scary by any means, but I was left disturbed.

I can take a lot of things being on my screen without batting an eyelid. I have seen sexual sadism on screen and while I abhor it in real life I know it is fiction I am watching. I don't want to get into a discussion about whether it contributes to sexual crime rates by having such films, I just want to focus on the movie here as I don't think you need to be subjected to my beliefs on the issue (though if you really want to know, just send me a PM and I'll spill).

Why did the movie disturb me? The gang **** scene pure and simple. The original film had a brutal **** scene, but while certain things were shown (I'll never forget the bottle) much was left to the imagination. I think this is best as it is a plot where your mind can fill in the blanks quite adequately. However, in the remake, the scene went on for almost half of the movie. It was prolonged and much less was left to the imagination. I know that it was done to horrify the audience and really make you feel for the victim. I know in order to do that it would have to be more graphic given today's society than when the original film was made. Having said that, I have to admit I found it a bit too prolonged and confronting.

While the revenge killings are imaginative and well done, I found the main actress' performance lacking. The actress had the original character down pat, but really after an event like that she is now a new character. I didn't find her believable as this second character.

All in all, actually not bad for a remake. However, I think their focus on shock value to make you feel victim empathy went overboard and I think the main character was miscast. Despite this, it is brought back up by the performances of the perpetrators, who acted in a creepy and ugly manner wonderfully considering the roles they ofen take in other films.