A remake of the 1979 horror classic, sees Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) and Melissa George (Triangle) take the lead roles of George and Kathy Lutz, who along with their children are terrorised by demonic forces, after making their dream move into a house that was central to the mass murder of the previous incumbents.
Ryan Reynolds shows his versatility here portraying George Lutz as he transforms from being a loving husband and family man into a psychotic monster intent on carrying out the instructions of the ‘voices’ in his head and destroying his own family.
Reynolds has often been maligned for questionable role choices and his over-zealous ad-libbing when trying to rescue awful dialogue a la Blade Trinity. However, in this movie there is no room for that sort of tomfoolery and we get to see what Reynolds can really do when given something of substance, and he doesn’t disappoint as he produces an excellent performance both in delivery of his dialogue and an additional menacing physical edge to this portayal too.
Not being overshadowed by Reynolds is Melissa George who excellently steps into the shoes of Margot Kidder to play Kathy Lutz, who has the unenviable task of not only protecting her children but to also manage the moodiness and as I mentioned, potential physical threat of her once loving husband. George plays the role so convincingly and it is testament to her performance that you find yourself worrying for her safety and that of her children.
I also have to mention the certificate, it’s a 15 and in a time where re-makes that were originally 15 or 18 certificates are watered down to 12As to encourage new and younger audiences, this bucked the trend and and for me, ramped up the gruesomeness just enough to ensure it was in keeping with the story but not at the torture-porn, gratuitous levels of Hostel, hence it was a 15.
As remakes go, this is one of the better ones and I can honestly say I’m on the side of the fence with the minority that think this is maybe, a little better than the original, yes, that had great tension, however I just felt this effort was a much more menacing movie, Reynolds was a major factor in that and in addition, the scattered jump scares were also well timed and delivered unlike 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street rehash.