For It Is Man's Number

There are individual moments of fun, and a nice selection of movie cars, and the main character eventually gains your sympathy as the movie winds towards a predictable finale but this is inferior to the original and inferior to many other comedies released this year. 

5/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arthur-Triple-Blu-ray-Digital-Region/dp/B004Q9SYYA/ref=sr_1_8?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1371664113&sr=1-8&keywords=arthur

Another remake of an infamous horror title, for some reason this movie has a few supporters and people who reluctantly accept that it's a lot better than they thought it was going to be. Well, it's a decent revenge movie with some moments of real nastiness but it's still nowhere near as brutal as the original film and it also misses the entire point of that classic film (yes, I do think it's a classic even if it's not one for the whole family to sit down and enjoy). You see, THAT film had a woman being terrorised and brutalised and horrifically violated because of her sexuality before using that same sexuality to exact her revenge. This film has a young woman being terrorised and brutalised and horribly violated because of her sexuality becoming an efficient and skilled hunter/trapper/killer and even budding Jigsaw protege.

The basic story remains the same as it was the first time around. Young Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) heads off to an isolated cabin to get some writing done but finds herself fearing for her life when some of the local boys come around to have their fun - their idea of fun being far, far removed from any normal idea of fun. It all starts, in a way, from some joking around about getting the handicapped Matthew (Chad Lindberg) a chance to be with a woman but it soon gets even worse for young Jennifer as all of the boys decide to take their turn with her and "teach her a lesson". And the local law enforcement is worse than useless. It's up to Jennifer to keep her spirit intact and find a way to fight back.

On a technical level, everything here is just right. Steven R. Monroe does just fine in the role of director while Stuart Morse has adapted the original movie into an acceptable screenplay. There are some nice moments of tension in between that hard-hitting first half and that vigilante-centric second half but there are also one or two sassy one-liners that remind you of how removed the movie is from the essence of the original.

The acting is all pretty decent. Butler is, admittedly, pretty brave to even go near such a controversial role, while Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel Franzese, Rodney Eastman and Chad Lindberg all do a good job of playing characters of varying degrees of unpleasantness. And Tracey Walter is enjoyable as old Earl.

There are a few moments that will certainly impress those who want something a bit stronger in their horror movies but for me, personally, the whole thing still feels sanitised and far less interesting than the original film because of that refusal to explore the real power of the sexuality at the core of the movie. Basically, it's a decent film that misses the mark by a long way.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spit-On-Your-Grave-Blu-ray/dp/B004AER3KC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344848238&sr=8-2

For anyone interested, here are my reviews for the original Night Of The Demons, Night Of The Demons 2 and Night Of The Demons III: Demon House.

If you're going to pick a movie to remake then instead of taking on the classics, the Big Guns (if you will), things always seem to turn out better when the film being remade is a fondly remembered slice of fun  that can easily be adapted for modern audiences without losing the essence of it.

Night Of The Demons was a great movie but it was no classic. It was simple, it was fun and it had some excellent special effects. It also had a couple of very memorable moments featuring Linnea Quigley.

This remake takes the basic premise - a bunch of kids go to a Halloween party at a house that contains some tricky demons wanting to possess them - and uses a fantastic cast to great effect. It might be ridiculous and over the top in places but the original was no big lesson in subtlety either, so I don't see any problem.

Shannon Elizabeth plays Angela, the party hostess who unwittingly kickstarts the mayhem, and most of the movie focuses on her and the six others in the house (Monica Keena, Bobbi Sue Luther, the gorgeous Diora Baird, Edward Furlong, John F. Beach and Michael Copon). There's a cameo for the always-good-to-see Tiffany Shepis and an even better cameo for Linnea Quigley that changes an iconic moment from the original movie. Characterisations are slim but no matter - this is about young folk running around a house at night and trying to escape the clutches of demons.

The script written by Jace Anderson and director Adam Gierasch isn't the greatest ever but it references some of the best bits from the original - penned by Joe Augustyn and directed by Kevin Tenney - while joining the dots as we go from a solid prologue to a quick set-up to the beginning of the madness to a sustained sequence of fun and thrills that makes up the second half and finale.

The cast are a mixed bag but all do fairly well. Monica Keena is a likeable enough potential leading lady, Shannon Elizabeth does fine in the role of Angela, Bobbi Sue Luther is slightly underused but lovely anyway and I think I already mentioned the gorgeous Diora Baird (who also gets the two best moments in the movie). Edward Furlong is a bit of a disappointment and Michael Copon is even more underused than Bobbi Sue Luther but John F. Beach is very entertaining as the one male character you actually care about.

I've seen plenty people complain about this one but I honestly think that it's just an automatic "this is a remake so it's awful" reaction because I rate it exactly the same as the original. It has all of the same ingredients, including the failings, as the 1988 movie and it's slickly put together for 21st century audiences.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Demons-Blu-ray-Edward-Furlong/dp/B003YCYZCK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337969725&sr=8-1