Names are not the only thing recycled in this remake of the 1978 classic I reviewed last week. Veronica Cartwright has a small role as Bennell's first patient to notice something is wrong with her husband. Sound familiar? Still, it's a semi-sweet nod to the original without being campy, and Cartwright as always did a bang-up job.
The feel of this film is also true to the tonal spirit of the original, while maintaining a more exciting and brisker pace. There are slow, building tensions without the tedium of looking at growing plants and endless shots of the city wondering just exactly you're supposed to be seeing that furthers the plot, and this remake also has horrific reveals that leave you wondering... did I just see what I think I just saw?
But for me, it all comes down to the ending. While the '78 version leaves you wondering about the fate of humanity, the ending of this remake leaves nothing to wonder about at the end... except maybe that we might have been better off in a symbiotic relationship with the alien virus.
While the '78 film had its horrors relating to the communist red scare overtones of the original book, this 2007 version feels like a slightly glossy junk magazine cover. Kidman is pretty to look at, but a lot of the depth and substance behind the horror is gone, and we're left with a horror/sci-fi film that ultimately says nothing.
One laugh out loud moment at a joke by Ollie, and two holy crap moments, but otherwise low counts on this one. I got quite a lot knit during this one, as the dialogue and running around New York don't require your full attention.
Three out of five stars. It was acceptable as brain filler while crafting, but it's not sublime cinema.
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