A group of young people arrive in a town just in time for its centennial celebration. Gradually, they become aware that the inhabitants live as though the Deep South were not only real but exaggerated beyond recognition, their worldview twisted even further for good measure. Escape is the only option if you intend to survive — though that, as it turns out, is far easier said than done.
As a matter of fact, I saw this one before I saw the original by Herschell Gordon Lewis, which I wrote about a few days ago. I truly despised this version, yet somehow managed the feat of watching it again to give it another chance. Perhaps there was something I had missed, something that genuinely made it an entertaining film. In a way, I suppose you could say that there was. Not that I am about to spend any syllables praising it — it remains a catastrophe — but I did realize that there is, in fact, a certain humor to be found in the splatter scenes.
It is obvious — more obvious than in the original, actually — that this is a film made with its tongue firmly in its cheek. As usual, I cannot help but compare. What was somewhat charmingly inept in the 1964 film is here merely silly. The difference is clear: back then, it was the acting and the narrative that were poor, perhaps more by accident than by design. Here, it is painfully apparent that the intention is to create a film that winks at the old one — a film that attempts to be worse than it is truly capable of being. There is a difference between making a film with the deliberate intention of being ridiculous and one that simply becomes so due to script, performances, budget, or other limitations.
And, truth be told, the gore effects here are actually quite well executed. Robert Englund delivers a perfectly adequate performance, and so does Lin Shaye. Neither holds a leading role, but as unhinged members of the local population, they matter. It is a bloodier film than the original, which by comparison was relatively restrained. This one is over-the-top — and that is precisely the point.
Had I not managed to revisit the film, I would certainly not have been this charitable toward it. But with the original fresh in mind — and wearing my most forgiving shirt — it climbs ever so slightly on the scale.
