Login
Initial Thought: When I saw the trailer I really wanted to see this. I thought it looked like fun. Growing up I had watched the first two originals and enjoyed them. I watched the third one only recently. It was alright, but I had to finish the original series to get to this one. Unfortunately this hasn't been getting good notice. Well we all have our opinions. Time to see for myself.
Characters/Acting: Sam Rockwell and Jared Harris are really interesting and bold choices. I really enjoy both for vastly different reasons. Sam Rockwell is great for roles with humor. Jared Harris on the other hand is excellent when it comes to more serious roles. Rosemarie DeWitt is also familiar. She hasn't made much of an impact on me yet though. The little girl here is definitely no Carol Anne. I really didn't care for her at all. The little boy who plays Griffin was one of the highlights of this remake. I wish the family as a whole had more chemistry with each other. Why does the father become a bit of an asshole and so indifferent to everything when Maddy is taken? His character just makes a freaking 180 from a cool dad who tries his best to this uncaring d-bag. I didn't understand that at all. Jared Harris is awesome as usual here.
Story: Well the same as the original where a family moves into a home above a graveyard. The daughter is abducted by the "ghosts" and then they must save her before she is lost to them. That was an interesting title reveal. There are quite a few things that are pretty much impossible here. Once scene in particular where the dad comes home with some seemingly expensive items never gets explained. I mean this family is on a money struggle. Everything they have they shouldn't even be able to afford. Besides this nonsensical stuff I did think there were some rather creepy moments. I thought the clown design was interesting and different. The whole scene with it I actually liked even though it wasn't all that original of course. There are quite a few continuity errors throughout that get a bit annoying. The ending wasn't quite as epic as the original had been. A little extra during the credits if you liked this enough to stick through it.
Directing/Writing: So the script is based off the story written by Steven Spielberg. I'm sure I don't have to explain anything about this legend. He is simply incredible with very little disappointments. David Lindsay-Abaire has written some pretty well known stuff like Robots, Oz: The Great and Powerful, and Rise of the Guardians. All I have seen of his I rather enjoyed even to an extent Robots. Gil Kenan hasn't directed much, but his work is quite entertaining. Of the two other films his more famous and well received was Monster House. With all the talent here I'm surprised people are bashing it so hard. Okay I see a lot of errors in the writing. There are so many moments that just don't make since with the script. It makes you wonder what the hell Abaire was doing at the time of writing.
Final Thought: So it wasn't awful. In fact I enjoyed it to a certain extent despite it's many flaws. It could have used some work and attention to detail. I wouldn't watch it again, but it was decent enough to pass the time. As a remake it doesn't do very well. On it's own however I could see it being more enjoyable.
