Two in one evening...

So I could have just edited the original but I thought it best to post a whole new...well...post. It also isn't really the same evening as it is now 3 in the morning.

To pick up where I last left you I've just seen The Strangers. Now the confusing thing here is, despite what other people have told me, it is strikingly similar to Them. Granted there are slight differences between the two, but on the face of it they are one in the same. Even the reasons for the terrorizing is the same. I've been told that the writer-director Bryan Bertino stated he hasn't seen the french film, and that this film was conceived completely independently. Now I'm not saying he's made that up, but the similarities between the two films are there. Go see the film (on DVD though, it's not worth the ticket price) and then watch Them and you will count the differences on one hand.

I suppose with this though you could say, for example, that all zombie films are the same as they all feature zombies. All slasher films are the same. And I guess you'd be right. It's about the journey, but Them had a better ending. The design and music used in The Strangers was good as well as the choices in masks for the intruders. It did have the feel of an older film such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the early Wes Craven films.

In short, had I seen this before Them I most likely would have said that Them was ripping off The Strangers. Its kind of like Dante's Peak and Volcano, Armageddon and Deep Impact, The Illusionist and The Prestige. One is always better than the other. Even Congo had its rival in Primal Force; and that wasn't as good as Congo despite killer baboons and Ron Perlman.

In other news concerning my recent trip to the cinema. I was impressed that Disaster Movie (again I will now have to wash my mouth out) had no reaction from the audience. Not a single laugh. Hopefully this is a sign that the makers of these excuses for spoofs will now just STOP.

In other trailer news, Death Race, the remake of the Roger Corman produced 1975 Death Race 2000, actually looks quite good. Now I am a sucker for explosions and the like, and despite his questionable accents Jason Statham is watchable, and it even has Lovejoy in it. But i think most of all the draw is in the trailer itself. This trailer just looks cool. There was a time when trailers used to be exciting. Nowadays, in most cases, they've just become lazy, showcasing the coming movie, not caring how many twists are given away. But with Death Race, it serves its purpose. The trailer makes me want to go and see this film.