Agree or disagree?
shareI really enjoy this remake, Tom Savini is perhaps the only qualified person to make it. That said, I agree with Siskel & Ebert’s review that the film loses some of its mystique and Gothic power compared to the original’s black and white scenes of the undead slowly approaching the farmhouse. Having everything in colour takes away from it somewhat.
I also thought some of the acting was a little less effective here… the guy who played Harry for starters.
Absolutely. I've always been found of this remake over the original.
I saw the original first and then saw the remake when it came out, and the remake is just so much more visceral and frantic, and I think that's what helps it feel more terrifying and engrossing.
Also, the characters here are all three-dimensional. They panic, they fight, they argue, they scream, they cry, and they scheme, just like real humans would do in a situation like that. It wasn't like just any single one character was "right" about what was going on and how to deal with it, it was just more like they were making the most out of the situation based on the hand they were dealt.
I also LOVED Patricia Tallman as Barbara. She was conscious of what was going on without being entirely helpless or the take-charge kick-butt wahman who "don't need no man". She panicked, she cried, and she tried to survive. I think that's what made her so likable in this film, similar to Polly Walker's character from the 2004 Snyder rendition of Dawn of the Dead.
Though I suppose to be fair, the 1968 version of Barbara, played by Judith O'Dea, was probably the more realistic depiction of how an average young woman that age would react in that kind of situation: shock, confusion, and zoning out. But then again, it all depends on the person, and some people go into fight, flight, or freeze mode. But I really liked the character dynamics and tensions in the 1990 remake. It was just tense from start to finish and one of the best remakes ever made and one of the best zombie films ever produced.