Real horror fans know what's up.
How on earth did this happen?
"Town Creek," as it used to be called, is without a doubt one of the
best scripts I've ever read. It was smart, principled, and
leave-the-lights-on scary.
I am not alone in this opinion. "Town Creek" secured its writer, Dave
Kajganich, a spot on Variety's annual list of "10 Screenwriters to
Watch." It also kick-started the highly successful writing career he
enjoys to this day.
What began as a thoughtful, and incredibly frightening, rumination on
the high cost of kneejerk reactions to bad news has been updated to
the present day (the original script took place in late-1940s
Virginia) and snuck into discount cinemas in the dead of night, like a
prom night dumpster baby.
It ain't right, I'm telling you. The filmmakers, actors, and
everybody else who freezed their asses off in Romania shooting this
thing deserve better.
Somebody went in, removed the most interesting subtext, rewrote a lot of the good dialogue, and changed the ending. I don't know who to blame. The studio? Schumacher?
Regardless: fans of old-school horror are into this movie, though. They recognize the bleak, backwoods, grindhouse, early Tobe Hooper-ness of it all.
In that sense I guess it's appropriate that this movie has multiple
titles and is playing at the worst theater in your town right now. The one with gum on the seats and creepy homeless people sleeping it off in the back row.
YEAH!
Actually, on second thought: no. This still sucks.