I thought the movie was very realistic, and I could almost imagine this happening for real in one of those tiny American towns where there is little else to do but go to the only permitted religious house in America - church, see a film in the ancient movie theatre or visit the local wax museum. That said, the start of the movie focused too much on the group of friends who seemed much like any other horror movie victims and not nearly enough on the murderous brothers and their story. What could have been a very interesting story was rushed over to make way for a load of unnecessary garb about a football game, the context of which had me patiently wait for the good bit to start and remain baffled as to why anyone would travel for that long and without any real guarantee of success simply for the privilege of watching a sport they could probably get on TV at home. But then, I am English.
However, Elisha Cuthbert, the freaky brothers and the witless but creepy hick they first meet are absolutely brilliant in their roles, although they do need some settling-down time. Paris Hilton, although with a distinct lack of experience compared to the others and apparent need to constantly talk about sex with her boyfriend and yet ridiculous timing when trying to tell her boyfriend something incredibly important, does seem to be getting into the swing of things and is suitably terrified at the correct times. Despite this, she's going to need plenty on roles in a succession of slightly crappy movies before she can handle much more than a few lines, no matter how rich her daddy is.
I had some trouble rating this movie. Its special effects are certainly special and its main characters are convincing, but there are a few mistakes which bring it down. However, it also had plenty of gore which satisfied the curious child in me and was almost entirely plausible. It also made me reason that there's no need to visit Madame Tussaurds ever again and kept me up all night with dreams that were scarier than the film itself, so for horror fans, of which I now definitely do not count myself (at least for a good while), it's a pretty safe bet.
However, Elisha Cuthbert, the freaky brothers and the witless but creepy hick they first meet are absolutely brilliant in their roles, although they do need some settling-down time. Paris Hilton, although with a distinct lack of experience compared to the others and apparent need to constantly talk about sex with her boyfriend and yet ridiculous timing when trying to tell her boyfriend something incredibly important, does seem to be getting into the swing of things and is suitably terrified at the correct times. Despite this, she's going to need plenty on roles in a succession of slightly crappy movies before she can handle much more than a few lines, no matter how rich her daddy is.
I had some trouble rating this movie. Its special effects are certainly special and its main characters are convincing, but there are a few mistakes which bring it down. However, it also had plenty of gore which satisfied the curious child in me and was almost entirely plausible. It also made me reason that there's no need to visit Madame Tussaurds ever again and kept me up all night with dreams that were scarier than the film itself, so for horror fans, of which I now definitely do not count myself (at least for a good while), it's a pretty safe bet.