"The elevation of the family from middle-class strivers to stratospherically wealthy jerks removes any trace of political specificity, but also elevates it to the chilly realm of the fairy tale." - Jesse Cataldo

While stylish, it just doesn't pack the same wallop the original had. The characters aren't crazy enough. Emotional enough. Scary enough. The bookends (especially the ending) are only here to shock and awe. To gain some credence for remaking such a masterpiece. Not worth the hype I gave it.

Some nice performances and stylish production assets make it almost worth recommending yet it starts to drag when the guy's mother in law gets involved, after which it straddles the line between evocative social study and hokey mushiness. + 1 for spontaneous human combustion.