Black Christmas

Surprisingly well-done and gripping remake is unafraid to take big swings into gleeful nastiness, and gets away with it on the strength of its convictions, and a cast who know exactly how to play this seedy and sleazy material for all its worth (especially an amusingly cast Martin). I guess its worth being aware that this is full-bore, Bush-era torture porn that is merciless in its delivery and execution, but keeps swinging home run after home run with such energy that it becomes modestly difficult to resist. Only wears out its welcome a little with a redundant final confrontation in the hospital, which comes close to killing the claustrophobic mood in the house.