Reviews

I don't know what Géla Babluani was thinking. 13 Tzameti was a cool movie made on a shoestring budget and was ingratiating in its presentation. This newer version is completely watered down, soft around the edges, and bereft of all the charm of the original. Everything from the wide angle tracking shots to the roofing opposed to electricity (the whole in the roof was a nice device), the death in the bath as opposed to the chair, the globe hiding spot, the little sister of the protagonist in the original had a more authentic cuteness about her than the WASPY mainstream girl in this one. The protagonist steals the papers instead of finding them outside. All the minor differences favor the original. Surprisingly, even the acting was much better in the original, despite being paid a fraction of this all-star cast. The main reason I wanted to see the remake was because of the cast, but it was a total let-down.

The original was good, but it was good to the point where it was a cool idea and they were able to make it with the budget they had and it worked. It wasn't so brilliant that it deserved a big money remake which in fact hurt the credibility of the film, and in my opinion, the reputation of the director. He had his breakthrough movie, and then he could have followed up with a similarly creative idea. He may have ruined his career with this terrible remake.

All in all this movie just seemed incredibly lazy and it didn't seem like anyone working on the movie cared about the final product. Rourke is entertaining as always, but you can tell it's just another shtick role for him, nobody was making much of an effort here. As a viewer I felt like I was investing more energy into watching it than anybody put into making it, so i started to doze about halfway through.

Skip this movie, it's just not worth your time. Life is too short. If you haven't seen this, then watch the original. But if you have seen this, I think the original is spoilt for you.