Set in New Orleans, this remake of the cult 1988
film stars Shannon Elizabeth (AKA that girl from American Pie) as party organiser Angela Feld, who's just hired out an old mansion for a
wild Halloween bash for all her student buddies. Short of funds, she hopes the party will be a huge financial success for her, but unfortunately
the police turn up and raid the place, claiming she didn't have the right permits.
With most of the guests sent home, aside from a small group of friends who were hiding from the police, including her drug dealing ex Colin (Edward Furlong) and friends Lily (Dora Baird) and Maddie, (Monica Keena), they subsequently find the main gate locked, with no other way out.
Checking out the rest of the building, they find a hidden room in the basement, containing a bunch of skeletons. As it turns out, the old house, known as the Broussard Mansion, has something of a history in which the house's former owner apparently killed herself, after her party guests became possessed by demons, sometime in the 1920s.
Of course, its never wise to ignore local legends, and shortly afterwards, they notice Angela starting to act strangely. Fairly soon, she and several of the other party guests start transforming into hideous demons (kind of like what happened in the original) and the last few guests end up fighting a series of Evil Dead style pitched battles throughout the house, as they attempt to survive until morning.
Filmed to cash in on the slew of horror remakes coming out of Hollywood since 2003. This one, borrows the basic premise of the original, but updates it to a much more plausible modern day setting, and puts in a few twists, so that it doesn't seem too derivative. I actually really enjoyed this and found it to be terrific fun. The film boasts plenty of action and there's a great hard rock soundtrack to boot. Just a pity this one wasn't a bigger hit at the cinema, as I think this is a damnsite better than some critics give it credit for.
It was certainly good to see former Terminator actor Edward Furlong in something again in any case. Also, look out for horror B-movie Scream Queen Linnea Quigley, who was in the original, who has a minor role as a similar character.
