EDIT: I would almost give this movie a 7/10 or something just slightly above what I gave it. Marcus Nispel gorgeously directed this movie. Really great work all around with the design and look of the feature.

Definitely some likable elements and it's worth a watch, but it loses some of the haunting atmosphere the original had. That's not to say there's isn't tension in this movie, as there is quite a bit, and it follows the same idea of a psychotic area of Texas, rather than just one killer. However, the tone and execution are completely different. If there's one thing I have to give credit to this movie over the original is the characters are a little more believable to me. While Marilyn Burns and crew were great fun to watch previously, their characters had the depth and intrigue of walking cardboard cut-outs. That was one of the only complaints I had with the original, but it didn't matter, because it's atmosphere and setting is what made up for it. This time around, the atmosphere is slightly lost, but the gore, scares, and character development is upped a lot. Here's how I envision both of these movies. The original is the nightmare retelling of what the events were like. The remake is like the archival footage. The original wasn't very realistic in it's presentation or execution, making the film looking like a re-enactment, which worked. But now, in an attempt to update, the remake looks like real events transpiring in real-time. You get what I mean?

Just like with the Nightmare remake, some clever character write-ins were a nice bonus and expansion on the original's story, but unlike the Nightmare reboot, I don't know if enough was done here to fully warrant a remake. I still like it and appreciate all it's glorious chainsaw showmanship, but I don't think it's as great as the original. Still very good.