This movie has enough frights & thrills to make you jump multiple times, but it's not just that that makes the movie for me. What makes this film different from all of the recent mediocre horror films is that it is very much character and dialogue driven. The characters become as compelling as the plot itself and you actually find yourself starting to care about these characters. The dialogue shoots back and forth between the characters and further builds up the suspense until the final revelation. The suspense is very well drawn-out - it doesn't reveal the killer too early and it doesn't make you impatient for the end. The resulting finale is a big bang and not disappointing at all.
The acting was also a cut above the rest - I didn't cringe at the lame screams or badly-acted terrified facial expressions because there weren't any. Kudos to all the girls because they gave performances beyond what I expected would be given.
This movie doesn't deserve any awards, because it doesn't want any. Thinking about this movie is useless; if you want a movie that makes you think then go catch Inglorious Basterds. This film is meant to entertain, and entertain it did. It's what most horror films today should be. This movie has set a standard which all subsequent horror films (especially teen horrors) should follow.
Just let yourself be drawn in instead of attempting to guess who the killer is and ruining the experience for yourself. If you just go in with a blank mind and just leave all you doubts at the door you will enjoy it as it is and not blame it for being what it's not afterwards.
I hadn't watched the 1983 version before going in, but I have no doubt in my mind that this remake is at least as good as, if not better, than the original film. As a film, I give it a 7. But as a horror film, it definitely deserves an 8. I loved every moment of this movie. Completely worth my money.
