There was a time, when the horror market consisted of bold new films that were immediately followed by a bevy of sequels, a move that of course, drew ire as the years wore on in that there wasn't enough original content being produced in the genre anymore and well, those cries were answered with a touch of irony because as the years progressed, the sequel gave way to the wonder of the remake/reboot and the appetite for the re-creation of horror classics has been downright ravenous since they continue to enjoy massive financial success at the box office.

However, while one can spend hours pouring over the possibilities as to why this remake phenomenon has and continues to occur with incredible success, I think we can agree on one particular thing, that there are some stories that are simply too iconic to tinker with and while some may scoff at that, and are able to cite the success of remakes as the basis for their argument, there are examples that exist that prove otherwise, and there is one on my mind that to this day leaves me shaking my head in surprise that it was ever green lit...the 30th Anniversary remake/special edition of ​Night of the Living Dead.

Yes, you read that correctly, in 1998, John Russo, the co-writer of this iconic motion picture felt the need to release an enhanced version of the film that featured new scenes and a beefed up storyline that he firmly believed would give this legendary horror story the gravitas he felt it always needed and well, if you haven't heard of it or never knew that it existed, there's a good reason for that...it was absolutely awful and an outright failure and never should have been made in the first place. ​

For starters, the remake of ​Night of the Living Dead that arrived in 1990 (which was also written by George Romero) was the revisiting that the film sort-of deserved by giving the story modern day characters and updated effects but beyond that...let's be honest, the 1968 iteration of NOTLD was absolutely perfect. It was a powerful story that left the audience confused for all the right reasons as they sat down to witness the beginning of the end of the world. It was filled with mystery and tension and it played out like real life disasters play out on television, making Russo's decision to 'enhance' this film downright silly.

Why he truly did it, aside from money I will never know, but what he added to the mythos was absolutely laughable and counterintuitive to what the original film accomplished. For example, we never needed a backstory for the Cemetery Zombie. He was merely a force of nature, a resurrected corpse whose rotten brain was focused on consuming human flesh. Yet here, he's a child murderer, and everyone is celebrating his passing as a gift from God, and my issue with this, is that it adds a Biblical overtone to a story that never made use of such concepts. In addition to that, Beekman's Diner, the titular place that was overwhelmed by the dead takes on new life here with an expanded story and well...who cares? Ben telling the story about what happened at that diner was all we ever needed and this little side plot of giving said diner more weight merely bloats an already well-paced motion picture.

But perhaps the greatest offense of all, is that the performances that go with these new scenes (minus horror legend Debbie Rochon, the only bright spot in all of this) are simply abysmal. It's over the top schlock that truly adds insult to injury. So if anything, this film needs to serve as a cautionary tale for the horror industry and its love of remakes in that...if the film is that iconic and beloved, leave it be and commission something new. But if a producer simply has to remake or reboot that property, respect it and take it in a bold new direction. Don't let another abomination like this be created, and for fans of George Romero's work or zombie films as a whole, avoid this one like the plague, and revisit the original Night or Dawn of the Dead ​instead. 

Goodnight Mommy introduces a simple premise of doubt: Our main characters, two twin boys, have their mother return from some medical procedure with her face wrapped in bandages. Her behavior is very different from how it once was, however, and the boys become worried that she is not their real mother. The film revolves around the question: is this really another woman posing as their mother, or are the boys simply going mad?

The film plays out more like a very slow mystery than a horror, presenting evidence which supports one or the other idea throughout most of the film. It actually reminds me of something like Chinatown or Shutter Island, where you can never really be sure who is telling the truth or what is real. These parts of the film are presented well, with a fantastic combination of confusion, logic, grossness, and human weirdness. It plays on our unfamiliarity with the family: is this behavior really unusual, or do they simply have different habits than we’re used to? The film being foreign, and so about a family from a culture and world which is different from ours, actually gives this more weight: we can never really be sure about how much of what we’re seeing is actually unusual, and how much is just the boys going mad or the mother stumbling in her imitation. This is presented to us with some fantastic cinematography and great lighting work which make the film a joy to simply look at regardless of how slowly the events sometimes take to plod onward.

Eventually, we pass into the endgame of the film: the boys make their decision and tie down their 'mother,' intent on torturing her until she reveals what happened to their real mother. All clues, hints, and plot progression rather understandably come to a halt as the boys lay into her with gruesome yet simple interrogation methods that are downright painful to watch. This all leads up to the final climax where the truth is revealed. It really was a great twist, so I won’t spoil it here. Suffice to say it is hinted at perfectly: The plot doesn’t leave us with zero clues so it can ambush us at the last second, but it doesn’t project the twist obviously either.

Unfortunately, the film is let down by the lead up to this climax: when the boys tie the woman down and the back-and-forth of 'who’s telling the truth?' is suspended, the film simply goes on and on and on and on, content to simply spin its wheels with more torture. In fact, just as I was wondering how much longer the movie could possibly be, my roommate (who was watching with me) actually paused it to see how many minutes remained. As far as I know he still can’t read minds so I must conclude that we both felt that particular segment of the movie dragged on for too long without giving any sense of progress.

All in all, Goodnight Mommy is a tightly directed and shot film, (with fantastic performances from all three main performers) that sows doubt effectively and deftly presents its mystery for the audience to ponder, but is let down by a third act that drags on too long and overstays its welcome.

One cannot discuss season seven of The Walking Dead without somehow discussing that devastating season premiere. Because let's be honest, that premiere had some important emotional consequences when it comes to the fan base. For starters, it actually managed to drive away fans with the events that occurred; case in point, my close friend Shae stormed out of the room when Lucille came down on Glenn's head and she vowed to never watch the show again, a vow she has honored completely. Meanwhile, other fans found themselves lost and grieving like another close friend of mine Kerri, who burst into tears when Abraham met his end.  There's nothing wrong with the fact that plenty of people walked away after that premiere. It was brutal, it was sadistic and it was crushing and if they could no longer stomach that, they did the right thing.

But for the fans that stayed, they were invested in an equally tough aftermath following the death of Glenn and Abraham as they watched their heroes struggle with those untimely and violent deaths and some folks posed the question to myself and others, why stay and watch a show this dark and this brutal? Well the answer to that was simple...for those that stayed, we were all hoping that something special was going to come our way, that we would be rewarded for sitting there and suffering through this waking nightmare...that eventually Rick Grimes would snap out his funk and lead the good people of Alexandria into a fight where justice would be served upon Negan for his crimes and well...last night's episode 'The First Day of the Rest of Your Life' finally delivered on that titular moment, in its own unique way of course, because while it may not have been pure justice, but it was a bold and beautiful step in the right direction.

Because last night, the fight we have all been waiting for came to fruition, and everyone that needed to be part of it, made their preparations. In Hilltop, Maggie made the call to march to Alexandria to help to defend it and a size-able force from the Kingdom made their way there as well, and in the Safe Zone itself, Rick's strange but reliable new allies from the Junkyard all made preparations for war, with a brand new ally in their pocket as well, by way of Dwight. He promised to buy the tiny berg a little bit of extra time to make sure they were fully prepared and well, there was a real joy to be found in watching everyone ready themselves for this fight because they were unified with a sense of purpose because it was all about making the Saviors and Negan pay for what they've done.

But alas, nothing ever quite goes as planned on this show and when the Saviors arrived at the gates, it turns out that Rick had traitors in his midst because the Junkyard gang, turned their guns on the Alexandrians, revealing that Negan offered up a better deal than Rick did and they were more than happy to serve him instead. It led to a tense standoff, where Negan offered Rick another deal to quell this growing insurrection and part of this deal, was the safe return of Sasha and that's when we said goodbye to another character on this show, because realizing she had an opportunity to sour the deal for Negan and incite combat far sooner than expected, Sasha finally took the pill that Eugene had made for her and when the big moment arrived, the zombified version of her stumbled out of the casket she was hiding within, and that's when things got interesting. 

However, before we dig deep into what comes next, we do need to take a moment and talk about the wonder of Sasha's sacrifice because holy cow...she went out like a champ, since this was her moment of redemption through and through. For several seasons now, Sasha has been struggling to find a purpose or a way to contribute after the loss of Tyreese and of course Abraham and thanks to a special guest appearance from Michael Cudlitz, we were taken back to Abraham's last day on this earth where she was reminded of the fact that laying their lives on the line was what they did in Alexandria and that if they had to go out, it better be for a damn good reason and Sasha's sacrifice was indeed just that. By surrendering her life, it looked as though Negan had lied to Rick and company and the surprise of seeing a Sasha-walker stumble out of that casket...was the welcome distraction Alexandria needed and just like that, Sasha had found her purpose and contribution, albeit in death...and the battle had begun.

What I appreciate most about this particular twist however is that it didn't lead to some cliché 'noble moment' where Negan and his men suddenly ran away in a scurry and Rick was able to talk about what they had done on this proud afternoon. No...instead the situation turned grim. Outnumbered and dealing with the surprise of being double crossed, it seemed as though the fight was going to be all for naught. More Alexandrians lay dead in the streets and Negan once more was able to put Rick on his knees, and once more it seemed that Rick Grimes was about to suffer and suffer greatly for trying to make things right and that's when the  big moment arrived, when everyone at my viewing party cheered as loudly as possible...because help arrived. The Kingdom had come to Alexandria with guns a-blazing. Hilltop backed them up as well and for the first time ever on the show...we saw the Saviors on the run, and even Shiva jumped into the foray, and well...it was simply magnificent.

To see Morgan and Carol put aside their personal issues and join the fight was nothing short of tear inducing because this was truly about something bigger. This fight went beyond revenge, this fight was about one thing and one thing alone...a better future for what's left of mankind and truly, that's what made this episode so incredibly satisfying; the fact that they were honoring Glenn by doing what he always did, the right thing when it came to other human beings. He was always willing to fight for what was right and just, and he was always willing to put himself in harm's way to make sure that others were safe and that was hammered home in the final moments of the story when Maggie spoke of Glenn, and how he in essence, taught them all to be just like him. The speech that Abraham gave Sasha, the fact that everyone banded together, they did it because of Glenn's influence and his wishes to see a world where every single person...tried to make it a better place where life is precious.

Granted, it will be hard to see that in the days ahead because All Out War is now upon us, and there will be devastating losses in the battles to come and questions as to whether or not this fight is worth the effort. But in the here and the now, we know what this war is about...properly honoring the dead at last, and digging in to make the world a better place and I'm hard pressed to think of another moment in the history of this series that has ever been this hopeful or optimistic about the future and the credit for that goes to Scott M. Gimple and the entire writer's room for giving that notion life last night and for truly taking us on an emotional journey this year. We've had our hearts broken, we've suffered alongside Rick and his friends, but last night...was the grand payoff everyone was waiting for, and it was a satisfying reward indeed and it's going to be a long and painful wait, for all the right reasons this time, for the season eight premiere. Until next time.