It wasn’t what I was hoping it would be, but was serviceable for what it was. I wanted something with a distinct feel, like Starry Eyes had, but there was nothing that made me think “yeah, this is totally Kölsch & Widmeyer.” Anyone could’ve made it. About the only way this improves on the 89 version is the acting, which was really the only problem with that one.
The plot changes they made were fine with me (it’s their adaptation, they can do what they want imo), but the production design lacked any of the surreality that made the original so creepy, & the way the resurrected people moved came off a bit silly. One of the most effective things about the novel & the original film is the way the returned characters seemed to be unaccustomed to getting around in their bodies. This helped give us the feeling that they were animated by something else & that force was using them as a puppet. In this iteration, though I liked that they brought in some of the scary knowledge the dead had in the novel, they spoiled the mood by making them super strong & dexterous.
It’ll be a perfectly fine companion to the current spate of bigger budget horror films that have been making studios so much money, but I doubt I’ll watch it again.