Recycling 70's chillers has become the thing lately with Hollywood studios with a batch of movies getting the rehash treatment. Recently we've had The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, and The Amityville Horror in quick succession while non 70's films like The Haunting and The House of Wax have also receiving end of a makeover as well. At the time of writing The Fog, The Hills Have Eyes and Halloween are in the pipelines to follow.

John Carpenter became Hollywood hot property riding on the success of his superb slasher epic Halloween but in the UK he had already made a name for himself as an exciting talent to watch as his Assault on Precinct 13 had gone down a storm on the film festival circuit, especially in Scotland where it was a huge crowd pleasing favourite receiving standing ovations and the warmest accolades. Almost 30 years on Universal green lit a remake hoping that an updated version of the classic would scare them up a much needed hit.

The plot this time around shares some basic ingredients but a major twist has been inserted that doesn't necessarily enhance the original script in any way. This time Larry Fishburne is the deadly criminal being transported to a high security prison when a killer storm strikes and a detour is enforced to derelict Precinct 13 which is on a skeleton staff as it is about to close down for good. Ethan Hawke is the cop in charge of winding up at 13 on New Years Eve when Fishburne and a motley collection of criminals arrive. Not long after Precinct 13 is besieged by a horde of ominously hooded, fully loaded gunmen who terrorize the inhabitants inside with a wave of unrestrained gunfire. The crew inside, divided into criminals and lawmen are forced to form an uneasy alliance in order to try to survive the onslaught that is apparently directed at Fishburne. And as the world celebrates the arrival of a New Year, the inhabitants of Precinct 13 struggle desperately for survival against wave upon wave of masked gunmen. The odds are stacked against them as communication; even cell phones have been rendered useless by jamming devices.

The film has a quite different premise to the original but the siege element is very similar to the original on paper if not in execution. Some of the b-movie humour has also been retained but while Carpenters movie was a masterpiece of style and simple, gut level tension building undercut with a wry sense of humour this new version is much flashier but totally lacks the tautness and the liquid style of the 1976 version. Plus Carpenters monotonous electronic, robotic score worked so brilliantly to create a mood of soulless mindlessness, this version has a very traditional horror movie soundtrack that simply doesn't have anywhere near the same mesmerizing, dehumanizing effect of Carpenters score.

The plot has received a makeover but in no way does it improve on the original. There can be no denying that the new version is an insipid and pale shadow of Carpenters great film, one that has already started fading from memory hours after viewing while memories of the original haven't dimmed after all these years. If John Carpenters was a 9 out of 10 than this new version ranks as a 5 out of 10 – and that's being fairly generous. Comparisons aside for a moment, it's a perfectly watch able action thriller – just a very average and forgettable one.

Do yourself a favour, skip this and watch the Carpenter classic instead – then watch Halloween, then The Fog, especially as The Fog's remake is due this year and is likely to be vastly inferior to John Carpenters classy chiller.