Virtuoso director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) makes his return to the psychological thriller genre with the chilling Manchurian Candidate. Though it is muddling at times and concludes with a lackluster ending, the film affirms Demme's ingenious knack for creating suspense and playing with the audience/character trust rapport.

Candidate is intended to be a remake of John Frankenheimer's 1962 Frank Sinatra, Lauerence Harvey, Janet Leigh picture of the same name. But if you've seen the first version, don't go in thinking of the film as a remake, but rather inspired by the original. Distinguished from the earlier version, it's effective and very entertaining.

Bennet Marco (Denzel Washington), a major who was in charge of a unit during the Gulf War, is plagued by blood-curdling dreams of the war that lead him to question his own memories and direct him to believe he was brainwashed.

He grows suspicious of an old mate from the war -- Raymond Shaw, (Liev Schreiber), a vice presidential candidate and son of powerful senator Eleanor Shaw, (Meryl Streep). He makes fast friends with a pretty young thing, Rosie (Kimberly Elise), who eagerly jumps to his aid. The story twists and turns with Marco's frenetic hunt for the truth of what really happened in Kuwait.

Paying little heed to the standard recipe for a sure-hit thriller -- action here, special effects everywhere -- Demme relies on tight editing, fabulous acting, eerie soundtrack and a gripping plot.

Using his trademark technique from films such as Lambs and The Truth About Charlie, Demme creates an unnerving atmosphere with extreme close-ups of his actors and by having them look and talk directly into the camera.

The snug editing doesn't leave much legroom for error from the actors.

Streep -- though I expect nothing less -- is electrifyingly evil and demented; so much so that currently, the thought of her scares the bejeezus out of me.

Elise is nothing spectacular as Rosie (played by Janet Leigh in the original), and fails to capture the harmless yet shady allure Leigh did with such ease.

Though we've seen him do comparable things, Washington is fierce as Marco: desperate, determined and about to break down. I was totally emotionally invested in his well being.

Still, it was Jeffrey Wright's brief performance as loopy veteran Al Melvin that gave me the most chills.

The film does have flaws and inconsistencies. Past the halfway point, agendas become predictable and some of the mystery is lost. Far more of an issue for me was the finale, which was all too reminiscent of a Scooby-Doo detective/victim post climax scenario.

But these are just minor flaws in an overall exhilarating, fast-paced -- but still original -- film that's for sure worth your time.