I watched the original. In fact, I watched the original a few times before I watched the remake. And you know what? I like the remake just as much as the original. The remake may have more flaws (the original isn't flawless itself), but all in all it's a solid thriller. As for not getting any "murder vibes" from Wagner's character, well, the original slowly build up to Dory's murder, whereas the remake wasted no time to get to that part. Not to mention Jonathan is shown to be a far more vicious killer, therefore it's harder for the viewers to fall for Dillon's charm and innocence in this film. Nevertheless, I'd say Dillon is equally effective in his role as Wagner was in his.
Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

The original was much better. The original film was shown on TCM last night where guest host Robert (RJ) Wagner discussed the film with TCM host with Robert Osborne. He really wanted to make the movie to show that he was not just another one-dimentional actor. He proved it in this film. Re the remake, I have always liked Matt Dillon and thought that he should have made more films, but from what I heard, he is very picky on his film choices. Incredibly, both actors that played the lead roles in the original and remake of this film did age very well. They still look great.

Read the book, too. It is a great read.

Often wondered just how Natalie Wood died, actually:(

Yeah he was really good in that movie.But I really liked Matt Dillon's performance in this remake as well.

I think the previous description, 'thriller with unachieved potential' perfectly describes the original 1956 movie also. Wagner portrayed his character splendidly, although the plot drags frequently, but most of the other acting was very poor.

thanks for the recommend!

I did get a chance to see it the other day. It followed the book more then the remake.