Since MB has asked that we move the discussion of "Magtoria" from the Tarrytown Fest report thread over to this thread, here's my thought on the topic:
The character's background was a wonderful idea, and they mostly did it very well. My only problem was when the name change came up as an impromptu thing on the train en route to Collinsport. As others have pointed out, this makes no sense since she apparently had already applied for the job, presumably under the name "Maggie Evans". I don't really understand the need for her to change her name, except that she just wants to have a new name because she's starting out on a journey to a new life.
But overlooking that, it otherwise plays very well. For a two-hour film, it is a much better way to give the character a compelling reason to go to Collinwood. The orphan-looking-for-her-real-family thing is really way too much for a film that has the Barnabas story at its center; the new background for the character ties her in strongly with Barnabas. And the possession-and/or-reincarnation bit was very inventive, a fresher take in comparison to the typical (stale) reincarnation thing. The way it was done in the 1991 series--while Joanna Going was absolutely wonderful in the role--the timing of Victoria's arrival at Collinwood right before Barnabas' release from the coffin seemed coincidental, not as something arranged by external powers. Victoria's background, and her conscious reason for coming to Collinwood, seemed pretty much irrelevant.
Has anyone else felt that Vicki in the new movie recalls Eleanor in The Haunting of Hill House? She's a woman with a troubled background drawn to a large house, feeling like it's her destiny, and--at the climax--doing things deliberately to reach that destination.