In a word: awesome

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2006)

The Evil Dead series evolved from being cult, low-budget horror to comedy... medieval adventure comedy, to be precise. The first film was basically pure horror, the second was horror-comedy with a nice slice of action... now, third time around, the slice is thicker, the horror is nearly absent and we've got the all-new setting of a medieval castle instead of the secluded house in the woods. I understand that this has been met with some hostility from the fan-base... too different from the first two, they say. Interesting development, I say. With the only real changes between the films being in tone, there needs to be some genre changes and major character development. Ash is the only character who's in all the films(since he's basically the only survivor). He goes from being a dull background kind of male romantic interest and kind of coward to a bit of a tough guy in the first... in the second, he goes tougher and cooler. Here, they let tough, cool Ash roam free for a whole movie, and let me tell you, it is not boring to watch. The first film was magnificent horror, the second was pretty good horror and very cool action... how else to proceed than to basically drop the horror and go for ultra-cool action? That's what they did, and let me tell you, they most certainly succeeded. This film is even more 'guy' and entertaining than the second film, though I didn't care much for all the slapstick and Three Stooges. Ash's one-liners are multiplied from the second... there's seldom more than a few minutes without him saying something corny and really, really cool(and/or doing something of the same nature). The plot is vacant, but this is an Evil Dead flick; if you were searching for anything more advanced, you should have kept on looking. The acting is better than that of the first two. The characters are well-written and credible. The humor is excellent, though a tad too much of it was slapstick, for my tastes. But when it's not, it's hilarious. The cinematography... what can I say? Raimi is a genius as far as that goes. Put that man behind a camera and he'll make dust collecting on a grandfather clock exciting to watch. The special effects are great, for what they are. The film is even more cool than the second one; remember the chainsaw? It's back. So's the shotgun. And Ash gets a new addition, too... something medieval. I won't reveal any more, but trust me, it's cool. Very. I'm very, very impressed with Raimi's vision not to mention his ability to achieve it. First he brought us a great work of horror; then a action-horror flick that rivaled the top ones in the genre; and now a medieval action-adventure. It's almost a pity that he completed the story; it would be interesting to see where else he'd take us, take Ash. What times, what genre's. But I digress. He created an amazing film here, a breathtaking atmosphere, a lot of entertainment and loads of cool action. I watched the Director's Cut of this flick, containing the so-called(and aptly named) Apocalypse Finale, after which I watched the S Mart Finale. I can definitely recommend the Director's Cut complete with its ending, but the S Mart one definitely ain't bad, either. Get it and watch it if you dug the second, or even the first. Any version. Chances are you'll love it just like I did. I recommend this to fans of the franchise, Raimi, Campbell, cool action or medieval adventures. Any guy will most likely enjoy or even love this movie. Check it out. You'll certainly not regret it. 10/10