Stupid as Hell

Rating: 3/10 (3 June 2009)

Sam Raimi is a talented man but this outing was very disappointing. Mixing camp, ooze, and horror is a delicate balance which was nicely achieved with the Evil Dead series. Here, the characters are played too straight for camp which makes the "scare tactic" affects of the movie out of place since most of them do not deliver even a jolt. The evil characters don't seem to be enjoying themselves which may have lent some credibility to the film's campy aspirations. Otherwise, the scares needed to be better paced in order to lend some needed dread to the events. Also, there is a big difference between nauseating and terrifying. Sick effects are just that and here induce ennui after about the third time. The result being Argento meets Disney. About 15 minutes of the film gives a thrill, but it comes too late and is then dampened by a predictable ending. 3/10.