Not the stunning return to form everyone is banging on about I'm afraid

Rating: 5/10 (30 May 2009)

Raimi is back on form said one critic, he's cut loose and having fun said another. Well he maybe having fun but I didn't, someone should tell the director that it's not 1984 and to find some new ideas. What you have here is basically Evil Dead-lite, demons fly about and do funny things, there's a possessed hankie, talking animals and much more besides but there was just something missing and that was Bruce Campbell. Alison Lohman is OK as the lead; she looks pretty enough and gets suitably tortured by the devious mind of Raimi but everyone else? Her boyfriend looks just like a little Ross from 'Friends' and has the most punchable face since the actual Ross, the mediums cant act and Mrs.Ganush although good in places is just way to over the top to ever be genuinely scary. The story is cribbed from 'Night of the Demon' and written back in 1992 where it probably should have stayed. It tells of Mrs.Ganush placing a rather nasty curse on our blond bank teller after she doesn't extend her mortgage payments but I spent the whole time wondering why she was behind in paying. She clearly possesses the power to summon hell after someone so would she really be skint? The camera work is straight out of his early work, some of the gags are inventive but the story is paced badly and feels like it has bits missing. Although what did stand out for me was the sound work you can hear everything from the spit on false teeth to the ear bleeding loud scene at the séance. But ultimately it falls flat, its not that bad but its not that good either its just OK and sometimes just OK just isn't enough.