No "Evil Dead"

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2011)

The first time I saw this, I thought I was watching a Wes Craven film, and that's not meant as a compliment. Craven hasn't made a decent film in 20 years. Imagine my shock and horror when I finally discovered this is a Sam Raimi film. Obviously, Raimi is off his game by a wide margin here. A loan officer played by Alison Lohman ends up under a curse placed on her by an old crone, and the rest of the film details the spirit of the now-deceased crone haunting the young banker. Most of the scares come from loud noises, musical cues and scary faces. If such things are enough to scare you, you will probably enjoy this. Personally, I think Raimi intended it to be a comedy, as witnessed by the incredibly loopy seance, which by the way is right out of Raimi's "Evil Dead." I like Alison Lohman; she's sort of the clean-cut version of Lindsay Lohan. And I like Justin Long, if for no other reason than he is from my home state and grew up near me. Also, he did a bang-up job years ago in "Jeepers Creepers" (he was sadly missed in the sequel) and "Galaxy Quest." The two actors play well together, but they can't save this uneven mess. Watch it at your peril.