Not Campbell's Evil Dead, but not that's not automatically bad

Rating: 5/10 (3 January 2015)

OK, this is going to be a short review, as like 700 other viewers have hashed and rehashed just about every second of the film so .... To those who were disappointed that it "wasn't like Ash's Evil Dead" have to realize something - the original Evil Dead was by no means a horror movie. Yeah, it had demons, plenty of slash and gore, but come on - tiny Ash's tying giant ash down after they leap from shattered shards of a mirror and cavorting like drunk leprechauns isn't exactly horror is it? The genius of the original movie was from Campbell's over the top acting, like his deadpan description of the shotgun he's wielding as though he's back at his store demonstrating it for a customer was a hoot - the original was basically a comedic horror movie (is that actually a genre?) When they made this version, they had 2 choices. One, stay true to the spirit of the 1st, a silly, campy, pseudo horror film, or try to make it into an actual true horror movie. They chose the 2nd, and while it has it's moments, it lacks any true scares because they so obviously telegraphed their punches. There wasn't one suspenseful, jump out of your chair scare scene in the entire movie. Even if you hadn't seen the original, you could pretty much tell where this one was going, and what was going to happen next, just by following the book flipping itself to the next horrific violent scene ... I guess you could, if you were feeling generous, call it foreshadowing,but in reality, it was not just foreshadowing, where you're imagination leads you to what might happen next through subtle clues, it plain old told you, in explicit detail what was going to happen next - sort of a "Dummies guide to being killed off by evil and demons while trapped in a cabin in the woods" - true horror lets our brains let loose our own inner demons, what scares you the most might not be what is scary to someone else, but the mind sort of directs our worst fears to manifest - this was more like connect the dots and not a "let your psyche unleash your inner, deepest fears" - our minds can make the unknown more horrible and scary than having a director and producer decide we don't have that capacity to think for ourselves, but actually tell you pretty explicitly what's going to happen next. Campbell's genius was his madcap portrayal of a "every man" rising up to these fears in a way that was incredibly funny, campy, and get, scary at the same time - Now it seems like they have lost so much faith in viewers having the capacity to unleash their inner fears - this one gave us an illustrated road map of what was to come, and the actors (Mia, in my opinion, gave the best performance - yeah, she's going through the hell of drug withdrawal, but the other characters kind of give you the feeling that it's natural for a drug addict in withdrawal to speak in 3 voices simultaneously, vomit (projectile, no less!) a gallon of blood, and be OK. Why a 5? Well, mostly because of Mia, and the rest for the creepy cabin - they did that right - who, in their right mind, would spend another minute, not the weekend, in that cabin after they find what happened in the basement? Mixed feelings - nostalgia for the original, one good performance by Mia, but on the other hand, being spoon fed plot because they think we're too too dumb to scare ourselves ... sort of turned into a wash - It's worth renting - I would have never paid to see it in a theater though. This is my 1st review, so I apologize if it's not so polished as others who post here. Bottom line? If you loved the Campbel version, see it just to appreciate Bruce Campbells genius again, anew. You'll appreciate his version so much more, after seeing how the same movie makes his version seem worthy of an Oscar. Rent it, don't go to a theater.