not a bad horror film

Rating: 7/10 (29 August 2014)

So I just finished watching this film and I quite enjoyed it, more than I figured I would. I'm not a die-hard ED fan but I liked the originals and I'd heard mixed reviews on this one but as a horror fan thought I'd give it a fair shake.
The film looks great. It has a kind of hyper-saturated, rich, retro tone to it that adds to the eeriness of the setting. The camera angles and some of the framing also contribute to it's look and the sets/environments were well designed. There is a bit of shaky-cam during some of the action as well as some jump edits, but overall it wasn't too distracting.
The story is, well.... we're talking about a horror film with demons and stuff so what logic is there to found in such things? It's passable enough to move things along, though there are plenty of horror clichés and people acting foolishly for no reason; perhaps you can blame their youth.
Gore hounds should be pleased with this film as it surpasses the original in that regard; I found myself saying "oh man!" more than once. There are a few scares and some tension but horror veterans will see it coming.
What's missing is a likable protagonist. The film centres around Mia who is a drug addict, at the cabin with her friends in order to detox via the 'cold turkey' method. She is also the first to fall victim to the evil presence lurking in the woods (I guess they have nothing better to do?) so the lead role shifts around a bit and never really settles on anyone in particular. You think her brother might end up being the "Ash" character, but he is a bit of a jackass and personally I was hoping he would die in some horrible way.
Overall, it's a fun ride and one that I will take again, along with the original. In a market flooded with bad horror films, this one is a decent watch if you can separate it from the Sam Raimi classic.