Ninety Minutes of Nonstop Grand Guignol

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2017)

(September 2013.) Okay, let me start off by saying that I am a huge Sam Raimi fan. I enjoyed the original 'Evil Dead' trilogy back in the eighties and early nineties, and I still watch them occasionally. If you'll recall, the first two were super-low budget, and the third was supposed to take place in England, but was shot in Southern California. Hey, I didn't know they had tumbleweeds in England!
Nevertheless, they were gory and loads of fun.
So you don't think I'm about to trash the 'Evil Dead' remake, I liked it, okay? It was intense, gruesome and unrelenting in its depiction of twentysomethings trying to survive against an invisible evil that is unleashed when one of those geniuses reads aloud from the BOOK OF THE DEAD. And, come on, to date it's grossed over $97M worldwide on a budget of around $17M. What's not to like?
But in all the horribly graphic maiming, clubbing and loss-of-limb splatter gore, something was missing for me. Here's a hint: "Gimme some sugar, baby."
Yep, the humor.
The new film is ninety minutes of nonstop Grand Guignol that every lover of horror likes to revel in. But if you'll recall, with some exceptions, the best horror movies are those which are not only violent but funny.
Look, it's like this. If you're going to subject yourself to a root canal without anesthesia, don't you at least want the oral surgeon to crack a few lame jokes during the blood spray? You know who gets it? Rob Zombie. Check out 'House of 1000 Corpses' sometime. Captain Spaulding, anyone? Yeah, humor.
You know who else gets it? Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Which is strange, because those guys show up as producers on this show.
Should you see it? Of course. But if I were you, I'd put on a comedy afterward. I was actually a little queasy during the end credits. But it's tight, well written and well acted. As I said, it's unrelenting. Enjoy the ride, then go back and see the originals. Nobody wields a chainsaw like Bruce Campbell.