I found the movie very enjoyable to watch

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2013)

We have a girl. A girl with an addiction to drugs. Mia (Jane Levy) decides to better herself and quit her addiction cold turkey. With the help of her brother David (Shiloh Fernandez) and her friends, she is determined to get through the withdrawal process once and for all. They choose a remote cabin deep in the woods with no outside influence to help Mia recover. While cleaning up the cabin, Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), one of Mia's friends, finds a book and decides to read it. Not knowing the evil he is about to unleash, Eric reads the book out loud. The fight for survival now begins.
Not really sure where to take this one. I am kinda of on the fence. Director Fede Alvarez teeter totters from a brilliant really dark horror movie to an average film. I believe if he would have stayed on track with the way the movie started out and focused on the darker side of evil, he would have had a masterpiece.
The character development was sparse. We picked up bits and pieces about the characters as the movie went on but nothing that really impacted how the story was told. Even with the lack of background, the actors did very well. Their reactions to what transpired were very believable and true. Shiloh Fernandez could have played a stronger character. He lacked the take charge attitude a lead actor should have and kind of got lost in with the others at times but overall they all did decent.
Any GORE fans out there? Well we have some gore for you! Minus one scene, Fede Alvarez kept the gore coming. He was able to throw more and more gore into this movie without making it a grind-house featurette. It was very well done, believable and as tasteful as gore can get.
I also want to give credit to the entire makeup department. I absolutely loved the disfigurements they came up with and were able to put together. The cuts, bruises, missing limbs and hacked-up faces were outstanding looking. I am looking forward to the special features on Blu-ray for this.
I did not compare any part of this to the original Evil Dead as I believe every movie should have a fair shake. I found the movie very enjoyable to watch. The way the demon plays with the characters and unique gore scenes are a huge draw. What the movie lacks in story and guidance, it makes up for in cinematography and good ole fashion gore.