Not as much fun as the sequels

Rating: 4/10 (5 September 2010)

I wound up watching the Evil Dead series backwards, starting with Army of Darkness, which I loved, then Evil Dead II, which I barely remember but recall liking and finally Evil Dead, which I stopped watching 30 or 40 minutes in.
Evil Dead is known as the movie with the least humor, and that is true to the extent that it lacks of the slapstick of the others, but at the same time I can't help but suspect that the whole movie is a goof, because it is so dumb. It begins very well, squeezing a lot of atmosphere out of a minimal budget, but when the horror starts the effects and makeup are laughable and the whole thing is very over-the-top and campy. I don't feel like anyone was taking this movie too seriously.
I'm not a horror movie aficionado. I liked Army of Darkness because it was really funny, but as a general rule I do not watch horror movies. This is in many ways well-done for what it is, but it isn't something I'm interested in.