Equal parts good and bad

Rating: 8/10 (6 June 2007)

I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, it's truly scary, very disturbing + unsettling, quite well-directed, and incredibly influential. But I just can't overlook the terrible acting (outside of Bruce Campbell), cheezy dialogue, stupid characters, and slavish adherence to silly genre conventions. I mean, could the girl do something other than run into the haunted woods? It did scare me quite a bit, though, the first horror film to do so since The Descent. The scene where Ash's girlfriend is laughing maniacally - brrr. Gives me shivers just thinking about it. I think if it had taken a little more time getting set up (it feels really rushed at the beginning), had some decent actors, and a better script, I would have really liked it, as the direction and visuals are top-notch for such a low-budget film. So it's just okay for me.