Movie Review: Evil Dead Burn

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Despite unlikable characters with uninteresting family drama and slow pacing early on, the film livens up once the Deadites come into the story, and it delivers on the gore and sadism to be expected from the franchise. I didn’t see the previous “Evil Dead” film, so there are a few major moments here that were carried over from that chapter. However, while seeing that last movie would’ve clarified a few things, I still got the gist of it. The pacing is all over the place in the first act, and because I knew some of what was to come because of the film’s trailer, the plot dragged pretty bad going into the second act. The biggest issue is that despite the darkness lurking in the background, the story focuses on petty drama and uninteresting characters. (It becomes clear fairly quickly who the “final girl” will be, so I found the story works by only focusing on her.) Once the horror elements take over, things get much more entertaining. It’s the typical Evil Dead formula of demonic possessions and people trapped in a confined space, but it still works. It also helps that some of the bland characters are a lot more fun to watch once they succumb to the influence of the sadistic Deadites. Unfortunately, there are a few mind-numbingly dumb decisions that characters make to advance the plot. The directing is fine, with a few fun shots but maybe a bit too much of quick cutting at times, the gore effects are pretty top-notch and there’s not a lot of noticeable CG and the score is solid. While there is a bit of humor, but it’s used in way where it usually lands flat. There is a mid-credits scene that’s tied to this movie and there’s a post-credits scene tied to a previous film.

** out of *****

Movie Review: Backrooms

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Attempting to adapt the Backrooms concept to the big screen is a solid concept, but despite a few glimpses of the film living up to its full-potential, uneven pacing and a bizarre third act leaves the audience wondering “what the hell was that?” I’ve watched the YouTube shorts that this film is adapted from, and found that while they’re interesting, they always feel unfinished and never quite stick the landing. This film mostly follows the found footage feel of the shorts but loses much of its claustrophobic elements and the feeling of hopelessness that I expected to see. Once the story finally feels like its finding its groove, it takes a strange pivot and then takes a confusing turn into some fairly surreal territory. While the actors do a good job, the backstory of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s characters doesn’t quite work for the payoff, and Renate Reinsve’s motivations ultimately add nothing of importance to the overall plot. (Not to mention some they both make some head-scratching choices to move the story along.) The design of the backrooms looks great and combines the best of practical sets and the CG sets from the internet clips that started it all. And although the ending is stronger than what the source material usually comes up with, it still ends up leaving too many questions unanswered and vague.

** out of *****