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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 *****