"I Haven't Seen Evil Dead 2, Yet"

[rating:7/10]

If you look above, you’ll see I threw together a scary HORROR WEEK header for the site. I want to begin this review by pointing out the creepy face in the center. If you were trying to figure out where it comes from, it is the creepy gypsy woman from Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell.

I watched this last week when I got it sent to me from Netflix. It is quite important to first note that this is definitely a film for Sam Raimi fans… horror in the classic Evil Dead style. Witty, visually enticing, scary supernatural old lady that gets scarier as the movie goes on… check, check, check. Only complaint in this department, the lack of a Bruce Campbell cameo. Dude was busy… at least that’s what I read, but I will admit that this was a tad disappointing. That said, nothing else to complain or be disappointed about, really.

The synopsis is as follows: Girl (Alison Lohman) is trying to get ahead in her career. She has a great, successful supportive boyfriend (Justin Long) whose parents aren’t very fond of her, but he doesn’t seem to care. Her main obstacle in getting a promotion is a competitive co-worker (Reggie Lee). When faced with an ethical dilemma, she chooses to deny an elderly gypsy woman an extension on her loan, seemingly as a the type of tough decision her boss wants her to make in order to demonstrate that she’s ready for her promotion. When the gypsy woman falls to her knees and begs the girl to reconsider, she calls security and believes that is that… except, after work, the woman is waiting… and (after the type of battle that only Raimi can create) the gypsy woman curses the girl. What happens after this can only be described as a world of attacks, fear, and supernatural torture.

Justin Long and Alison Lohman play perfect Raimi protagonists. Long’s likability and humor bring a lighter feel to some scenes and it really helps to develop the characters and their relationship. Lohman has the perfect blend of fear, confusion, and tenacity to be a Raimi type of hero. The supporting characters are quirky, entertaining, and well written.

Overall, this is a great film if you’ve been missing that Evil Dead type of horror flick. Not quite as grotesque as the first ED movie or as cheeky as the 2nd and 3rd installments… and a better overall production that anything in the series.

Rob: Let’s just say that I hadn’t seen it and I said to you, “I haven’t seen Evil Dead II yet”, what would you think?

Barry: I’d think that you’re a cinematic idiot and I’d feel sorry for you.

Don’t be a cinematic idiot… see Drag Me to Hell (and ED 2 if you haven’t YET). Rent this today.

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~ by thepaintedman on February 2, 2010.