Gareth Lewis

Game is OK but on PS5...appalling glitches. Should not have been released in this state and after a year still not patched? Joke. Don't buy this for even a dollar

5/10 Evil Dead is catapulted to an urban setting. The question is: does it work? My answer is yes, but only by the dead human skin of it's teeth. EDR has a well conceived visual style that does a good job of invoking some of the spirit of the familiar cabin setting, which is referenced in the pre-title sequence. The opening is impactful and appears to set it's stall out early with familiar tropes of the series, impressive cinematography and brutal violence. After this however is where things start to get a little less groovy. The sub-plot is capably set up with some fairly fleshed-out main characters and for the most part, performed well. One struggles to not feel mostly cynical towards what seems to me, numerous 'girl boss' clichés that are signalled by the main protagonists. It feels like a wasted opportunity to create a strong, unique central character. Pacing is poor; after the impactful preamble the tempo drops considerably and takes an inordinate amount of time to get where it needs to be. Weak supporting roles are abundant and features some truly appalling acting and unintentionally funny lines of dialogue. This not acceptable for any movie, horror, or otherwise, as it makes it hard to care about these people. They are just spam. My sense of dread was replaced with boredom and frustration at the many false starts surrounding not only the transformation of the main character, but the general behaviour of all the undead. It resues the same tease and tussle again and again. However, the final act does achieve what it sets out to do, ups the flagging tempo and should satisfy any gorehound. It's just a shame it takes it's sweet time to do so and that it has to rely on very obvious (verging on cynical) visual references to original series; they just felt shoehorned in. In conclusion, my impression of the movie is mixed. The problem of the misogyny of the original is solved but creates more for itself. The main achievement is making Evil Dead...a little bit boring.