I was under the misconception that proper horror films were supposed to be scary. Not the sort of cheap 'jack in the box' scares where something just leaps out of the dark and surprises you. But the real 'I've forgotten I'm just watching a film and am really becoming emotionally involved' sort of scary.
Regardless of the fact that Sam Rami wrote and directed this film it's not scary. And so it fails completely as a horror movie and becomes a slasher movie. As a Slasher film it's remarkably average, with a weak central character that I never really believed in, and evil protagonist that was more funny than genuinely frightening, a very dull final confrontation and the obligatory very final scene that was so utterly predictable that I was reaching for the remote before it was even over.
Very average indeed. Be drunk when you rent this one.
I watched it this weekend.. It is awful!
Tbh the 3 horror films Sam Raimi is famous for are not scary at all either.
The Evil Dead flicks are more of a horror comedy than anything else imo.
So you probably entered the movie with the wrong mindset because I anticipated the comic approach (like the main villain) and I thought it wasn't too bad. Surely not the greatest movie but not half as bad as you make it seem to be.
Ahh the memories of youth. I remember that the Evil Dead scared me sh**less when I saw it. But then I was sixteen at the time. Something about Rami's strange editing style plus the fact that as all the cast were unknown I didn't have much clue as to who was going to make it, if anyone.
If I watched the film now I would probably find it much less scary. I think I went into DMtH with an expectation that I was going to see a horror film rather than a slasher film. I was expecting and Orphanage, Ringu, Sixth Sense horror film etc rather than a Scream, Friday XIIIth slasher movie
And so I was disappointed. As a slasher it's perfectly acceptable although it doesn't really add anything new or different. Most slasher films have weak characters and somewhat predicatble plots, which this film also had. So you're right I was expecting a lot and just got accepable.
I totally agree with you that the way we percieve a movie is tightly linked to what we expect of it before hand.
I can see how it would disappoint you if you were going for a scare, but if you went out to see a cheesy horror/slasher flick it's actually quite enjoyable.