Evil Dead Rise (3 Stars)

This is the first film in the Stuttgart Nights Festival.

I admit that I went into this film not expecting much. My expectations were raised after seeing the opening scene. A woman is possessed while taking a boat trip. It didn't seem to make any sense, but then the film's title rises from the lake, followed by the words "One day earlier". So the rest of the film would explain the confusing events of the first scene?

No, not at all. The rest of the film seems unrelated to the opening scene. It's all about a family who live in an apartment in a run down high rise building. That's not the scenario I expect from an Evil Dead film. I want to see a cabin in the woods. A boat on a lake is also acceptable. But an apartment building?

The mother and various others around her are possessed. Why? The son has found a book with demonic drawings, but it isn't even the book from the first film. 

In its favour, "Evil Dead Rise" has a terrific atmosphere of terror from beginning to end. The jump scares in the first half of the film are effective. There's more blood than I remember seeing in any film ever.

On the other hand, the film has no noticeable story. There's no explanation for the demonic terror, it just happens. It's just blood and gore for the sake of it.

I'm willing to give the film another chance. I flipped through reviews online, and the critics have highly praised it. I'll watch it again, eventually, to see if I missed something.