The cast didn't really do anything for the movie. There is no "Bruce Campbell" in this. Alison Lohman (was Ellen Paige originally attached to this role?) was okay, if not somewhat miscast, Justin Long was just a supportive boyfriend, concerned seance/fortune teller guy, etc. Mrs. Ganush was GREAT though, one of the best horror characters I've seen in a while.
The plot had some weak points. I didn't think that Christine's southern roots really brought anything to the table, they probably could have cut that out. I'm also guessing that you have to formally give the button to someone, because I thought Justin Long's character was going to have the curse.
In the end, it was just another fairly neutered modern horror film that lacked that good old spark. I have no idea why the horror community has embraced that one so much. It represent for me, all that is wrong with most modern horror films. It's all about slick visuals and no guts (quite literally) so to speak and it became too predictable after the late middle-half of the movie (The anvil, handkerchief on the way to the grave, the obvious button swap, awkward kitty conversation at dinner event).
It tried to be Army Of Darkness and ended up being closer to Scary Movie. But it's a damn beautiful looking film. It's utterly gorgeous.
