Viewed – 23 April 2013 Cinema
Big fan of the Evil Dead movies, especially Evil Dead 2, the wonderfully inventive slap-stick splatter fest from Sam (Oz The Great and Powerful) Raimi that made a cult hero of actor Bruce Campbell and cemented Raimi’s reputation as one of the most imaginative directors around. Of course the remake was inevitable, and so step forth director Fede Alvarez, to hopefully breathe new life into a long (ahem) dead franchise.
A group of twenty-somethings arrive at a log cabin in the woods intent on helping their heroine addicted friend dry out. Only problem is they stumble upon a book bound in human flesh (!) and one idiot thinks its a good idea to start reading from it – bring on the forces of evil! Yes Evil Dead isn’t about deep plot or great characterization What we are here for is to watch our gradually disbanding group of pretty-young-things turn against one another and freaky shit happen – hopefully involving a chainsaw and a few dismembered body parts.
Alvarez’ movie is shot with no lack of style and eerie atmosphere. This is one creepy setting, but I knew that going into this. What I wasn’t expecting was a rather believable and emotional brother / sister relationship that helped carry the movie through a series of increasingly brutal, violent and show-stopping set pieces … yes we have a tongue split down the middle, an arm sawn off, lots and lots and lots of blood and yes, we have a chainsaw (groovy!). Gone is the slapstick humor of Evil Dead 2 in place of hardcore violence and no name actors doing a fairly good job at screaming and fighting, and turning into the possessed. Homages to movies like The Ring, The Exorcist etc were welcome, but I would have liked some better effects for the possessed folk bar some weird contact lenses and grimy skin and hair … and the whole deal was a little short on genuine scares (not sure if it was how this one was filmed, but almost all the big jumps did nothing for me). That being said when going into this, I wanted a fast, gory and effective horror movie, old-school 80s video nasty style – and for the most part … this delivered.
Verdict: 3.5 /5
Related articles
- Evil Dead (2013) (dawningcreates.com)
- ‘Evil Dead’ Reboot Sequel, ‘Army of Darkness 2,’ & a Crossover Movie Planned (screenrant.com)
- Review – Evil Dead (metropolitant.com)
- 5 Reasons You Should See Evil Dead at the Grosvenor (acinemadownalane.wordpress.com)
Craig's Movie Report 
Hmmm… I was skeptical on this one and didn’t take the time to see it. I like horror comedy, but lately I haven’t really been in the mood. Darren Aronofsky’s The Black Swan has creeped me out more often than most horror lately. If they tried to take out the humor for the remake, I think I’ll give it a chance and check it out. Thanks for posting the review.
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Good review! I was surprised at how good this remake turned out to be. In a way, as I’d only seen the first and original Evil Dead, it meant that I didn’t compare it with the more humorous elements said to have been shown in the previous sequels. I honestly thought this was a good scare fest though, but it was such a shame that the ‘cold turkey’ concept was dropped half way. They really could’ve messed around with that idea a bit more, as it was a refreshing narrative device rather than focusing on typical teenagers having a good time.
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Hey thanks for commenting!
To be honest the whole cold turkey thing slipped my mind once the demonic stuff hit the proverbial fan…but you make a good point.
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