Evil Dead

          It seems as long as Hollywood has intellectual properties of both classic and cult films alike, the re-make machine will never stop cranking ‘em out.  The cheapest of which to make are horror films, where in the past few years we’ve been subjected to lesser versions of “Halloween”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street”.  In the case of “Evil Dead” a re-make/re-imagining of the 1981 Sam Raimi cult classic “The Evil Dead” will the die-hard fans of the original be pleased more than the casual weekend horror movie fan, or will either one for that matter?  The answer is: yes…and sorta.

The film begins pretty much as the original did; five students get together in a cabin in the woods.  Unlike the original though, the reason for the getaway is to help one of them (Mia) go through detox, thinking that in the middle of nowhere, nothing could go wrong.  This was a clever original idea, seeing as how she will be the one that eventually becomes possessed, however they didn’t fully take advantage of this new slant.  Instead the implausible and not-so-bright young adults let things get out of hand pretty quickly.  Once the possession happens, in a moment that’s almost as terrifying as the original the film turns into your basic jump-scare, creepy eye, gorefest.  There are things you have seen before and a few others you may not have (a scene with a box-cutter comes to mind), and of course when you introduce a nail-gun in the first act, it really needs to go off by the third, and boy does it ever.  If you’ve seen the original you will see most things coming, if you haven’t then you can probably venture a guess based on other horror films of this type.

  Which is not to say it’s all bad and predictable, but when you tout your film in the poster as “The most terrifying film you will ever experience.” They better be able to deliver on some level.  I didn’t find it particularly scary, but as far as the bloodshed goes, there is some pretty horrendous images, and they rely very little on CGI, which helps with the more cringe worthy moments.  I give a lot of credit to director Fede Alvarez for his choice of camera angles, and some of the shot compositions, they were fantastic, and Jane Levy as Mia and Lou Taylor Pucci as Eric were the standouts as far as the acting goes.

When it comes to remakes, they’re typically only seems to be one of two directions they can go in.  They can be completely different, like Burton’s “Planet of the Apes” or shot-for-shot like Van Sant’s “Psycho” neither of which do a good job.  Or there is the rare film, that takes the essence of the original while still making it feel that it was made with a modern audience in mind.  I wouldn’t put “Evil Dead” in a category with the bad remakes, and whereas it’s not as good as something like the ‘80’s remade versions of “The Thing” and “The Fly” it is a true love letter to the original film and still manages to be a really enjoyable horror film.  (Final note to hardcore fans:  Stay to the end of the credits)

 

--Robert L. Castillo