Probably the best approach to seeing The Evil Dead (2013) is to forget it is called Evil Dead. Think of it instead as “People, For Dubious Reasons Go Into The Woods And Inexplicably Read An Evil Book They Shouldn’t And Gross Things Happen”. If you do this? Your viewing experience will be improved.
This isn’t to say this is a bad movie. It isn’t at all. It is a stylishly directed film whose actors make the most of the script they were handed. It looks great, it is way more disgusting than the original but it doesn’t spend so much money as to profane the original film’s low budget roots.
There are changes in the plot that are nowhere near drastic enough to be called “twists.” There is also something really promising in the work of first time director Fede Alvarez. It is just a professionally done horror film that, if not perfect, never lags. It isn’t exceptionally scary, as the ad campaign claims but the original wasn’t really scary, even at the time. It was gross and it was sort of creepy. This film is, as mentioned, far “grosser” and almost manages the creepy thing as well.
There is also something to recommend the film in how a first time director like Alvarez, was the one picked to work this film. It was, way back when, producers Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s first movie (as director and lead actor respectively). The reason the film was lifted from obscurity was the attention paid by Stephen King. In a way, this remake is the duo’s way of “paying it forward” and, from this film, Alvarez, seems a really promising horror director. He is a far better horror director than some hacks that have tossed out horror movies in recent months.
And who wants to step into the remake of a film that, pretty close to, invented a genre? It takes some guts but when you get the offer, you take it. Alvarez deserves credit.
This isn’t to say this is a bad movie. It isn’t at all. It is a stylishly directed film whose actors make the most of the script they were handed. It looks great, it is way more disgusting than the original but it doesn’t spend so much money as to profane the original film’s low budget roots.
There are changes in the plot that are nowhere near drastic enough to be called “twists.” There is also something really promising in the work of first time director Fede Alvarez. It is just a professionally done horror film that, if not perfect, never lags. It isn’t exceptionally scary, as the ad campaign claims but the original wasn’t really scary, even at the time. It was gross and it was sort of creepy. This film is, as mentioned, far “grosser” and almost manages the creepy thing as well.
There is also something to recommend the film in how a first time director like Alvarez, was the one picked to work this film. It was, way back when, producers Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s first movie (as director and lead actor respectively). The reason the film was lifted from obscurity was the attention paid by Stephen King. In a way, this remake is the duo’s way of “paying it forward” and, from this film, Alvarez, seems a really promising horror director. He is a far better horror director than some hacks that have tossed out horror movies in recent months.
And who wants to step into the remake of a film that, pretty close to, invented a genre? It takes some guts but when you get the offer, you take it. Alvarez deserves credit.
The film actually develops characters a tiny, tiny bit more than the first film which, frankly, doesn’t bother developing characters at all. Jane Levy (Shameless), as Mia, is a drug addict brought to the cabin by friends and family (estranged friends in part) to help her rehab. Betty Ford might have been a better choice but there you might run into Lindsey Lohan.
So we get she is damaged and why, when weird things happen, no one believes her. It is a good adaptation of the original plot. We get her brother abandoned her and we get she and some of the friends resent him. We don’t need a great deal of back story to bring the plot to a grinding halt via flashbacks and poignant conversations about lost youth. This movie is called EVIL DEAD not The Cider House Rules.
There is no bad acting in this film. The special effects are all professional and disgusting. The plot is something they at the VERY least try to make coherent. Even if it doesn’t bear close inspection, it does so better than the original. But this is never as original as the 1981 film. But how could it be?
Go see this if you are a horror fan and think about how they could make an Evil Dead II with the last survivor at the helm that WOULD break new horror ground. That would be fantastic.
So we get she is damaged and why, when weird things happen, no one believes her. It is a good adaptation of the original plot. We get her brother abandoned her and we get she and some of the friends resent him. We don’t need a great deal of back story to bring the plot to a grinding halt via flashbacks and poignant conversations about lost youth. This movie is called EVIL DEAD not The Cider House Rules.
There is no bad acting in this film. The special effects are all professional and disgusting. The plot is something they at the VERY least try to make coherent. Even if it doesn’t bear close inspection, it does so better than the original. But this is never as original as the 1981 film. But how could it be?
Go see this if you are a horror fan and think about how they could make an Evil Dead II with the last survivor at the helm that WOULD break new horror ground. That would be fantastic.
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