Reviewed: Evil Dead

Upon learning that Evil Dead (2013) was a box office hit - $26million + in just it's first three days at time of writing - I was not as surprised as some Hollywood moguls seemed to be. In the first place, themovie series had a cult following that extended well beyond the generation (mine) that saw the original film, The Evil Dead, in theaters. Secondly, the publicists for the film made a powerful promise: “The most terrifying film you will ever experience...” Finally, Bruce Campbell, who played Ash in the original films, was involved in the film. Campbell, an actor / director / producer / author / myriad of other hats, has achieved quite a cult following.

I was quick to size up the cast in accordance with the characters who appeared in the original cast. Drug addicted Mia corresponded to crabby Cheryl, stoic David to Ash, David’s girlfriend Natalie to the lovely Linda, which left Olivia the nurse to the original character of Shelly and Eric a much preferred version of Scott, whose character was quite useless in the original film. I felt that making an association from the original was natural; five young people go to a secluded cabin in the woods. The cabin was eerily similar to the one in the original, from the time-worn exterior to the fact that it appeared bigger on the inside...

In this modern remake, the young group had a mission: to help Mia kick her drug addiction once and for all. The group stood by somberly as Mia made a dramatic promise and dumped out a bag of toast-crumb-ish drugs. Little did she know that the group made a secret pact to keep her there until the poison was out of her system to avoid the disaster that was her last intervention. Mia’s brother David, who had left his sister alone with their dying mother, was hesitant to agree, feeling that “being there” for his little sis meant driving her home if she wanted to leave.

Back in the cabin, Eric pages through the ancient skin-bound book that the group found in the basement, a tome that features incantations as well as numerous warnings written over the original script. Ah yes, the fabled Necronomicon that ties the series together. Oblivious to the dire warnings written in bright red in the book, Eric uncovers the ancient words that conjure demonic evil and unleashes unmitigated, gore-ridden terror. As Eric continues to page through the book, he realizes that its pages creepily mirror unfolding events taking place in the cabin...

Although Evil Dead has its own storyline, several scenes pay homage to The Evil Dead released in 1981. For example, the 'Evil' powerfully rushes through the woods in similar brilliant cinematic fashion. I was quite excited when a deck of cards made an appearance, but to my despair, the original's significant card scene wasn’t one that this film chose to remake. It’s too bad, because the “Queen of spades, four of hearts, eight of spades, two of spades, Jack of diamonds, Jack of clubs….ROWRRGH!” scene was one of the most frightening of the original film.

The new film has some advantages over the original, to be sure. First and foremost, the budget is higher. The soundtrack is definitely superior; no part of the film sounds like it was filmed in a high school locker room. The superior sound allows for a lot of involuntary jumps and starts in the audience. In addition, special effects have come a very long way since 1981. The mayhem and gore are fantastically effective; no cottage cheesy-looking, evil ,gooey substance to be found in the top-notch FX.

But part of the problem I encountered with the film as a remake was that the film WAS very similar in parts to the remake, YETwildly different in others. One cannot help but draw comparisons because of those similarities and that may end up to be an issue for followers of the series like myself. Perhaps if the film was publicised as a continuance of the series rather than a remake, I wouldn’t have been so annoyed with the “...will they or won’t they show that cool scene from the other film” thoughts that plagued me throughout. I would have been more satisfied with a title such as Evil Dead: The Next Generation or Evil Dead: New Beginnings or even Evil Dead: The Chainsaw Returns.

Viewed as a film independent of the series, I can honestly say that it is quite good. Evil Dead holds a lot of suspense, terror, and gore. Instead of kids sneaking into a haunted building as we see in so many horror films these days, the young people go to a family cabin  for a specific, valid reason: to help a friend go through drug withdrawal. Without giving away too much, I will say that would have preferred a more aesthetically frightening “ultimate” demon toward the end of the film; the last creature just wasn’t very scary looking. Having said that, the movie was more than passable as a horror flick.

Since the movie is marketed as a remake, I have to say that I didn’t enjoy it as much as the original, which I have now viewed numerous times. It just didn’t have the soul (no pun intended) of the first. Something ethereal was lost in the new, high-budget film. Perhaps a Bruce Campbell “sandwich”, with Campbell appearing in an extended cameo at the beginning and end of the film would have tied it together for me. For the most part, however, I encourage people to watch this movie and judge it on its own merits. New fans will love it; fans of the series will enjoy it immensely as long as they think of it as sort of an Evil Dead 4 tribute.

Also a note for completists: Stick around for a short scene following the credits.

8/10