EVIL DEAD (2013)

'EVIL DEAD' is the 2013 remake of the classic Sam Raimi film from 1981 and stars Jane Levy as a young drug addict named Mia who travels with her friends to her family's old cabin in the woods to detox. They soon find themselves fighting for their lives after they unleash an ancient evil when they discover the sinister 'Book of the Dead'.


As with many remakes (or rather all of them) there are always reservations and let's face it flat out hatred from fans of any film genre. A good example is in the video below, but sometimes we get a nice surprise and 'Evil Dead' is quite the surprise. Being produced by the original developers of the franchise, there was always some hope for this one, however I was quite surprised at just how enjoyable this film was. It will never top the 1981 classic of course, even with updated makeup and special effects the original film will always have that first time charm but for what this 2013 offering gives us I left the theater pleased.

 (Most remakes to our eyes)

Really the main thing to discuss here is the special effects, as with any 'Evil Dead' film it is the highlight and here they deliver in spades. The gore and monster effects on display here are so spectacular and so gruesome it surprises me to this day how it passed with an 'R' rating. limbs are cut off, people are shot with nails, stabbed with needles, and various other horrific mutilations. The film ends with blood literally raining from the sky. This definitely satisfied the gore-hound in me and will in any fan of splatter flicks.

Unfortunately, where the film falls is in its characters. Like the original film, the cabin dwellers in question were not that interesting (Bruce Campbell's Ash wouldn't really come into his own until the sequel I'm sad to say) and here while they are a bit more distinctive, some characters barely get any lines in the film before they become demon fodder. The film is really all about Mia and her overcoming of her literal and figurative demons and it makes the film work for its short run time. I only wish that we got something else out of these other actors. At least give them a reason to be there, which one female character seems to not been given one.

 

 A great addition to the remake is its fantastic camera work and color palette which have thankfully been carried over from Mr. Raimi's original film. This is one of the most imaginative looking remakes I have seen and one of the best looking horror films in several years. The POV camerawork is carried over as well to great effect and the many close up shots and various twisting of the cameras make it a beautiful film to look at each time, even in the film's most gory moments it still stands out in a sick but pretty way with bright red blood and an over-the-top aspect to everything.

All in all, most horror fans will find little to hate about the 'Evil Dead' remake. It will never top those that came before it, but on its own it's one of the best horror films of the decade in a land of barren wasteland known as the horror genre. I recommend this one highly, it proudly sits with the others in the franchise on my DVD shelf and it should on yours as well.

((A))

Pros: 

-Special Effects

-Camera Work

-Jane Levy

Cons:

-Characterization 

-Shallow at times

-Slightly too long

'Evil Dead' is available on DVD/Blu-Ray now! Be sure to check out Fede Alverez's newest film 'Don't Breathe' on August 26th, 2016.