That One Guys Reviews

Evil Dead

“Feast on this, motherf----“

Back in 1981, the world was introduced to the original “cabin in the woods” style film, known as “The Evil Dead.” Written and directed by Sam Raimi and starring now-pop culture icon Bruce Campbell, the film followed five teenagers into a cabin where they find a book called the Necronomicon in the basement and then proceed to unleash a demonic force that threatens to kill them all. The movie itself is known for its low-budget and particularly clever use of practical effects, along with being over-the-top with said practical effects. The movie spawned two sequels, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness (although ED2 is more of a remake of the original while bringing out the comedic aspect a bit more) and since then, nothing. Sam Raimi went on to helm movies such as the Spider-Man trilogy and Bruce Campbell went on to be a complete badass who is Bruce Campbell. Flash forward 32 years and we finally have the true vision of what Sam Raimi himself said he wanted for “Evil Dead”. It’s gruesome, cringe-worthy, bloody, gory, and an ultimately satisfying great time and stands as what just may be the greatest horror movie remake of all time.

Story:

“Evil Dead” takes place, chronologically, 30 years after the events of the first film. This creates a sequel…..remake…..thing. Anyways, the film starts off with a young girl being chased through the woods before being captured by two horribly disfigured men. The scenery then changes to inside a house as we see the same young girl tied to a beam with barbed wire. Without spoiling too much, this girl isn’t quite who we think she is. After that intro, we’re treated to the film title…logo….thing, and then we follow a car that takes us to a creaky cabin in the woods. Here, we meet our five main characters: Mia, Daniel, Eric, Olivia, and Natalie. They’re all at the cabin to help Mia deal with going cold turkey from her dope addiction. It’s a great twist on the story because it provides a great outlet for the whole demon possession scenario. Mia starts freaking out and saying there were things out in the woods and her friends blame it on her withdrawal from the dope. Honestly, you could look at this movie as Mia fighting her drug addiction, her inner demon. We see Mia’s inner demon through a good bit of the movie and it provides for a tense film. Then, once they find the book in the basement, all hell breaks loose. Once the Necronomicon has been opened and read from, this gory, bloody, adrenaline fueled thrill ride doesn’t stop. The story is a modern twist on the classic film and, while not mind-numbingly brilliant, it’s told very well. It’s nice to see a horror film with a good story, for once. One thing I will complain about the story though is that it’s not very scary. Gory? Yes. Tense? Very. It’s just not very scary. Also, the film slows down as it makes its way to a LITERALLY blood-soaked finale. Not enough to REALLY bother, but enough to just make mention of it. Also, the ending is fantastic. Seriously. Be prepared.

Cast:

Jane Levy as Mia is perfection. She is the shining point in this film. From the beginning when we see her confidently get rid of all the dope in her possession to her reaching her breaking point, Jane gives an absolute masterpiece of a performance. The rest of the cast is rather average, however. They all do their jobs well, but they don’t go any further than that. If anything, I’d say that Shiloh Fernandez gave a good performance as David, but against Jane Levy’s performance, it’s rather difficult to see it as much more than just “good.” Eric, played by Lou Taylor Pucci, becomes rather badass by the end of the film simply because of how much he takes from the whole scenario, despite being the one who started the whole damn thing. Bastard. My main complaint with the cast though, and this includes Jane Levy, is that a good bit of the dialogue feels very forced, as though it wasn’t written to sound like a natural conversation. The actors did the best they could, but sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder “There is no way that somebody would actually talk like that.” Maybe it has to deal with Alvarez not speaking English as his first language? Who knows? The demon also delivered some…..less than stellar dialogue as well. Some of it was pretty bad….pret-ty bad….

Visual:

Evil Dead is a feast for the eyes……maybe that was a poor choice of words. Anyways, the film uses as little CGI as possible, instead relying upon practical effects that make every cut, dismemberment, tear, rip, etc., look as gritty, brutal, and disgusting as possible. It’s a visual treat and it makes for some incredibly cringe-worthy moments. One of my favorites in particular involves a large box cutter and a rather disturbing forced make out session. You’ll know it when you see it. The cinematography is also beautiful. The woods are eerie, the cabin is creaky and creepy, and the scenery is just plain nice to look at, despite the fact that it’s actually gross. There are also a few homages to the original films with certain sequences involving mutilation of the body. See how many you can find. Also, in reference to the final act again, I’m pretty sure it has more blood than any horror movie ever. Why? It’s raining it. Literally. An incredible feat, for sure.

Audio:

The music, when used, is used to great effect. I really enjoyed the fact that most of this movie is the ambient sounds of the woods and the scenery, rather than music. The cast can be heard clearly so there’s never any confusion on what they said and the sound effects are perfect. Bone crunching, flesh tearing, and slicing have never been so delightful.

Overall:

Go see this damn movie. While not without its flaws, Evil Dead is still an absolute blast and a must-see for any self-respecting horror fan. The gore and blood is plenty and delicious, Jane Levy gives a masterful performance as a disturbed and withdrawing drug addict/demon possessed human, the sound design is fantastic, and there’s something to be said about a horror movie with a story that’s this thought out. There are some issues with the supporting cast, the forced dialogue, and the distinct lack of “scare” in the film, but that’s certainly not enough to stop anyone from having a damn good time enjoying this fantastic take on the cult horror classic. The homages that are sprinkled through the movie are plentiful and the fact that Fede Alvarez has so much love for the original shows throughout the entirety of the film. Evil Dead stands atop as one of not only the best horror film remakes of all time, but as one of the best remakes of all time.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Pros:

+ Jane Levy as Mia was FANTASTIC

+ Practical effects gore was incredible

+ Honored the source material

+ Final act probably has the most blood in a horror movie. Ever.

Cons:

- Dialogue felt forced in a good chunk of the film, especially with the supporting cast

- Slowed down near the third act
- More tense than scary

Hey everybody and welcome to That One Guys Reviews!
My name is Andrew Clark and on this page, I'll be reviewing the latest in movies, games, anime, etc. I'll also be giving you as many scoops on the entertainment industry as I can and when I can! This does NOT count stupid tabloids on celebrities. I'm talking about the stuff that everybody ACTUALLY cares about. New game announcements, new movie announcements, new casting announcements, etc. I'll do my best to make sure you guys are informed!

My first review will be Fede Alvarez's remake of the 1981 classic, "Evil Dead".
Keep an eye out as I'll have that up within a few hours.

You can find me on twitter @AndrewClark427 where I'll randomly be posting times that I'll be playing games on my PS3 so that you guys can join me in some of those and I'll also host live streaming sessions where you guys can ask me questions about the entertainment industry and things of that nature.

I hope you guys come to enjoy the blog! I'll post as often as I can and I'll also be doing reviews of older movies too. This will include The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Hobbit, Star Trek (in preparation for the ST: Into Darkness), Dredd, Silver Linings Playbook, and many others.

Remember, this is all one guys opinion, so don't take it as a fact. Just use it to help YOU decide what you wanna do about it.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys!

Andrew C.

That One Guys Reviews

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Update #1!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Evil Dead Review

Welcome to the page!