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:
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
- More tense than scary
No comments:
Post a Comment