Despite being a remake of the 1981 cult classic,
Evil Dead is a fun, respectable homage to the original supported with Sam Raimi's and Bruce Campbell's blessing that in the end turns out to be one of the most entertaining and gruesomely awesome low budget horror film of the last few years.
The film introduces the viewers to a group of long time friends who meet in an oh so cliche cabin deep in the woods where they plan to use this isolation as a way for one of their members, a girl named Mia, to quit her heroin addiction. While exploring the cabin, they come across a hidden cellar door where they find a Sumerian version of The Book of the Dead. Despite multiple warnings in the book to not read from it, it is revealed that a demon must take five souls in order to enter the world of the living. The demon then takes possession of Mia after she attempts to escape the woods and her plans of cold turkey. After they find her in the woods and take her back to the cabin, Mia with the demon attached to her soul proceeds to kill the other members one by one.
Horror fans can expect the usual slow camera pans and the creepy pop up moments that reveal the antagonist usually standing behind a character or in a mirror as well as the cliche characters such as the man of science, the dumb blonde, the pretty boy and the African-American girl but what
Evil Dead brings so fantastically to the table is the gore. There are many, many bloody cringe worthy moments that would more than well make the squeamish very uncomfortable. With the exception of Mia
(Jane Levy), the other cast members are easily forgettable but they do serve their purpose as horror movie characters well. Some lines and moments can be quite corny, possibly even killing the mood, but those are really small gripes in an otherwise entertaining film.
The original
The Evil Dead/Army of Darkness Trilogy has reached such cult-status among fans, the idea of a remake was not well received at first but given that the original director and lead actor gave the film their blessing as well as lending a hand in writing and producing the film, fans should feel at ease knowing this. It may lack the absurd humor of the original and have a more serious undertone but like the original, it is best not to take this film too seriously. There are a number of nods and references seen that have become synonymous with the series such as the Oldsmobile, the chainsaw and of course the double barreled "Boomstick". Some of the most memorable scenes from the original have been re-imagined like the Tracking Shot in the woods and the forest rape but it would not be considered an
Evil Dead film without a few bodily dismemberments, which thankfully there are.
While it boasts to be "The Most Terrifying Film You Will Ever Experience" as seen sprawled across the posters, it most certainly is not. It is quite terrifying and creepy at times but to call it "The Most Terrifying" is a bit of a stretch. Despite that there are plenty of fantastic scare moments and gruesome gore scenes that are definitely not recommended for the squeamish. With two sequels already in development and the possibility of Mia and the original trilogy's iconic hero Ash Williams teaming up in one of those sequels, it will be interesting to see where the series goes from here. One of the better remakes in recent years
Evil Dead is a wonderful, fun, respectable homage to 1981's
The Evil Dead that horror fans will either love, hate, enjoy equally as much as the original or find it to be just plain "Groovy".
