Movie Review: Evil Dead (remake)

“Oh great, another boring horror remake!” That’s probably what went through most horror movie buffs’ heads when they heard that Sony Pictures Entertainment was remaking the 1981 classic horror film The Evil Dead. “They are going to destroy the character of Ash from the original Evil Dead, just like they did to the iconic Robert Englund version of Freddy Kruger in the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street, aren’t they?!” Well, not quite. As a matter of fact, the character of Ash isn’t featured in this remake at all. This is one of few films where diehard fans of the original (and even some critics, scoring a 62% on Rotton Tomatoes, which is high for a horror film) have actually praised the remake.

The film, directed by Fede Alvarez, centers around four friends who gather in a cabin out in the woods to help another friend kick a bad drug habit. Upon arriving to the cabin, the young adults start exploring the place when they come across a book that appears to be made of flesh and written in blood. Of course, one of the nosey teens just HAS to pick up the book (which clearly says in it DO NOT READ) and reads a passage out loud, thus putting a curse on one of them. Once this happens, eerie stuff starts to happen to one of the girls, and any time blood spread from one person to another, they get infected, just like a virus. It eventually infects most of the crew and the only way to save them is an ancient burial of sorts and other rituals.

This movie is pretty brutal. There’s definitely plenty of blood and missing limbs in this remake. Now, this film was not only backed by original director Sam Raimi, but he himself actually helped produce it, along with Bruce Campbell, who played the main character “Ash”, in the original Evil Dead trilogy back in the 80s and early 1990s. The film used practical effects for most of its gore, and there’s a lot of it! As a matter of fact, it didn’t pass its’ first few rating screenings due to the amount of gore it contained and several scenes had to be edited or re shot to cut down on the goriness. Was this movie perfect though? No, it’s a horror movie. Of course you’re going to have your clichés (teen/young adults in a random cabin in the middle of nowhere, getting into stuff they shouldn’t be doing), your terrible acting, and your unrealistic plot. But, once again, it’s a horror movie, it’s not meant to be perfect.

Overall, I’d say this was a pretty well made and fun film. If you’re a horror film fan, you should definitely check it out. Also, if you’re a fan of the original “Evil Dead” franchise, make sure to stick around after the credits for a little surprise. It is not much, but it is still something that will make your inner fanboy feel “Groovey” on the inside.

[rate 4.5]