Evil Dead (2013): A Macabre Review.

The poster above makes it's claims. But what do you, the moviegoers think?

Starring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas

Directed by Fede Alvarez

Well, here we are finally.  I've waited for what seemed like forever for this to come out.  It's funny, the very first time I heard this was being made, I was actually very against it.  Remakes for the most part really don't do anything for me, and quite often just annoy me and make me wish I never saw them.  And admittedly, I saw remaking Evil Dead borderline blasphemy.  But as time went on, I began to adjust to the idea.  And not long after that I saw the trailer, and I was on board ever since.  So which mind frame was the correct one?  Well let me tell you.....

It actually begins with a much different opening than I expected, where a father has to deal with a possessed daughter in a scene that takes place some time before the main story.  So right away we get a taste of what's to come later.  After that we get to our main cast driving to the cabin.  From here on anyone who has seen the original ED knows pretty much what's coming later in the movie.  They go about things slightly different this time, but the results are pretty much the same. One by one the group falls victim to possession, and as time goes on, it's a desperate struggle for survival for those who have yet to join the demon team.

The original Evil Dead is one of my all time favorite horror movies.  And I'm glad to say, the remake did not disappoint.  First off, this has sooo many references to the original, and yet not to the point where you get annoyed with it or think it's a shot for shot remake.  On the contrary.  While this does follow the same formula of "people get possessed, try to have others possessed", the delivery is somewhat different.  How the demons are first summoned is somewhat different, and there's a sort of alternate take on how to get rid of them.

Hmm, should I read the Necronomicon or something by Stephanie Meyer?  I welcome YOU, foul demons!!!! :)

I thought everybody's acting was very well done.  My personal favorite performance was done by Jane Levy, who played Mia.  She did an amazing job of playing out her various emotions, and really made me believe what she was going through.  Oh, and you original ED fans will figure out in very short time which characters mirror the original ED lineup.

The violence, oh the violence.  When the shit really started to go down, they really let you have it.  It a rare thing to get me to cringe or be bothered by anything that happens to a person in a movie, but Evil Dead actually managed to make me squirm a few times.  The effects were just amazing.  If you keep an ear open for the background noise, in many parts they used the same noise from the original.  And some of the music even closely resemble ED Classic.

I did have some very minor gripes with the movie, but I really blame those on my deep-rooted love for the original.  And to be honest, I really can't talk about those negatives without getting into spoilers.  Well, I guess I can say one thing.  It goes back to when I had earlier said there's a couple of alternate ways to dispatch them.  I sort of wish they just kept it to the old "bodily dismemberment"' trick.  But as I mentioned, in this case I do believe it's my love of the original that's talking, not the "supposed to be objective" reviewer part.

My final opinion is this: whether or not you're a fan of the Evil Dead trilogy, you need to see this movie.  From a remake stand point, it does a great job of staying true to the original while going in its own direction.  Not to mention it's one of the better remakes in the sea of remakes out there.  I could also put it this way: I can count on one hand the number of movies I've seen in the cinema more than once.  And Evil Dead is going to be one of them when I watch it a second time sometime in the next couple of days.  So for your own good, go and see it for yourself.  Rest in peace.

P.S.  There IS a little something after the credits, so stick around to find out what it is.  ;)

Macabre Rating: 4 out of 5 tombstones.