Evil Dead Review
As a massive fan of the 1981 original, I entered the cinema prepared to be disappointed, based off most of the other horror remakes that have been released in the past few years, all being terrible (apart from maniac). I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed, as such.
For anyone who is unaware of the Evil Dead films, the original trilogy released during the 80's and 90's are loved by most horror fans, mostly due to the genre pioneering original and the post modern comedy sequel. The remake, while not directed by Sam Raimi, does have him and some of the other production teams that were present on the originals working in the background, which is always somewhat reliving. It's pretty apparent that Fede Alvarez, the new film's director, was attempting to pay tribute to the original, while also creating a new style of film for the younger generation, and in my view he succeeded. The narrative is pretty similar to the original film, but this time the reason for going to the cabin is so one of the party can go cold turkey, and while it doesn't stray from the formula too much, it does have moments which elevate it above your standard teen horror flick. The moments come in the form of subtle references to the original trilogy, the way certain scenes are shot or the fact that the cabin looks exactly the same as the original give a sense of nostalgia, which makes the narrative seem less monotonous to the people who have seen the original.
In terms of technicalities, the look of the film is spot on. The cinematography is beautiful, even for a grimy film like this, and the familiar swooping camera returns from the original. The set design is again brilliant, and is a great throwback to the originals, making the film seem closer to home to fans of the franchise. The effects in Evil Dead are absolutely disgusting, which is a relief, I was fully expecting the film to be much tamer than the original in gore and blood, but to be fair I think this one surpasses it. Some of the scenes are downright repulsive, Alvarez isn't afraid of giving the audience what they wanted and more, some scenes left me clasping my hand over my mouth at the sheer hideousness of them. The performances are solid, with the standout being Jane Levey as the drug addict Mia, and while shes no Ash, she does add to the horrifying atmosphere. While the atmosphere is brilliant, and the gore unrelenting, I did feel slightly let down at the sheer scare factor of it. This might be due to my overexposure to horror films but I felt that it could have done with a bit more oomph in the disturbingly scary category, it was just too glossy to really have any true scare potential.
To any fans of the original, I would strongly urge you to at least try the remake, while its more style over substance, and the indie vibe is gone, it does succeed in creating some gory and over the top moments that the series is known for. The narrative may not stray from the path, but it is the original evil dead that paved the way, so in essence nothing was really needed narrative wise to make this any more entertaining. If you haven't seen the original, I would suggest watching it before the remake so you can catch some of the nods, but otherwise its a great horror film and is well above the standard set these days.
8/10
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