Evil Dead
When the concept of an ‘Evil Dead’ remake was first announced to the world there was uproar from the legion of fans. A trilogy of films going from the downright scary to the cult status that ‘Army of Darkness’ became, it would be hard to impress a fanbase as large as that for the ‘Evil Dead’. Then before we begin, thank you Fede Alvarez.
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Forget the ‘Evil Dead’ you know. No Ash. No laughs. No chainsaw. Ok, scrap the last bit, the trusty chainsaw makes a very welcome return.
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David (Shiloh Fernandez), Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), Olivier (Jessica Lucas) and Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) head to the trusty cabin in the woods to help Mia (Jane Levy), a recovering drug addict by taking her into the middle of nowhere and letting her go cold turkey. Not only do they have to deal with Mia’s aggressive withdrawal but also a demon they awake by reading the passage of a certain book.
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From then on it’s all blood, guts and no mercy. ‘Evil Dead’ starts with a burning and a shot to the head, from that point on, it grabs you by the balls and takes you on a ride you won’t forget for a long time. What ‘The Evil Dead’ did for horror back in 1983, ‘Evil Dead’ is doing now. As a relatively unknown director, Alvarez has captured a perfect horror film that not only makes for an interesting entry into the franchise but also the horror film of this generation.
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There will be blood, and plenty of it, this pushes the boundary for mainstream cinema and makes ‘Hostel’ look like ‘My Little Pony’. Tongue splitting, limb slicing, head smashing, tree raping, nail piercing (with sound effects to rival the classic apple and pencil of the original) and one nasty battle with a chainsaw. Oh yes, there will be blood.
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Jane Levy’s performance as the possessed Mia gives Linda Blair’s Nancy Reagan a run for her money. The turn from anguished recovering addict to psychotic possession and final transportation into heroine takes from the likes of ‘The Descent’ and ‘Silent Hill’ leading the kick-ass heroine to the forefront of horror. Eric has the worst time, coming back more times than the Terminator, he does not have it good at all but each member of the cast plays their role well and even though Shiloh’s Derek seems somewhat underwhelmed by everyone around him, his pathetic persona pays off well when he turns hero.
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Alvarez has not only created a great shrine to the original but a standalone masterpiece that while referencing the original in plot and clues scattered around, shares very little else. When Ash went back in time, the rest of the ‘Evil Dead’ has moved forward with a revamp and a bang.
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Working as a very, very loose sequel that was possibly not intentional but down to opinion. The empty chainsaw, the worn down Delta ’88 that’s been there for some time and the blood stained basement door all show signs that there have been more than one attempt for the demon to gain the soul of five friends.
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To call this a remake or a reboot would be sacrilegious to the original and somehow just falls shy of becoming the masterpiece that made Sam Raimi. This is a complete reimagining that takes the core and rips it open limb-by-limb. In a few years time will we be celebrating this as a classic? Maybe but this is best seen as an unbeatable horror film for our generation of gore loving, plot loosing heretics, so endured and enticed by the ‘Splat Pack’.
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Will ‘Evil Dead’ become as iconic as the classic original? Only time will tell but for now one thing is for sure ‘Evil Dead’ packs a fistful of boomstick.
Director: Fede Alvarez
Year: 2013
Running Time: 91 minutes
Age Rating: 18
RATING

Plot: 3
Fear: 2
Gore: 5

R4/5​
