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My Thoughts On The Evil Dead Remake.
So I saw the new Evil Dead (2013) remake the other night with some friends, and figured I'd share my thoughts on it. Before I get to my review, I must preface it by saying that while I absolutely love the original Evil Dead trilogy, and generally loathe modern horror remakes, I went into this movie with an open mind and no real expectations. I wanted to give it a fair shot and hopefully have a good time at the theater with my chums. Also, I'm not gonna deliver any clever movie critic one-liners like, "Evil Dead? More like Evil Dud! Heyooooo!!" with this review. I just want to give an honest, spoiler-free breakdown that will hopefully help you decide whether or not it's worth watching. With that in mind, I'm going to break this review of Evil Dead into two simple sections - the good and the bad. Let's get to it:
The Good:
If there's one thing I can praise about the new Evil Dead film, it's gotta be the nearly complete lack of CGI. Given how the majority of mainstream horror flicks have been using CGI far too much over the past decade, it's refreshing to see one using the real deal. Tangible blood, puke and gore effects will always look far superior to all the computer-generated crap, and that's one big reason why horror movies from back in the day are far more satisfying to watch. This movie is excessively bloody, gory, pukey... you name it. Most of the effects are traditional, and the blood is all there, dousing each of the actors and their wounds at some point or another.
So yeah, if you're a fan of gore, this movie will definitely satiate your appetite for destruction. You will be pleased. Just don't expect it to be like Dead Alive, which was the Double Dare of messy horror films in my mind, and I'm convinced no movie will ever top that one in terms of over-the-top carnage. That said, it's at least better than most modern remakes, so long as you're not expecting it to be right on par with Dawn of the Dead.
The only other truly good thing I can say about the movie is that they didn't try to replace Bruce Campbell's amazing performance as Ash. There is no replacing Bruce, and had they attempted to do so, I imagine many horror fans would've burned movie theaters to the ground in protest. So, it's definitely good to see the filmmakers knew this, went with their own separate storyline, and didn't attempt to deliver us a new version of Ash. A wise decision indeed.
The Bad:
While they didn't try to replace Ash, which is good, the film lacks any characters that you actually give a damn about, which is bad for something like Evil Dead. Horror movies are notorious for having sub-par actors, which is fine, but there's almost always one or two that you enjoy seeing make it 'til the end. You want to have that one person to root for... that one person who will fight through utter hell and, against all odds, somehow manage to come out on top.
With the new Evil Dead, you just don't find yourself invested in any of the characters or caring about what they've been through. That'd be fine if Evil Dead was a movie like A Nightmare on Elm Street, where you at least have an iconic bad guy to cheer for even if you don't care about the actors, but Evil Dead doesn't have that. It never did. Evil Dead has a book - the Necronomicon. And unless that book sprouts arms, legs, and starts carrying an axe, I don't think I'm gonna be cheering for it in a modern horror flick any time soon.
It's also supposed to be a pure horror movie, like the original Evil Dead, so it doesn't have the campy feel of Evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness. While that's fine in itself, as a horror movie, it fails to deliver any scares. The official poster describes it as "The most terrifying film you will ever experience", when in fact, it's nothing of the sort. Not even remotely. This movie didn't make me jump or startle me even once. There was no sense of tension or urgency to it whatsoever. Instead, it just felt like a paint-by-numbers exercise in, "forget the scares, let's just see how much more blood we can splatter as time goes by." But you feel no sense of panic or dread while it's all happening.
The original Evil Dead film was nerve-racking as hell, and its sequels had plenty of jump-worthy moments too. Tension... it matters.
The director (Fede Alvarez) obviously tried to pay homage to Sam Raimi's classic work a few times by having the camera move quickly through the woods. Nice try, but unfortunately, his camera work pales in comparison with Raimi's techniques. With Raimi, you felt like the camera was absolutely out of control as it sped through the woods like some unstoppable, unseen force hellbent on destroying anything in its path. You didn't know if it was going to catch up with Ash or crash right into a tree, and all you could do while this happened was hold your breath and grip the edges of your seat. I still feel on edge when I watch those movies to this day, and I've seen them countless times.
None of that happens in the new film. It feels too polished... the camera just glides past the trees at a fast pace. There's no urgency to it, and you don't get the sense that you're seeing the world fly by through the eyes of some reckless demonic force. No cameras mounted to bicycles here. No crew members or equipment in any danger.
Sam Raimi made you feel like he was literally ramming his film camera into things just to pull off a crazy shot, endangering both his equipment and his crew. That's not the case with the new Evil Dead. With this one, you get the feeling they were more concerned about protecting their expensive film equipment than going for glory in any of the shots. Perhaps, to create engaging horror on film, one must experience a little horror while actually filming it.
Wrap-up:
In the end, Evil Dead (2013) is a visually entertaining modern horror flick with a fairly heavy amount of carnage in it, but it's also completely forgettable due to the inferior camera work, bland characters, and a complete lack of tension. You may have a good time watching it with friends for the first time if you like enjoy ridiculous gore scenes, just don't expect it to appear in your required annual horror film viewing rotation.
I'm sure some of you have already seen the movie, so feel free to post your opinions about it in this thread and I'll be happy to blab with ya about all things Evil Dead.
One last thing: If you do decide to check out the movie, be sure to keep watching past the end credits for something that will put a big smile on your face.
14 comments
Jables (Guest) on 04/08/2013 3:27 pm
I liked the way the remake payed homage to the original, yet didn't attempt to feed off it. It could easily be a stand-alone flick. Groovy.
ryot on 04/08/2013 3:28 pm
Cool review RoG. I watched the movie this past weekend with a friend who was about 6 beers and 1 weed cookie intoxicated. He loved it of course. I on the other hand thought it was OK. This is my opinion of the movie, not necessarily a review.
The Good:
- They didn't chose to use the exact evil dead idea in terms of story. Sure the book is there, but so is heroin and addiction. So in a subliminal way "Mia" was going through literal hell to beat her addiction (I bet after all was said and done she went back to town and shot up).
- The sound design was killer. I couldn't tell if the weird swooping voices were in my head or the theater..Plus the little snippets from the original in certain parts put a smile on my face.
- Lots of gore, broken bones, and duct tape.
- DUCT TAPE FIXES EVERYTHING.
The bad:
- I couldn't help but notice that the "witch demon" thing looked a lot like those lame "witch demon girl" things from "the ring" movies. Those aren't scary, and are actually kind of annoying.
- No scares, nothing that I really remember that would be a classic, "remember that line and/or scene when.."
- The demon's eyes.. I miss the white glassy eyes that the actual actors had to endure real horror with. The new eyes looked kinda lame.(cgi?)
Overall, this movie is one that imo shouldn't have been remade. It was fine the way it was, but I'm glad that it did to allow viewers who never even knew it was a remake to watch it and maybe go back and watch the original.
p.s. My friend, and 6 other dorks (including myself) stayed till after the credits for... "that's it?" Oh well it was still...Groovy.
B-
Rob Man on 04/08/2013 4:02 pm
I am looking forward to seeing (Evil Dead) this coming weekend, and really do appreciate the honest review from you -RoG-. When I do read a review from "critics", they usually love the movie and can't stop talking about how great it is, or they hate it and ramble on-and-on about how poorly it was made and you should pass-up on seeing it. I just hope one day that the remake (Army of Darkness). So, out of 1-5 pickles how many would you give this film?
Thanks!
David (Guest) on 04/08/2013 4:52 pm
No interest in seeing this. It did well at the box office, so I have no need to pay for a ticket just to make sure they remake Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness.
As far as I'm concerned, the original trilogy is pretty perfect the way it is.
Captain Seamus on 04/08/2013 5:58 pm
I read another fan review that said it was pretty great, and my brother liked it well enough. All told, I'm getting the impression that the movie is just average.
It's a shame, but I've heard rumors that they're doing a true sequel to Army of Darkness, so at least there's that.
Bode (Guest) on 04/08/2013 7:11 pm
This is a above par remake of a classic we all grew up with. Go with some friends and try no to flinch or cover your eyes.
The gore is top notch, the camera work isn't Raimi, but Fede is more than competent, in fact I would say better than I had hoped for.
As for being scared, I never watched Evil Dead to be scared (and obviously not ED2 or Army of Darkness). It was for the buckets of blood and chainsaws. Seeing this remake with a crowd is what really sold me though. I haven't had this much fun in a theatre in long time.
A-bomb on 04/08/2013 7:28 pm
Thanks for the review, Rog. I'm a big fan of the ED trilogy and I was on the fence about seeing this remake. You really helped me make up my mind.
HowardC on 04/10/2013 5:29 pm
Probably the best thing about this film is Rami and his brother are using the hype/funds generated by it to make a sequel to Army of Darkness!!
Campbell is on board as well, which is why you'll see him promoting this train wreck. He said in a recent interview that if this film needed to be successful to make a sequel to the original trilogy, that he'd do his part.
Also Rami is the sole reason they didn't put Ash in the remake. He refused to give them permission essentially saying that only Bruce could be Ash and Bruce similarly saying that he'll only play Ash if Rami is directing.
Wyldflame on 04/10/2013 10:49 pm
I caught it last night and ended up watching the original when I got home.
I think the first thing is while it isn't a shot for shot remake, it's very close to the original. The number of characters, gender breakdowns, some of the shots etc...
I really wanted to like the remake, and honestly, I didn't hate it. I would have liked giving it a proper MST3K, and I'd see it again just wouldn't pay for it.
The thing is, I was bored. There were a couple "cool" scenes and there are moments people may consider gruesome. Mostly though I was bored and when I wasn't I was annoyed.
Trying not to spoil anything, but for those of you who saw the movie... The scene in the front yard with the battery made me throw up in my mouth a little.
I suppose I'm all over the place with this (it's been a long day) but really, they wanted to play this legit, they failed. But they wanted it so bad, that it made it entertaining and sometimes that's enough. I figure if they make part two and want it just as hard as they did for this one, it'll be a great time.
That's the thing, don't go in expecting a good movie, expect to have some fun wit it.
Tseug (Guest) on 04/14/2013 7:18 pm
I am saying this as a longtime fan of the Evil Dead series...I think I am going to wait for this to come out on DVD based on your review. I want to see it, but not for a premium theater price.
Bob (Guest) on 04/16/2013 9:41 am
Utter trash from people that clearly had no understanding of the tone that made the first one such a break through classic at the time. Plot character and specially dialogs must have been written in one afternoon while playing video games.
Brian Jones (Guest) on 04/19/2013 10:53 pm
Now that I have seen it twice...and loved it both times.
Let me just say "look at is as all three movies"
Double burial, all AoD
Swamp Bitch scene ala Aod
MOST of the movie ala ED1&2
the car is there, the cabin is perfect. The story is good, if not supportive.
Lok at it as all three and love it that way.
Jed (Guest) on 04/24/2013 5:50 pm
Agree with B Jones -
The film was pretty fun for me. I read a lot that the humor was taken out of it but SPOILER SPOLIER
when a girl cuts her tongue in half and says, "kiss me you cunt"...I'm sorry, but that's f'n funny.
I guess I just went in hoping not to hate it - and in turn - had a really good time with it. Plenty of homage - plenty of updates...I had a ball.
Austin (Guest) on 07/05/2013 12:00 am
I absolutely loved Evil Dead.
"Kiss me, you dirty cunt!" lol
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