Evil Dead review

Adam: Hello, everyone! Sorry about the long break in reviews. Riley and I haven't forgotten about you, we promise. But rest assured, we are back in full swing, and picking right up again with a review of Fede Alvarez's vision of Evil Dead. 

I'd like to say this is as full of a review as I would like to have written, but it's not. You should be really happy to read that, though, because I could probably write a book about The Evil Dead series. They are, without a doubt, some of my favorite horror films of all time. But enough gushing. Read the review.

(And there will be another review tomorrow, so check back!)

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Evil Dead: Hail to the Queen, Baby!

Sam Raimi’s 1981 splat-tastic classic The Evil Dead is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films of all time. Shot in an old cabin with just Raimi and a few friends, an almost non-existent budget, and brutal filming conditions, the finished product would go on to achieve cult status, acquire a rabid fan base, and inspire countless horror films to this day. It would also birth one of b-movies’ biggest stars, the chin-credible Bruce Campbell, who also played the chainsaw-arm-wielding hero, Ash, in Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness (the two Raimi-directed sequels to The Evil Dead). But Army of Darkness came out in 1992, and Raimi and Campbell had both stated many times that a sequel/remake of The Evil Dead would not happen. Lucky for Evil Dead fans everywhere, director Fede Alvarez changed their minds.

Evil Dead (2013) isn’t so much a remake or a sequel as it is a rebirth of a series that had lied dormant for years. It stays true to the formula set up by the original (college friends go to a cabin in the woods and unleash hell via the Book of the Dead), but breathes a fresh, disgusting, undead life into it, and the result is something bloody brilliant.

In this new film, four friends go to a cabin in the woods to help their fifth friend Mia overcome her drug addiction. Right away, this is a stronger plot than The Evil Dead. But their good intentions only make it more difficult to watch as they discover the Book of the Dead in the basement, reading it and unleashing the demonic power it contains. One by one, the friends are possessed and dismembered in fantastically gory ways, made only better by the fact that no CGI was used (except for “touch-ups”) in this film, until a bloody climax that will stick in my mind forever. The signature dark humor is still present, despite the serious nature of the movie, and the blood literally rains from the sky. I’ve never been so grossed out from sounds alone, and the cringe-worthy dismemberments make the Saw movies look like Bambi. Fans of the series will also be pleased to find a treasure trove of nods to the original films, including (but not limited to): Mia wearing a Michigan State sweatshirt, the necklace Ash brings for his girlfriend, the infamous tree-rape scene, and of course, the chainsaw. Not to mention the grooviest after-credits scene I have ever seen.

The biggest criticisms other reviewers have made deal with the lack of humor, that the movie took itself too seriously, or that the plot was weak and the scares were cheap. However, the original Evil Dead also took itself seriously, and had a basic plot. It was just so low budget and campy that it was hilarious. Personally, this new movie scared the hell out of me on multiple occasions, and it is without a doubt the best horror movie I’ve ever seen in a movie theater. I’m not entirely sure what the naysayers were expecting, but as for me, I couldn’t be happier with Alvarez’s vision (not to mention Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell both approve).

As a die-hard Evil Dead fan myself, I was beyond satisfied with this new film, and I’m bursting with anticipation for Alvarez’s announced Evil Dead 2 and Sam Raimi’s also announced Army of Darkness 2, as well as their ambitious possibility of a seventh film in the series that combines the storylines of Ash and Mia. But while I wait, I’ll kill time by going to see Evil Dead again and again. Well done, Alvarez and company. Hail to the King Queen, baby.