Evil Dead (2013): Review

Back in 1981, director Sam Raimi single-handedly introduced the 'cabin-in-the-woods' sub-genre of movie to the world with his cult horror film The Evil Dead. It was very violent for its time and has become something of a phenomenon, amassing a huge collection of avid fans who adore the original and it's two sequels. Now in 2013, Hollywood has decided to do what it has done with almost every classic horror movie and deliver us a remake, by the name of Evil Dead, but surprisingly, it is a remake which is just as enjoyable as it's origin, possibly even surpassing it.

Evil Dead tells the story of five friends who all go to a cabin in the woods in order for one of them to break her drug addiction by going "cold turkey", with the others being there for moral support and to keep her in the cabin until they feel it is time to leave. The girl, named Mia (Jane Levy), soon begins to see terrifying visions, but the others put it down to her previous addictions haunting her. They find a book in the basement however, which is bound with barbed wire and covered in human skin, and once Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) reads it, things soon go terribly wrong, and the remaining characters soon suspect that Mia's current state may not be entirely down to her drug-related past.

Mia (Jane Levy)

The story may not sound hugely original, but bear in mind that it was the first of it's kind, with many attempts at recreating the now iconic movie rarely succeeding in reaching it's originality and clever blend of humour with terror. This new reboot / remake lacks the comedic elements of the original movie, and instead replaces them with intense amounts of gore. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Evil Dead is easily the most violent and gory film I have seen, with gruesome sound effects adding to the sinister and demonic tone. And I have to say, I loved every minute of it.

You have to know when getting into Evil Dead that it is going to be a gory movie. If you go in expecting an average horror movie, you will no doubt be rather surprised at how quickly the movie proves you wrong. With the opening scene setting the mood exceptionally well with a human sacrifice, the film then slows so it can introduce the cast of characters who, although not awful, were nothing special or memorable. But that doesn't matter, because lets be honest, from the get-go you know that few of them will be alive by the end of the movie, and that's all they're there for. 

Fans of The Evil Dead may despise this remake / reboot for shunning the comedic tone the original loosely had, or not bringing back legendary Bruce Campbell from Raimi's classic, but others (like myself) will love it for it's dedication to the use of practical effects like the 1981 icon had. Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi were also producers on this movie, and you can really recognise that when there are certain similarities such as the now famous camera shot where the camera zooms through the woods following particular characters. 

Verdict
Many resent horror film remakes due to their frequent disregard of the original and it's impact it had on culture, but I have to say that Evil Dead was everything I hoped it would be. It was gory, dark and extremely entertaining, despite being difficult to watch at times. Although not particularly scary or sinister, I found it to be an overall great horror movie which fans of the originals and horror fans in general should love. (There's also a very short cameo after the credits which will have many fans jumping for joy). 8.5/10

"You have...to get me....out of here."