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nFede Alvarez’s new Evil Dead film has been the talk of the horrorncommunity for some time now. When news emerged that a remake of the classicnwas in the works, horror fans were instantly apprehensive of the idea. Afternall, Sam Raimi’s original The Evil Dead (1981)is one of the most beloved horrornfilms of the 80’s, hell, it’s one of the most revered horror films ever, period.nSam Raimi and crew unleashed their independent horror film onto the world waynback in 1981, when they were all struggling filmmakers and actors. Back then Raiminwasn’t the Hollywood mogul he is now, back then he was just a guy who loved makingnmovies with his friends, and that he did. With every film they made goofingnaround, they got better and better, until they finally decided to make theirnfirst real feature length film. The Evil Dead’s kinetic style and frenetic pacentruly impressed horror fans, so much so that Stephen King himself called it “thenmost ferociously original horror film of the year” That famous quote was wellnearned, back then, nobody had seen anything like The Evil Dead.
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nI first came inncontact with the Evil Dead films around 1993 because it kept getting mentioned in Fangoria Magazine. Back then, before the internet, all a horror fan could donto keep up to date with new stuff and learn about the classics was to devournevery issue of Fangoria and its sister magazine Gorezone. I kept seeingnarticles that mentioned The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) overnand over again as films that any true horror fan should experience. Back then,nas a neophyte horror fan, I devoured every horror movie I could see. When Infinally got around to seeing The Evil Dead, my teenage mind finally realizednwhat all the hype was about. Evil Dead was “the ultimate experience in gruelingnterror”. It quite simply pushed the limits of what had been done with gore andnhorror up to that time. Because of its meager budget (350,000) the film was ansuccess and while it was banned in many countries because of its graphicnnature, it also served its purpose; it showed the world that Sam Raimi was goodnat making horror films and that he was a special filmmaker that was here tonstay.
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nRaimi and Campbell on the set of The Evil Dead
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nFast forward 30 odd years later into the future and The EvilnDead has spawned two sequels, helped boost the career of both Sam Raimi andnBruce Campbell and has now spawned the most recent addition in the Evil Deadnfamily: a remake. When I first heard about the remake, I was also apprehensivenof it. I guess, that’s a gut reaction from any true horror fan. I also feared that this was going to be a watered down version of the Sam Raimi classic.nVarious factors lead me to believe this. Why was I so hesitant to believe that a newnEvil Dead film was destined to be a “sans cojones” version of the old one? Well, my main reason fornall the trepidation was the sad state of the American Horror Film. For the pastncouple of years, the American Horror film has suffered from the same ailmentnthat the American action film has suffered from. They just don’t have the gutsnthey use to have; they just don’t make them like they used to. You know this andnI know this. When you watch an action film from the 70’s or 80’s you can feelnthe difference, you can sense the augmented sense of horror and violence; youncan see the characters were crazier, edgier somehow. When you watch old horrornfilms from the 70’s and 80’s, you are reminded of what you no longer see innmodern horror films. Where are today’s Icons of horror? Where are the Freddy’snand Jason’s of this generation? That shock to the system that you would get from these oldnhorror films is all but gone from cinemas. All you’re left with is what AmericannHorror films are today, a pale imitation of what they used to be. Old horror movies likenThe Evil Dead serve to remind us just how soft American horror films havenbecome.
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nThen there’s the fact that the director behind the old EvilnDead films -Sam Raimi- has kind of drifted away from his horror roots, which isna natural progression for any filmmaker who wants to grow. Filmmakers need tonstretch their muscles and try other things outside of the horror genre, whichnRaimi has proven he is adept at. Unfortunately, when Raimi attempted a returnnto horror he made Drag Me To Hell (2010) a film that I didn’t love because it simply felt like a watered downnversion of a Sam Raimi film. It was Sam Raimi light. Drag Me to Hell was thenstudio horror film that couldn’t go very far in terms of horror because it had to play it safe. It was a studio putting kajillions to make a horror film, Raimi couldn’t risk it being anfailure. Drag Me to Hell was disappointing because it wasn’tnthe Raimi that I loved, it wasn’t the guy who pushed the horror genre as far asnit could be pushed. Drag Me to Hell felt like Raimi was pushing back, pullingnaway. Another thing that worried me are the horror films that Raimi has been producing throughnhis own production company, Ghost House Pictures, a production company thatnRaimi formed to make new horror films and allow younger directors to take ancrack at making them. I’m talking aboutnfilms like The Possesion (2012), Boogeyman (2005), Rise (2007), The Grudge (2004),nnot exactly a mind blowing group of films, not to mention the mind numbingndirect to video sequels that followed some of these productions. My big worrynwas, would this new Evil Dead film also be unspectacular and watered down?
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nBoy was I wrong! This new Evil Dead film blew me away! Itntook my expectations and surpassed them in every way imaginable. In mynbook, Evil Dead is the horror film responsible for giving American horror itsnballs back. This is what I’m talking about! Evil Dead is a film unafraid to cutnaway, unafraid to show you the goods, unafraid to be graphic and brutal andnunrelenting. In other words, I was a happy horror fan, I cheered, I clapped in approval,nI jumped, I cringed, I gasped. It’s a funny thing that the director responsiblenfor giving American Horror films it’s gravitas back is actually Uruguayan! Ha,nbut seriously folks, I applaud Sam Raimi for giving young filmmakers like FedenAlvarez a chance to just go out and make their own thing, test their mettle,nsee what they are made of. And let me tell ya, for a first time filmmaker who’dnonly made short films before this one, Alvarez shows great aplomb with EvilnDead. Editing, cinematography and performance wise the film is solid. It wowednme, it took me by surprise. Let’s explore what worked and didn’t with thisnremake shall we?
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nFirst off, they give the events that happen in the film morendepth, more weight. For all its legendary status and legions of fans, thenoriginal Evil Dead film is a very simple, straight forward horror movie about angroup of friends going to a cabin to have some fun. Their main preoccupation isnpartying. Demons resurrection passages, the book of the dead and everything else is just somethingnthey stumble upon while on their search for good times. There’s a hint of romancenbetween Linda and Ash which gives Ash something to fight for, but for the mostnpart, the main focus of the first Evil Dead film was to shock the hell out ofnyou. Where the remake succeeds in my book is in giving the proceedings meaning, purpoise.nThe kids on the remake go to the cabin to help their friend break with her cocaine habit. This isn’t a film about people going to have fun as in most horrornfilms, nope, these kids are here to help their friend break the habit, sonimmediately the film has a more somber/dark tone to it. This mission was anpositive addition to the film. I also enjoyed how they used demons as a metaphor for the Mia’s personal demons, nice touch.
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nThen there’s the gore which was plentiful. How plentiful younask? Well, let me put it this way, in the pantheon of ultra gory horror filmsnlike Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive (1992) or Clive Barker’s Hellraiser (1987)nwhich are two of the goriest films I’ve ever seen, Evil Dead can proudly standnnext to them. You know how modern horror films don’t linger too long on anything graphic, as if afraid to offend sensors or the Motion Picture Associationnof America? Well, Evil Dead isn’t like that; if somebody chops off their arm,nyou see it, if blood splatters, it really splatters! If somebody needs to getnchopped up in half with a chainsaw, then this is what you are going to see! Inhonestly don’t know how the MPAA let this one slip by. That is the questionnthat kept popping into my mind, how the hell did this one slip by them intact? SamnRaimi must’ve pulled a few strings because this is one blood drenched film.nHonestly I was getting tired of films being all shy about the gore, this one mynfriends brings those gory days of the 80’s right back! There’s only one scenenthat I regret they didn’t include from the original and it’s the scene wherenAsh chops off his zombie girlfriends head off with a shovel. They do somethingnsimilar, but they didn’t really do it. It’s the only negative thing I can saynabout it. But they included so many other cool things that I let that one pass.nAnd the demon possessed folk look really demonic, loved that about it.
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nWhen comparing the two Evil Deads, both come out on top. Bothnare good for different reasons. Evil Dead is the rare remake that is great, itnpays its respects, but keeps things interesting as well. Trust me, ifnyou love horror, gore and demons in your entertainment, then go see this one asnsoon as possible! We get the stuff we love about the original, like kids goingnto a lonely cabin in the woods, we get a book that brings demons from hell andnall that, but the film also offers up new things that we never saw on any ofnthe previous Evil Dead films, but with enough familiar elements to keep EvilnDead fans happy. Its little things here and there, little bits of dialog, ornsimply, visual gags that pay homage to the original. For example, for most ofnthe film we don’t see a chainsaw anywhere, but there’s this one moment in whichna character finally picks one up and turns it on and at that precise moment,nthe audience cheered as if saying “now it’s really an Evil Dead film!” You’llnsee Raimi’s signature yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88; a car that has appearednon all of Raimi’s Evil Dead films, including this one. So from the standpointnof an Evil Dead fan, I can say you’ll be happy.
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nAudiences have liked this new remake, actually, audiencesnhave devoured it! It is still number one in theaters and has more than doubled itsnbudget with its box office intake! I personally would like to thank Raimi and Campbell and Alvarez for making this one special, it wasn’t a half assed cheap-o sequel cash in. Nope, this one was made with love, and I know that sounds weird because its a movie about people getting chopped up with chainsaw’s, but dammit, there’s a love for the genre present here. A sequel is no doubt in the horizon as wenspeak and first time director Fede Alvarez must be feeling all kinds of giddynwith his first success. Alvarez has already spoken about ansequel, which as he states it would be an all new story that takes things in anwhole new direction, gotta admit, I’m looking forward to that! Evil Dead fansnshould be rejoicing because if internet buzz is true, then Sam Raimi and hisnbrother are currently writing a new installment in the Evil Dead franchise!nWith Bruce Campbell playing Ash! Now how groovy is that? Extremely freakingngroovy that’s how groovy! And speaking of groovy, take it for me and stay afternthe credits, there’s a special something for all you hardcore Evil Dead fans!nIt’s well worth the wait.
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nRating for The Evil Dead (1981): 5 out of 5
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nRating for Evil Dead (2013): 5 out of 5
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