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My long semi in-depth review:
The new Evil Dead film by Fede Alverez isn't exactly a remakeâ¦it's more like a re-birthâ¦a re-imaginingâ¦or as I like to call it: a RE-ANIMATION.
Even after its release and MAJOR box office success there are still some fans of the original films and some regular movie goers (whom most of these fancy-pants think they are film critics when they tend to know two things about film: Jack and sh!t..and Jack left town..) who either still have no interest in seeing this film, or after seeing it are a bit disgruntled and unhappy.
In this review I'm going to explain why as a huge hardcore fan of the original films and as a "critic" why this movie is worth seeing.
I'll mark any spoilers off with "SPOILER ALERT" and when its over end with "END SPOILERS"
But firstâ¦a little background on the original Evil Dead films:
BACKGROUND (skip down to "ACTUAL REVIEW" for the self explanatory)
In the 70s Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert set out to make the scariest horror film ever with just a very small budget. A film that was meant to be brutally shocking and violent. The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror. And they succeeded, for that film was deemed so over the top it wasn't even released until 1981, and even then it didn't have a wide theatrical release like movies do today. Eventually Sam and Co. went on to make 2 sequels which each differed in tone compared to the first: Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, which was a horror/comedy film. A "Splatstick" type of movie (which many confuse it to be a remake of the first when it is in fact a sequel) and a third film Army of Darkness which has a drastically different tone than the first two. Its more of an action-comedy than a horror film.
After the original three films classic-cult success the series turned into something of a franchise spawning various video games, comicbooks (which are still published today. One comic is even a sequel to the "Freddy V.S JAson film titled: "Freddy V.S Jason V.S Ash") t-shirts, and action figures. Bruce Campbell (and his infamous character Ashley J. Williams) went on to become a pop culture icon among horror fans and Same Raimi has become famous director having made 3 major moon pictures based off the Marvel comics hero Spider-Man,and creating a film adaptation of one of the Wizard of Oz stories "Oz the Great and Powerful".
For years fans have wanted a fourth installment of the Evil Dead series in movie form. Begging and pleading for Sam Raimi to take them one another wild ride filled with blood, guts humor, and Ash slaying Deadites with his chainsaw and boomstick. For a while it seemed like we wouldn't be getting another Evil Dead film. Until 2011 when it was officially announced that the original Evil Dead was going to be remadeâ¦..Fans screamed in outrage out of fear and disgust, but with each bit of news, many began to calm down and accept the new film. And with good reason:
It was announced the film would be a straight horror film like the ORIGINAL (FYI for all you so-called "fans" who complain about the serious tone of the new film..re-watch the first Evil Deadâ¦it's not funnyâ¦at all. Sam himself said it was intended to be scary and it is. Only thing humorous about it is the cheesy campiness of it. Thats all).
The film would not include the Ash character whatsoever (Again..addressing those who whined: "No Ash, no cash" think about it..as a "remake" would you really want to see the character Ash played by anyone other than Bruce Campbell himself?).
The film would have a bigger budget than the original (basically like a "What if Sam, Bruce and Rob had a budget to make Evil Dead more like they envisioned it to be?") but not as large as many major motion pictures of today, which means you could basically say it's a modern low-budget horror film in a sense.
Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert, who were all producers of the original film, are producers for this movie. They still own the rights to Evil Dead and it wasn't a studio that said "hmmmmm were outta ideas so what movie can we do a remake of now? Hmmmâ¦â¦" No. Sam Raimi HIMSELF decided to "remake" Evil Dead and hand iced Fede Alvarez to write and Direct it.
The cast was made up of unknowns like the original. Sure they had worked on stuff before and SOME people knew of them/are fans of them..but they aren't well-known A-listers like you see in the news all the friggin time.
Practical effects were being used rather than tons of CGI ( it was said that there was ZERO CGI in this film by man attached to the film however some fans call "B.S" on thatâ¦more on that later)
All that in more, helped fans become more and more interested in the remake of what some consider the Holy Grail of horror films.
ACTUAL REVIEW
So, is this movie any good? Does it deliver on the advertised tagline "The most Terrifying Film You Will Ever Experience"?
It depends on the person.
Ever since I saw the original Evil Dead I personally have gained an interest in horror films but have yet to see many of the popular and infamous hour films people deem extremely scary. I cans ay however of the ones I have seen (which are still quite a few. both older and newer) none of the films I've seen thus far have actually scared me like the original Evil Dead. That is until I saw this movie.
Depending on who you are you will either genuinely be freaked the eff out while seeing this movie or you will feel its not scary at all due to be desensitized from so many other films you've watched. I personally like to pretend as if I'm actually IN the film either as one of the main characters or as if I'm my own character experiencing the terror right along with everyone else. IT helps a lot actually to get more invested in whats happening. And makes the experience that more terrifying.
The film starts off with a bang and then after the intro title moves a little slow when setting up the characters and plot. Most people would complain about how slowly things move before the book is found and read from BUT think about it: The film HAS to set up the characters and whats going on. Otherwise people would complain about a flat plot and zero character developmentâ¦OHHH WAIT some people did that anywayâ¦I'll go more in-depth about that soon enoughâ¦
once the first character becomes possessed and all Hell is unleashed the film is one crazy friggin roller coaster ride of blood and gore that is unrelenting and just death grips you and doesn't let you go until the very last moment of the film. IT quite honestly becomes a series of shocking horror after horror after horror with each moment more brutal and shockingly violent than the last.
As a fan of the original series while watching this movie you can't help but realize that Fede himself is a huge fan and sprinkles nods both small and large to all three films (but mainly the first) here and there. Literally from the start of the film, to the after credit scene, the film is FULL of references to the original series but not so much that it distracts from the film itself and its originality.
One of the main things I loved about this movie is that its almost like Deja Vu in the sense that here is a guy making his first feature-film debut and its a horror film. Fede is essentially like a new Sam Raimi but doesn't try to copy what Sam did with the original film. Instead he takes wheat Sam did and expands upon it making his own movie while staying true and respectful to the heart and soul of the original. Mixed with a fantastic soundtrack by Roque Banos, Fede uses interesting camera angles and effects to create feelings of dread, anxiousness, and fear at all the right moments, and paces the script brilliantly with a nice blend of horror, humor, and plot/character development.
Speaking of the plot and characters:
The plot is much like the original film:
Five friends go to a cabin in the woods (btw the film "Cabin in The Woods" is a parody of the original Evil Dead for those who didn't know) where they discover a Book of the Dead and unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods that posses them in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.
The main difference(s)?
The original film, being an 80s movie, can be viewed as a flat, cheesy, sometimes boring film with zero character development. Depending on how you look at it and who you are.
I personally love the film but have to admit its a typical cheesy 80s horror flick that has a decent plot and very little if any character development at all aside from Ash being a coward and manning up towards the end.
Unlike the original film, in this one the kids have a legit reason for going to the cabin other than to just "party down". In this film one of the characters, Mia, is attempting to kick her addiction to heroin with the help of her big brother David and their friends which consist if Davids girlfriend Natalie, and Mia and David's mutual childhood friends Olivia and Eric.
We learn that the cabin itself is actual the childhood family cabin of David and Mia.
As the story begins and unfolds we learn that David had moved away from his sister and friends a long time ago in order to escape his mother's mental health issues. His sister Mia, as mentioned before, used a different method of escape: drugs.
Upon his return he brings along his girlfriend Natalie, who in the film is mostly just kind of there and not really featured but in an early draft of the script (which I'll provide a link to) has much more development and is even engaged to David. We get the sense that David has been absent for quite sometime through the greetings he receives from Olivia, who is the nurse for Mia through the whole ordeal, Mia, who is shock dDavid actually showed up, and especially Eric, the high school teacher and inquisitive douche bag that just couldn't leave the damn book alone, who throughout most of the film is quite pissed-off at David for running away and basically ditching them.
Without getting too spoiler heavy, as the film progresses David goes from being the coward who runs away from problems instead of facing them, to the guy who grows a pair and finally decides to do what he's gotta do (even if it is a little too late) and more or less admits he was wrong for running away instead of facing the situation and being there for his sister and their mom in the first place.
Eric goes from being the complete asshole who wants little to nothing to deal with David, to finally in a sense forgiving him and letting him know how much he missed him in the end.
Mia goes from being the junkie who is reluctant to kick her habit to the crazy demon possessed girl who drives everyone nuts to
Olivia's development is that of going from a "registered nurse" who thinks she knows what she is doing but once things get way too out of hand begins to realize she is in over her head (again, even if it is a little too late)
Natalie unfortunately is just kinda there. Her development is weak in the film itself and she is basically just the concerned girlfriend who tries to help and get along with her boyfriends friends and sister.
The actors themselves truly bring their A-game in this film. From Jane Levy, the star of the film, to Elizabeth Blackmore, who despite her character not being featured enough, most reviews don't give her enough credit for working with what she had.
Jane Levy plays Mia and is EXTREMELY convincing as the tortured girl suffering from withdrawals, the crazy demon possessed monster who wants to kill everyone, and
When she is possessed, boy is Jane absolutely scary. Make-up effects can only do so much, the rest is all up to the actor, and lemme tell ya, Jane was terrifying! She was just fantastic.
That's not to say the other actors didn't do a good job when their were in Deadite mode either.
Jessicca Lucas as Olivia was jus as frightening when she was possessed and
She did a good job portraying the caring friend who tried to nurse Mia during her withdrawal symptoms but was clearly in over her head even if she was a "registered nurse".
Elizabeth Blackmore, who despite not having much to work with, did quite well with her character. During intense frightening scenes she seemed genuinely scared and OMFG at the scene where
I just wish her character was as well developed in the final cut of the film as she was in the early draft of the script is all.
Lou Taylor Pucci was just great as Eric. From his facial expressions, to the delivery of his lines, Lou did a grate job portraying the sarcastic jerk who reads from the book and also serves as the comedic relief. You can feel his pain every time he gets brutally beaten by a deadeye to the point where you almost feel bad for him.
Shilo Fernandez was awesome as David. Again, I wish things from the early draft of the script would have stayed for the final cut of the film, but Shilo worked with what he had and he brought it. You get the sense that he truly does feel bad for ditching his friends through the corse of the film and is a bit cowardly at first but then towards the end mans up and does what he can to get things through.
One particular scene I felt he rally shined through was
All in all I thought the cast did a fantastic job as each of their characters.
The film had a great plot that is not nearly as flat as some have described it.
There is ACTUAL character development.
The music fit perfectly with each scene.
The camera work was awesome.
The special effects were fantastic in every single scene. As for whether or not there truly was ZERO CGI it's hard to tell exactly. I know from watching behind the scenes footage some of the stuff that looked like CGI was actually practical. But I can neither confirm nor deny that there honestly was absolutely no CGI. I personally will try to find out either by asking Fede himself or watching more BTS footage once the film is released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
In terms of the blood and gore, holy frigid chainsaw, does this film deliver on the gore, and then some.
How this film scored an "R" rating without cutting too much out is beyond me (originally it received an "NC-17", but SOME stuff was cut to receive an "R"). The bloody and gory scenes are so over the top I couldn't help but cringe and even grab the parts of my body that were being harmed on screen.
As for references to the original filmsâ¦oh man there are too man to even list and this review is long enough as it is. I can say including the obvious, and the somewhat obscure references, there are at least 30 different nods to the first three films.
Bottom line this is the American horror film the industry needed and that horror fans have been waiting forâ¦not that sissy PG-13 crap that isn't even horror but just suspenseful and thrillingâ¦No this is TRUE horror at its finest folks.
Go see this movie and see it with a crowd, bring your friends, no matter how much of a sissy they may be. This film is meant to be enjoyed in a theater with a large group of people.
It's one GROOVY ride!
The new Evil Dead film by Fede Alverez isn't exactly a remakeâ¦it's more like a re-birthâ¦a re-imaginingâ¦or as I like to call it: a RE-ANIMATION.
Even after its release and MAJOR box office success there are still some fans of the original films and some regular movie goers (whom most of these fancy-pants think they are film critics when they tend to know two things about film: Jack and sh!t..and Jack left town..) who either still have no interest in seeing this film, or after seeing it are a bit disgruntled and unhappy.
In this review I'm going to explain why as a huge hardcore fan of the original films and as a "critic" why this movie is worth seeing.
I'll mark any spoilers off with "SPOILER ALERT" and when its over end with "END SPOILERS"
But firstâ¦a little background on the original Evil Dead films:
BACKGROUND (skip down to "ACTUAL REVIEW" for the self explanatory)
In the 70s Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert set out to make the scariest horror film ever with just a very small budget. A film that was meant to be brutally shocking and violent. The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror. And they succeeded, for that film was deemed so over the top it wasn't even released until 1981, and even then it didn't have a wide theatrical release like movies do today. Eventually Sam and Co. went on to make 2 sequels which each differed in tone compared to the first: Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, which was a horror/comedy film. A "Splatstick" type of movie (which many confuse it to be a remake of the first when it is in fact a sequel) and a third film Army of Darkness which has a drastically different tone than the first two. Its more of an action-comedy than a horror film.
After the original three films classic-cult success the series turned into something of a franchise spawning various video games, comicbooks (which are still published today. One comic is even a sequel to the "Freddy V.S JAson film titled: "Freddy V.S Jason V.S Ash") t-shirts, and action figures. Bruce Campbell (and his infamous character Ashley J. Williams) went on to become a pop culture icon among horror fans and Same Raimi has become famous director having made 3 major moon pictures based off the Marvel comics hero Spider-Man,and creating a film adaptation of one of the Wizard of Oz stories "Oz the Great and Powerful".
For years fans have wanted a fourth installment of the Evil Dead series in movie form. Begging and pleading for Sam Raimi to take them one another wild ride filled with blood, guts humor, and Ash slaying Deadites with his chainsaw and boomstick. For a while it seemed like we wouldn't be getting another Evil Dead film. Until 2011 when it was officially announced that the original Evil Dead was going to be remadeâ¦..Fans screamed in outrage out of fear and disgust, but with each bit of news, many began to calm down and accept the new film. And with good reason:
It was announced the film would be a straight horror film like the ORIGINAL (FYI for all you so-called "fans" who complain about the serious tone of the new film..re-watch the first Evil Deadâ¦it's not funnyâ¦at all. Sam himself said it was intended to be scary and it is. Only thing humorous about it is the cheesy campiness of it. Thats all).
The film would not include the Ash character whatsoever (Again..addressing those who whined: "No Ash, no cash" think about it..as a "remake" would you really want to see the character Ash played by anyone other than Bruce Campbell himself?).
The film would have a bigger budget than the original (basically like a "What if Sam, Bruce and Rob had a budget to make Evil Dead more like they envisioned it to be?") but not as large as many major motion pictures of today, which means you could basically say it's a modern low-budget horror film in a sense.
Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert, who were all producers of the original film, are producers for this movie. They still own the rights to Evil Dead and it wasn't a studio that said "hmmmmm were outta ideas so what movie can we do a remake of now? Hmmmâ¦â¦" No. Sam Raimi HIMSELF decided to "remake" Evil Dead and hand iced Fede Alvarez to write and Direct it.
The cast was made up of unknowns like the original. Sure they had worked on stuff before and SOME people knew of them/are fans of them..but they aren't well-known A-listers like you see in the news all the friggin time.
Practical effects were being used rather than tons of CGI ( it was said that there was ZERO CGI in this film by man attached to the film however some fans call "B.S" on thatâ¦more on that later)
All that in more, helped fans become more and more interested in the remake of what some consider the Holy Grail of horror films.
ACTUAL REVIEW
So, is this movie any good? Does it deliver on the advertised tagline "The most Terrifying Film You Will Ever Experience"?
It depends on the person.
Ever since I saw the original Evil Dead I personally have gained an interest in horror films but have yet to see many of the popular and infamous hour films people deem extremely scary. I cans ay however of the ones I have seen (which are still quite a few. both older and newer) none of the films I've seen thus far have actually scared me like the original Evil Dead. That is until I saw this movie.
Depending on who you are you will either genuinely be freaked the eff out while seeing this movie or you will feel its not scary at all due to be desensitized from so many other films you've watched. I personally like to pretend as if I'm actually IN the film either as one of the main characters or as if I'm my own character experiencing the terror right along with everyone else. IT helps a lot actually to get more invested in whats happening. And makes the experience that more terrifying.
The film starts off with a bang and then after the intro title moves a little slow when setting up the characters and plot. Most people would complain about how slowly things move before the book is found and read from BUT think about it: The film HAS to set up the characters and whats going on. Otherwise people would complain about a flat plot and zero character developmentâ¦OHHH WAIT some people did that anywayâ¦I'll go more in-depth about that soon enoughâ¦
once the first character becomes possessed and all Hell is unleashed the film is one crazy friggin roller coaster ride of blood and gore that is unrelenting and just death grips you and doesn't let you go until the very last moment of the film. IT quite honestly becomes a series of shocking horror after horror after horror with each moment more brutal and shockingly violent than the last.
As a fan of the original series while watching this movie you can't help but realize that Fede himself is a huge fan and sprinkles nods both small and large to all three films (but mainly the first) here and there. Literally from the start of the film, to the after credit scene, the film is FULL of references to the original series but not so much that it distracts from the film itself and its originality.
One of the main things I loved about this movie is that its almost like Deja Vu in the sense that here is a guy making his first feature-film debut and its a horror film. Fede is essentially like a new Sam Raimi but doesn't try to copy what Sam did with the original film. Instead he takes wheat Sam did and expands upon it making his own movie while staying true and respectful to the heart and soul of the original. Mixed with a fantastic soundtrack by Roque Banos, Fede uses interesting camera angles and effects to create feelings of dread, anxiousness, and fear at all the right moments, and paces the script brilliantly with a nice blend of horror, humor, and plot/character development.
Speaking of the plot and characters:
The plot is much like the original film:
Five friends go to a cabin in the woods (btw the film "Cabin in The Woods" is a parody of the original Evil Dead for those who didn't know) where they discover a Book of the Dead and unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods that posses them in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.
The main difference(s)?
The original film, being an 80s movie, can be viewed as a flat, cheesy, sometimes boring film with zero character development. Depending on how you look at it and who you are.
I personally love the film but have to admit its a typical cheesy 80s horror flick that has a decent plot and very little if any character development at all aside from Ash being a coward and manning up towards the end.
Unlike the original film, in this one the kids have a legit reason for going to the cabin other than to just "party down". In this film one of the characters, Mia, is attempting to kick her addiction to heroin with the help of her big brother David and their friends which consist if Davids girlfriend Natalie, and Mia and David's mutual childhood friends Olivia and Eric.
We learn that the cabin itself is actual the childhood family cabin of David and Mia.
As the story begins and unfolds we learn that David had moved away from his sister and friends a long time ago in order to escape his mother's mental health issues. His sister Mia, as mentioned before, used a different method of escape: drugs.
Upon his return he brings along his girlfriend Natalie, who in the film is mostly just kind of there and not really featured but in an early draft of the script (which I'll provide a link to) has much more development and is even engaged to David. We get the sense that David has been absent for quite sometime through the greetings he receives from Olivia, who is the nurse for Mia through the whole ordeal, Mia, who is shock dDavid actually showed up, and especially Eric, the high school teacher and inquisitive douche bag that just couldn't leave the damn book alone, who throughout most of the film is quite pissed-off at David for running away and basically ditching them.
Without getting too spoiler heavy, as the film progresses David goes from being the coward who runs away from problems instead of facing them, to the guy who grows a pair and finally decides to do what he's gotta do (even if it is a little too late) and more or less admits he was wrong for running away instead of facing the situation and being there for his sister and their mom in the first place.
Eric goes from being the complete asshole who wants little to nothing to deal with David, to finally in a sense forgiving him and letting him know how much he missed him in the end.
Mia goes from being the junkie who is reluctant to kick her habit to the crazy demon possessed girl who drives everyone nuts to
the kick-ass girl who comes out sober and stronger once free of the possession having killed the physical manifestation of the Evil Dead( the abomination).
Olivia's development is that of going from a "registered nurse" who thinks she knows what she is doing but once things get way too out of hand begins to realize she is in over her head (again, even if it is a little too late)
Natalie unfortunately is just kinda there. Her development is weak in the film itself and she is basically just the concerned girlfriend who tries to help and get along with her boyfriends friends and sister.
The actors themselves truly bring their A-game in this film. From Jane Levy, the star of the film, to Elizabeth Blackmore, who despite her character not being featured enough, most reviews don't give her enough credit for working with what she had.
Jane Levy plays Mia and is EXTREMELY convincing as the tortured girl suffering from withdrawals, the crazy demon possessed monster who wants to kill everyone, and
the sole survivor who ends up kicking major Deadite butt in the film's climax.
When she is possessed, boy is Jane absolutely scary. Make-up effects can only do so much, the rest is all up to the actor, and lemme tell ya, Jane was terrifying! She was just fantastic.
That's not to say the other actors didn't do a good job when their were in Deadite mode either.
Jessicca Lucas as Olivia was jus as frightening when she was possessed and
was cutting her face off with a piece of glass, screaming like a banshee, and stabbing Eric over and over and over.
Elizabeth Blackmore, who despite not having much to work with, did quite well with her character. During intense frightening scenes she seemed genuinely scared and OMFG at the scene where
her hand is possessed and rotting and she cuts it off with an electric kitchen knife, -shudders- so gruesome and her reactions to everything going on felt real.
and then when she was possessed and shooting Eric and David with the nail gun..oh man that was a freaky effed up sequence.
and then when she was possessed and shooting Eric and David with the nail gun..oh man that was a freaky effed up sequence.
I just wish her character was as well developed in the final cut of the film as she was in the early draft of the script is all.
Lou Taylor Pucci was just great as Eric. From his facial expressions, to the delivery of his lines, Lou did a grate job portraying the sarcastic jerk who reads from the book and also serves as the comedic relief. You can feel his pain every time he gets brutally beaten by a deadeye to the point where you almost feel bad for him.
Shilo Fernandez was awesome as David. Again, I wish things from the early draft of the script would have stayed for the final cut of the film, but Shilo worked with what he had and he brought it. You get the sense that he truly does feel bad for ditching his friends through the corse of the film and is a bit cowardly at first but then towards the end mans up and does what he can to get things through.
One particular scene I felt he rally shined through was
He finally realizes he needs to kill Mia in order to give her peace and end the nightmare but right as he is about to set her on fire, she begins to sing a lullaby their mother use to sing and you can just see it in his face as the tears begin to swell how conflicted he is. He knows what he HAS to do, but he is so tortured he can't go through with it. At least not EXACTLY how the book describes it.
All in all I thought the cast did a fantastic job as each of their characters.
The film had a great plot that is not nearly as flat as some have described it.
There is ACTUAL character development.
The music fit perfectly with each scene.
The camera work was awesome.
The special effects were fantastic in every single scene. As for whether or not there truly was ZERO CGI it's hard to tell exactly. I know from watching behind the scenes footage some of the stuff that looked like CGI was actually practical. But I can neither confirm nor deny that there honestly was absolutely no CGI. I personally will try to find out either by asking Fede himself or watching more BTS footage once the film is released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
In terms of the blood and gore, holy frigid chainsaw, does this film deliver on the gore, and then some.
How this film scored an "R" rating without cutting too much out is beyond me (originally it received an "NC-17", but SOME stuff was cut to receive an "R"). The bloody and gory scenes are so over the top I couldn't help but cringe and even grab the parts of my body that were being harmed on screen.
As for references to the original filmsâ¦oh man there are too man to even list and this review is long enough as it is. I can say including the obvious, and the somewhat obscure references, there are at least 30 different nods to the first three films.
Bottom line this is the American horror film the industry needed and that horror fans have been waiting forâ¦not that sissy PG-13 crap that isn't even horror but just suspenseful and thrillingâ¦No this is TRUE horror at its finest folks.
Go see this movie and see it with a crowd, bring your friends, no matter how much of a sissy they may be. This film is meant to be enjoyed in a theater with a large group of people.
It's one GROOVY ride!
