So as I'm sure you all know, this is a remake/re imagining/reboot or whatever you think is most suitable of the original Sam Raimi 1981 cult-classic 'The Evil Dead'. Now of course, comparisons are inevitably going to be made between the two films by viewers but I don't believe this is the treatment that this film should get. It does take elements from the original film but it is a separate piece of film making so in my eyes I believe it needs to be given a fair opportunity to impress.
What I felt was a nice addition to this film was the inclusion of some development to why these characters ended up in the situation they did. As you know, the original film kept this very simple and vague but that was all fine for what it was worth. In the 2013 version, Fede Alvarez tries to include some developments in the story that give viewers information as to why they have resorted to staying in this cabin. I thought they were solid reasons, definitely enough to provide some explanations for future events occurring I also liked how when this development came about, it tied in with stages that Levy's character would undergo. As explained, they expected her to stoop to drastic measures in order to make sure she didn't have to stay there for the weekend. This then came into play when was being possessed by this entity and exaggerating that she believed she was going insane. Linking to this, I much preferred the reason why they could not escape or in this case, take Levy's character to the hospital once she was badly injured over the original as it certainly made more sense with what was taking place.
The visuals were undoubtedly the eye-catching aspect of the trailer when I watched it for the first time. Now having seen the film, I can safely say that they didn't disappoint. There is so much to talk about with what I have just witnessed on the screen and there genuinely does not seem enough time to talk about it. I felt the camera work definitely caught every scene and every moment perfectly, replicating a somewhat similar style to that presented by Raimi back in 1981. Considering that this is Fede Alvarez's first feature-length film, I was pleased with the job he did. He both directed and wrote the film so the majority of the film's content is solely his. He certainly had huge expectations to live up to and for me, delivered on so many levels. There are many scenes which I can pick out that I was in complete awe while witnessing and still now when I think back to them just completely unnerves me. He implemented a very dark, eerie tone to the film which fit the type of film it was trying to be immaculately. He had me hooked right from the opening sequence and I think his ability to grab an audience and keep them on the edge of their seat for almost an hour and a half will push him far in the industry.
One problem that I had with the film although, was the final 10 mins fell a bit short in my opinion. It may have been that it all seemed a little over the top which in relation to the Evil Dead is probably an understatement for the original films. It turned into an out and out brawl between two characters in the final sequence and I didn't necessarily felt that this was a fitting end to everything else that we had witnessed. Despite not really liking the conclusion to the film, this however didn't take much away from the film for me and I never let it tarnish the experience I had watching Evil Dead.
The atmosphere of the film was probably the aspect that I felt the director nailed the most out of anything. As mentioned before, it was unnerving and the suspense was an absolute killer at times. Of course, you get those moments in films when you know (or think you know) when the film is going to potentially try to scare you. It is generic for a horror film, certainly nowadays but what I feel is more appropriate to handle well is the build up to said scare. This can work an absolute treat for a movie if the audience are completely frightened when nothing has even occurred. In relation to this, the film was not scary. Not one bit. I don't believe I even jumped let alone would consider myself scared which would all be fine and dandy had this film not marketed itself as "The most terrifying film you will ever experience". On this level, I was certainly disappointed and let down because my expectations for this element were considerably high and I
honestly thought that watching the trailer it was going to nail this factor.
It is packed full of nods and winks to the original films which is a treat for fans of Raimi's classics. This was undoubtedly a decision that was made in unison between Alvarez, Raimi, Campbell and Tapert as you get that sense that the producers had a strong sense of control over the final product put out there. This is like a baby for Sam Raimi as it is where his film career began and to tarnish the status is currently holds would be blasphemy for him. I immediately got that sense that they had a helping hand to correct or watch over what Fede Alvarez was doing to give it that tighter more complete feel.
What I will say though, is that nobody can deny that it deserved its 18/R rating. I can honestly say that this film possesses the most amount of blood I have ever seen and it is probably shorter than most horror films coming out at the moment. After watching a scene that was brutal and absolutely revolting in what was taking place, I felt there was no way they could top it. And then 5 minutes later, there it was. A scene that could top the one I had just seen by being some of the most vulgar executions conjured up by Fede Alvarez himself. This is to be expected when the Evil Dead name is brandished onto this film so I had a good idea of what to expect and was not let down on this degree. I hate when a critic will see this film and then label it into the same categories as something like 'Saw' or 'Hostel'. There is a clear divide between both sets of films
and I can only hope that people will establish this.
I'm now going to get straight into it and talk about Jane Levy's performance in the movie. This is down to the fact that horror films are certainly not credited for the standard of acting that's for sure. I think she was a breath of fresh-air in an otherwise stale genre. She brought some life to her character and I certainly felt myself conveying all sorts of emotions by watching her performance. I somewhat sympathized with her character despite the fact that she was portrayed from the beginning to be someone that had a clear set of problems within her life. I think this was a considerable surprise to many too with the roles that she has carried out as of yet. Making a change from the TV show Suburgatory and the movie Fun Size to Evil Dead is what I would call a drastic change or a complete role reversal. I can only hope that she is now deemed a good enough talent to be given a chance to prove herself in other roles and establish a fine career as I know that she has the potential.
As for other members of the cast, no real standouts in the rest of this department. I will say, Lou Taylor Pucci is worth an honorable mention. He was above the standard of acting that you would expect for a film like this and I actually think he could have been really good if he wasn't underused. I felt that he could have had a bigger part to play and of course Levy's brother had to be the character with one of the higher amounts of screen time, I would have much preferred to have seen more development of Taylor Pucci's character given. Though this was an aspect that was pretty much unscathed, as you would expect from a horror film certainly of this decade. I think Fede provided enough information and backgrounds to all but one character that enabled the story to flow continuously. The character I was referring to, I actually forgot was even part of the film on many occasions because she literally was not present. It is of course Elizabeth Blackmore who until was possessed by the entity, probably had a screen time totaling around 30 seconds. I wouldn't have put it past Alvarez to have purposely done this as she didn't seem to display much acting 'talent' when on screen, that's for sure.
All in all, I was pleased with this remake/re imagining/reboot of Evil Dead and I think the pros more than outweighed the cons. I am looking forward to future work in general from Alvarez because I feel that he has a lot more to offer in the film industry as a whole but certainly for the horror genre. This goes for Evil Dead II which has already having its screenplay written as we speak and will more than likely happen with the success of this film. Plenty of places it could go and I for one am sticking by for the ride.
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