Judging this as a remake, it’s a masterpiece. Judging this as a film on its own, it’s still great.
This Re-jigging of Sam Rami’s cult classic “The” Evil Dead, see’s a group of teens go on a trip to a cabin in the woods (Groan!!!) to help their friend Mia go cold turkey. When one of them reads an evil book, all hell is unleashed as Mia turns into a succubus (and not the sexy type!)
While many may groan and grumble about the obvious troupes and clichés trodden (reading the evil book, cabin in the woods etc.) you must understand that the original Evil Dead started that cliché, in much the same way Star Wars invented the compacting room set piece. The classic Evil Dead is responsible for Cabin Fever, Cabin in the Woods and every crap horror film in-between. The mistake to be made hear (and I feel it will be made) is that this is simply steeling ideas, and while it doesn’t re-invent the wheel (leave that to Joss Weldon), it doesn’t set out to. Instead what you get is a well made, well balanced mixture of gross out gore and fulfilling scares.
While some characters are simply too weak; I’m looking at you Black female nerd and Blondie, the rest are nicely carved. Jane Levy steals the show in both her crack addict and her blistered daemon, while she is NO Ash, she isn’t supposed to be, she could quite easily be if we got the chance to have some more sequel style slapstick (I was really hoping a time hole would open up and suck Mia back to the medieval days, even though I knew it wouldn’t happen).
If you get the chance see this in a packed audience or a least with a large group of mates, it really is a reaction film, half of the joy is watching the weak cower and the powerful cheer as the blood goes a flying. And boy does it fly, the gore is really the reason to write home, it’s full on but for some reason it works. I don’t like torture porn one bit, I can’t stand the Hostel’s or the Saw’s but when it comes to the Evil Dead it works, it really is revolting and scary, but there is a camp fun too it, a joy that modern gore doesn’t often possess. It will likely be something lost on some audience’s who will simply see it as another in a long line of bloody horror films (whether that’s a good thing to them or not). The rest of us though, us Campbell lovers, us fangoria readers, fright night festers or general horror fans will know that this is something special.
Evil Dead is bloody, bloody brilliance and although it’s not the classic, and it might not become a classic, it’s still worthy of baring the Evil Dead name.
Callum Stewart
