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#689 - Evil Dead
Fede Alvarez, 2013
Five friends head to a cabin in the woods in order to help out one of their number, but things are complicated by the presence of an evil book.
Based off the averages, I'd say that the original Evil Dead trilogy might just be my favourite film series (sorry, Indy). Despite that, I did put off watching the inevitable Evil Dead remake for about two years following its release. While horror remakes are nothing new, it seemed like Evil Dead would be extremely difficult to touch purely because what made it a classic was less about seeing a single murderous villain pick off interchangeable victims so much as seeing iconic protagonist Ashley J. Williams do battle with the forces of evil. Though The Evil Dead was intended to be a fairly straightforward mix of a haunted-house movie and a demonic-possession movie, its two sequels definitely played up the frantic vibe for comedic effect as it saw Ash go through all sorts of slapstick-like torture and eventually get thrown back in time to fight an army of the undead in medieval England. 2013's Evil Dead abandons Ash by necessity (because really, who else could play him but the one and only Bruce Campbell?) and instead decided to work off the bare-bones plot about five youths, a cabin in the woods, and the book of the dead.
Now, I know it's in vogue for horror movies to start off with a prologue that sees a random victim fall prey to the movie's monster of choice, but I'd say that this example feels extremely unnecessary because it really does undercut the later surprise of seeing the Deadites appear (even if the whole sequence is supposed to feed directly into the main plot as the main characters later discover the aftermath). Even knowing how the film's first act takes a while to get to the monsters anyway isn't enough of an excuse for such a lazy prologue that is initially more likely to make me think I've started watching some killer-hillbilly movie instead of an Evil Dead movie. Anyway, the film sets up the familiar premise of five college-aged people all heading to a remote cabin. I do give it credit for coming up with a more interesting reason than their simply going on holiday - they are there to see one of their number (Jane Levy) kick her incredibly self-destructive drug habit by any means necessary. Of course, they not only discover evidence of witchcraft in the basement but they discover an eldritch tome bound in human skin and inked in blood, which of course leads the group's token egghead (Lou Taylor Pucci) to obliviously translate enough of it to let loose a demonic prophecy.
Given how much of The Evil Dead's charm comes from how it played up the more absurd aspects of its supernatural threat without sacrificing its scariness in the process, it's at once understandable and disappointing that Alvarez's remake tries to play things a little straighter. I appreciate that the drug-addiction angle at least provides a good reason why the characters don't turn tail at the first sign of trouble and adds some interesting subtext to the film's external conflict regarding demonic possession. The film does indulge some of its source's less agreeable qualities such as a reiteration on the original's notorious "tree-rape" scene, though this is an example of how playing things straight works just a little better with the scene being unquestionably disturbing instead of having the "is this supposed to be funny" quality of the original version. The foul-mouthed demons that start possessing the various characters one by one are also sure to get into all sorts of disturbing shenanigans, especially when one Deadite gets a little too stabby with a syringe. The tone is solid enough that it more than compensates for when the remake goes a little off the rails and adds its own little tweaks to the plot, which do admittedly remind me of a certain semi-respectable vampire movie from the 1980s. It may not provide as much in the way of frightening jump-scares as its source film did, but there is a certain degree of inventiveness to its gorier aspects that makes the film unsettling enough to get by.
Of course, there are plenty of moments that exist to pay homage to the original trilogy, whether through snippets of dialogue or visual cues. These do come across as sincere instead of patronising more often than not, which is definitely a point in Evil Dead's favour. That sincerity is reflected in the film's reliance on practical effects more so than CGI, which definitely makes things feel appropriately visceral (especially the climax that seems to surpass even Braindead in terms of sheer bloodiness). It was able to keep me in sufficient suspense until the end even as it threatened to drag just a little at points. I can't really fault the people involved for wanting to do something different, especially when there was already next-to-no chance of this film matching up to its source, let alone surpassing it. As such, it proves a surprisingly serviceable example of a modern horror remake that does not feel great but at least does not feel like a puerile affront either. While the changes may alternate between acceptable and inadvisable, there's nothing here that manages to either elevate or undercut the film to a significant degree. Under the circumstances, I would be justified in saying that I hated the film, but in all honesty I really didn't. Obviously, it's not a patch on the original but it's not so much good as good enough. If you do watch this, be sure to stick around after the credits.
Fede Alvarez, 2013
Five friends head to a cabin in the woods in order to help out one of their number, but things are complicated by the presence of an evil book.
Based off the averages, I'd say that the original Evil Dead trilogy might just be my favourite film series (sorry, Indy). Despite that, I did put off watching the inevitable Evil Dead remake for about two years following its release. While horror remakes are nothing new, it seemed like Evil Dead would be extremely difficult to touch purely because what made it a classic was less about seeing a single murderous villain pick off interchangeable victims so much as seeing iconic protagonist Ashley J. Williams do battle with the forces of evil. Though The Evil Dead was intended to be a fairly straightforward mix of a haunted-house movie and a demonic-possession movie, its two sequels definitely played up the frantic vibe for comedic effect as it saw Ash go through all sorts of slapstick-like torture and eventually get thrown back in time to fight an army of the undead in medieval England. 2013's Evil Dead abandons Ash by necessity (because really, who else could play him but the one and only Bruce Campbell?) and instead decided to work off the bare-bones plot about five youths, a cabin in the woods, and the book of the dead.
Now, I know it's in vogue for horror movies to start off with a prologue that sees a random victim fall prey to the movie's monster of choice, but I'd say that this example feels extremely unnecessary because it really does undercut the later surprise of seeing the Deadites appear (even if the whole sequence is supposed to feed directly into the main plot as the main characters later discover the aftermath). Even knowing how the film's first act takes a while to get to the monsters anyway isn't enough of an excuse for such a lazy prologue that is initially more likely to make me think I've started watching some killer-hillbilly movie instead of an Evil Dead movie. Anyway, the film sets up the familiar premise of five college-aged people all heading to a remote cabin. I do give it credit for coming up with a more interesting reason than their simply going on holiday - they are there to see one of their number (Jane Levy) kick her incredibly self-destructive drug habit by any means necessary. Of course, they not only discover evidence of witchcraft in the basement but they discover an eldritch tome bound in human skin and inked in blood, which of course leads the group's token egghead (Lou Taylor Pucci) to obliviously translate enough of it to let loose a demonic prophecy.
Given how much of The Evil Dead's charm comes from how it played up the more absurd aspects of its supernatural threat without sacrificing its scariness in the process, it's at once understandable and disappointing that Alvarez's remake tries to play things a little straighter. I appreciate that the drug-addiction angle at least provides a good reason why the characters don't turn tail at the first sign of trouble and adds some interesting subtext to the film's external conflict regarding demonic possession. The film does indulge some of its source's less agreeable qualities such as a reiteration on the original's notorious "tree-rape" scene, though this is an example of how playing things straight works just a little better with the scene being unquestionably disturbing instead of having the "is this supposed to be funny" quality of the original version. The foul-mouthed demons that start possessing the various characters one by one are also sure to get into all sorts of disturbing shenanigans, especially when one Deadite gets a little too stabby with a syringe. The tone is solid enough that it more than compensates for when the remake goes a little off the rails and adds its own little tweaks to the plot, which do admittedly remind me of a certain semi-respectable vampire movie from the 1980s. It may not provide as much in the way of frightening jump-scares as its source film did, but there is a certain degree of inventiveness to its gorier aspects that makes the film unsettling enough to get by.
Of course, there are plenty of moments that exist to pay homage to the original trilogy, whether through snippets of dialogue or visual cues. These do come across as sincere instead of patronising more often than not, which is definitely a point in Evil Dead's favour. That sincerity is reflected in the film's reliance on practical effects more so than CGI, which definitely makes things feel appropriately visceral (especially the climax that seems to surpass even Braindead in terms of sheer bloodiness). It was able to keep me in sufficient suspense until the end even as it threatened to drag just a little at points. I can't really fault the people involved for wanting to do something different, especially when there was already next-to-no chance of this film matching up to its source, let alone surpassing it. As such, it proves a surprisingly serviceable example of a modern horror remake that does not feel great but at least does not feel like a puerile affront either. While the changes may alternate between acceptable and inadvisable, there's nothing here that manages to either elevate or undercut the film to a significant degree. Under the circumstances, I would be justified in saying that I hated the film, but in all honesty I really didn't. Obviously, it's not a patch on the original but it's not so much good as good enough. If you do watch this, be sure to stick around after the credits.