Evil Dead (2013).

How well did Evil Dead hold up? Well...



I'll be perfectly honest in saying my reaction to this remake was much the same as everyone elses, "Fuck off.". Different to others however is that the involvement of Raimi and Campbell didn't rekindle my interest either, it's nothing against them, I just knew in my heart that they'd never top the original trilogy. Then as the reviews came out, largely marking the film for mediocrity, I had pretty much decided I wanted nothing to do with it. However, as a big Evil Dead fan, I just couldn't resist the temptation of finding out just how badly they could screw this up.

One of the most frustrating and disappointing aspects of Evil Dead for me is there seems to be a lot more going on in the background than what is really happening in the foreground. As a fan of psychological chillers, much more so than I am of supernatural ones, I expected a twist that never actually came. This could have actually been a really great film, if they delivered on what they seemed to be suggesting, it could have been a worthy remake, instead, we got this...

Supernatural horror doesn't scare me. Insanity, human depravity, it all exists, it's real and tangible and those are the topics that leave me skulking out of the movie theatre in terror. As scary as demons may be in a film, demons aren't real, so the fear can only go so far for me. What I was eager for here, especially since they bothered to bring up a back story plot thread of mental illness for Mia and David (the central siblings of story) so late in the film and that the very foundations of the film were built on a damaged girl battling a drug addiction, was for the film to question just how much of this could really all just be in Mia or David's heads, maybe even done by their hands. And even if they didn't bother to go all out with a twist that could have easily gone horribly wrong, I would have at least liked the supernatural aspect to be questioned. It annoys me, sure, when main characters refuse to believe in what their eyes are seeing but there is no real build up to the supernatural element, it just kind of happens and everyone just plays along.

Pacing is sadly something the film never gets right, sure it's a whirlwind of blood and gore but the characters are barely established beyond a single note before they are getting possessed and brutally killing and mutilating each other or themselves. Largely leaving character traits, relationships and back stories to awkwardly pop up at random points and never really amount to very much.

Even aside from all of that, the foreground story is perhaps in many senses even more poorly established. They did a good job of streamlining a lot of the Evil Dead lore and plot but with the film racing past, those little important details seemed to get lost and without those holding it all together, huge holes had developed by the time the credits had rolled. Honestly by the end when the sky started to bleed and a super powered naked woman erupted from the ground, I really had no fucking idea what was going on or what the intention of the film was anymore. Sure it was alluded to and established, there was context, but little exploration or explanation on what the fuck was actually happening or who this was. Luckily this she-bitch from hell, despite being able to lift cars with one hand, is swiftly defeated by a girl who was recently buried alive, tore her own arm in half and is currently suffering drugs withdrawals. Err...then again, she was armed with a chainsaw, groovy!

And perhaps the final nail in the coffin for me was the reliance on horror cliches and stupidity. Basically the entire film comes down to one guy who is supposed to be smart enough to be a teacher reading a book aloud that says, 'don't read this aloud'. Like, what the fuck? Perhaps even funnier is as if the film recognises just how dumb this is, it's barely mentioned again. His realisation as to what he has done and caused, like many of the more interest aspects, appears to be playing off screen and in his head and I so wish they actually properly addressed it and gave it an arc. The most frustrating part of this however, is that when David finds out, he doesn't really seem to care or judge him and right after he reveals that he caused all of this, he immediately tells David he has to kill his sister to end all of this. Does David flip the fuck out or even really react? Not really no, his response basically amounts to a constipated expression followed by a, 'Lol okay then, where is the gasoline?'.

What certainly is in the films favour are the effects and gore, it's cartoonishly bloody for sure but the injuries, look, sound and feel so real, it's hard not to spend the entire film in a perpetual foetus position. What is especially clever are the really well hidden cuts and edits, some of the injuries have the camera lingering seemingly in place for so long, it feels like one take and really does give the illusion that the wounds are real. Perhaps the most disturbing moment for me is when Deadite Mia runs her tongue along a box cutter, splitting it in two and then waggling the two bits of tongue. I actually gasped out loud.

What gave me an extra kick as a fan of the original trilogy was all the subtle little nods to those films and how respectfully they were placed and played. They were never obnoxious and the film never relied on fan pandering, they were just little Easter eggs for fans like me to smile at in the audience.

So do I recommend it? Without both the original trilogies self aware charm and humour and without that depth that lingered so close in the background coming to fruition, it's hard not to find Evil Dead just quite mediocre. It isn't to say it isn't entertaining but it doesn't have enough scares for the horror crowd, enough depth for a status as a classic or any humour at all for those who like the oh so sweet blend of comedy and horror. Which really was a shame for me, because the inner demons and conflicts each of the characters either built up or started the film with were very interesting to me and at least by the halfway point, I thought a much more interesting film was shaping, than what I actually ended up getting. I'm unlikely to watch this again and it isn't a touch on the original trilogy.

Think About It!

-Locke

What would you rate, 'Evil Dead'?