Evil Dead (2013)

There was a time that I gave horror remakes the benefit of the doubt. The Dawn of the Dead remake wasn't so bad for what it was. The Fright Night remake actually did a decent amount of justice for its source material. But then, you stop and realize how short Hollywood has come up in terms of original ideas and cool scares. Nowadays it seems to be a) remakes b) torture porn c) possession movies(these have got to go) d) more remakes. Heck, the last original and clever horror movie I saw was Cabin in the Woods, which was actually a horror themed comedy rather than a true horror film.

Sadly, the Evil Dead remake turned out to be just as disappointing and toothless as I expected it to be. No, this film does not improve on the original. No, it does not become a good horror film in its own right. Yes, you have seen pretty much everything in this film before. Yes, you're better off watching anything from the original trilogy.

I read an interview with director Fede Alvarez which had him say something along the lines of "When I saw the 80's Fly, I didn't care about the original 50's version. That was the Fly to me" OK Fede.....point taken. But the 80's Fly was directed by David Cronenberg, who at that point was already a seasoned director who had over 10 years of experience under his belt and who is known for innovative styles and concepts. Alvarez has none of that. As I understand it his background is mainly short films. Perhaps I should familiarize myself with his previous work, but let me just say he does nothing to make Evil Dead his own movie. All I saw were some nifty lighting choices and camera angles.

But then again, there's nothing about this Evil Dead that makes it it's own movie. You have impossibly hot actresses who still look hot even when they're shivering and drenched in gore. You have the same hyperactive MTV-style editing that any supernatural or slasher film these days has. You have poor attempts at making this a "serious" film. Seriously, the original was about rapist trees and crazed demons! How "serious" does it have to be? You have any number of tropes and clichés which make this an ultimately forgettable affair. And on top of that you have no actors or characters who grab the eye. Imagine that Ash's sister Linda was an irritating coke addict instead of a weird psychic girl. Then subtract Ash. There's your Evil Dead.

One thing that made the original have such charm is that it wasn't just a low budget film, it was practically a student film! I know....it's a big fanboy gripe, but I found myself longing for the original whilst sitting through this Bruce Campbell-less bore fest.

The hype machine and rent-a-critic tactics will likely make this a relative box office success. I hope it is a last gasp.

Fmovies: I created an account just to review this movie. As a hardcore movie fan I felt as if the reviews of this movie where extremely underrated. This movie is intended for hardcore horror fans and is probably the most gruesome movie I've ever seen. Tops rob zombies movies even. If you watch a ton of horror and want to take it to the next level yet still have all the classic elements, watch this movie. It had all the elements to make it a great yet modern movie while having enough modern day elements to blow you away. I am a self-proclaimed horror fanatic and this movie is was able to keep me on the edge of my seat covering my face, I've never had that experience my entire life until this movie. See. This. Movie.

Let be The Evil Dead (1981) be in my top 5 list of best horrors ever. So I was waiting until the evil came out to finally see another failing remake I thought. But have heard only positive things about the remake I had my doubts. At last, after a lot of stupid remakes this one kicks you straight in the face. In fact, it's based on the original one. Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi were involved in making this flick and Fede Alvarez (the director) did a great job for his first full feature.

Let me first of all say this. If you can't stand extreme gory horrors than stay away from this flick. It contains shock gore just for the gore. If you thought this was going to be a supernatural ride then forget it. This is really one for the gorehounds.

Does it look like the original Evil Dead. Of course not. Back then a few effects were done with stop motion. Here we luckily have the real effects and okay, here and there some CGI which I didn't mind at all. But to go back on the original. Yes, it do has the chainsaw, yes it do has the slapping door, yes it do has the evil faces from back then and yes we do have the woods attacking a girl, but not raping her like in the original.

Was it scary? It never was scary at one moment but still, you will watch it with your mouth open. From the opening sequence you are immediately into the Evil Dead ride. Why I do give kudos to the director is that he made the movie he wanted to make but to please the old school fans he added references to the original.

The acting of course had to be good too and luckily it was. But did they do jokes like in the original. Not really, that was left out here, admit it, we are 30 years later!

Finally, I'm happy to see that they didn't give a sh*t towards the ratings. They made Evil Dead as they wanted to make it, it's full of red stuff. Not done like the new horrors with digital animation. This is old school, this is great, for me a must see for the buffs walking this earth. Finally horror is back with some evil dead to show you....

Gore 4/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 4/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5

Evil Dead fmovies. 'EVIL DEAD': Five Stars (Out of Five)

The first five star movie of 2013 is this long awaited reboot to writer/director Sam Raimi's 1981 cult classic original 'THE EVIL DEAD'. It's a loose sequel that finds a new group of young adults stumbling across the 'book of the dead', from the original trilogy, in the same cabin that iconic hero Ash and his friends did in the original two films. Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell (who played Ash) have returned as producers of the film (along with their buddy Robert G. Tapert, who produced the original three films). Raimi picked Fede Alvarez to make his feature film debut directing and co-writing the film (along with Rodo Sayagues and Diablo Cody). It stars Jane Levy (from TV's 'SUBURGATORY'), Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore. Levy plays Mia and she's supposed to reprise the role for two more films, the last of which is supposed to link this new film series to the adventures of Ash and the original films (following a 'ARMY OF DARKNESS 2' movie). I grew up on these films and am extremely excited to see Raimi and Campbell picking the series up again and think they're off to a great start.

The story picks up 30 years after the original 'THE EVIL DEAD' film ended with a new group of kids going to the same cabin so Mia (Levy) can try to detox and get over her opiate addiction. Her friends Eric (Pucci), Olivia (Lucas), Natalie (Blackmore) and brother David (Fernandez) are there as well to help her get through it. They come across the 'book of the dead' (the Naturom Demonto) from the original films, in the cellar and Eric foolishly reads from it (despite several warnings not to). He of course awakens the dead and Mia is possessed. The others originally think she's just going through withdrawals but they soon find themselves being taken over and killed off one by one as they fight the deadites for their survival.

The film was made on a budget of just $17 million (which is a lot higher than the original film obviously but a pretty small budget by Hollywood standards). The filmmakers decided not to use CGI (except for touch ups) and filmed for 70 days. The results are definitely rewarding. The film really has that 'old school' classic slasher film feel to it and it's surprisingly loyal to the original films (in style). It's lacking the power of a performance like Bruce Campbell's but it is really funny and satirical (more so than the first film I think but not it's sequels). The violence and gore is out of control (It was first rated NC-17, like the original) and it really is a true hardcore horror film; it's truly exhilarating and relentless. I think the filmmakers did about as good a job as they possibly could rebooting this classic series and being a huge fan it's an enormous pleasure to watch. I have no real complaints; it's a masterpiece just like the original film and it's sequels!

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I have to say I'm very surprised at all the negative reviews I've been reading. I'm an avid movie lover, frequenting the theaters at least twice a week if not more. Something about being able to just sit back in a dark room, with a big screen and great sound. It's just good fun. Movies are enjoyable, not all are realistic and I think that's the point. If I wanted something realistic, I would watch a documentary (which I do on many occasions).

I think a lot of the reviews are being very unfair to this movie. I have seen the original and I loved it. Especially when I first saw it as a kid, it scared the crap out of me. But we have to remember that we are in a new age with different technologies and expectations. I bet that if the original was released for the first time right now, it would have been shot down even more than this "remake." Although I love the original, the effects don't scare me like they used to. And people who complain about the acting and script of the new movie? Come on. It wasn't perfect, but it's nowhere near as bad as others are making it out to be. And Jane Levy was absolutely AMAZING in this film. I would watch this movie over and over again just to see her act.

People are judging this movie too harshly. Was this movie enjoyable? Yes. Very much so. Were the effects good? The effects were A+ and the score was magnificent. Would I see it again? Yes. I would go see it again at the movies AND buy it as soon as it's available on Blu Ray.

This movie is not meant to be a remake of the first, rather a reawakening of an old and classic evil. Watch this movie with an open mind and you will love it. Watch it and compare it to the original? You will hate it, because they are not the same movies. Both were brilliant, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I enjoyed this version a lot more than the old one. Acting by Levy was perfect, gore was fantastic, scares were good, and the movie had my attention all the way through.

So I've read here and there that this remake lacks the camp of the original. And I look back over 20 years ago, watching The Evil Dead on a crummy rental VHS, in the dark of my teenage bedroom one night. The camp? The original Evil Dead was a terrifying experience, even with Bruce Campbell's over the top performance, the film was a scare-fest, a terrifying trip even nearly ten years after its release. The camp was in Evil Dead 2, an horror comedy remaking the original already, technically.

This remake finds many way to bow to the original, aside the obligatory visual quotes. The use of practical effects, notably, in an era of CGI- filled movies, is extremely refreshing. The gore feels painful, makes you cringe, churned my stomach. It successfully palliates a somewhat shallow characterization that makes it difficult to root for the characters (with the exception of Mia, who owes a lot to a really visceral performance by Jane Levy.)

And this is where Evil Dead 2013 took me by surprise. After roughly a first half of the movie taking Evil Dead fans by the hand towards hashed and rehashed territories, making them doubt that this was a good idea at all, the movie lets go of your hand and you're alone, in the middle of the woods, and it's dark and there's strange noises all about... and then limbs start flying.

I won't get into conjectures that the highly conventional and overly familiar first half was made that way with the sole purpose of placing the audience in their comfort zone, only to give more impact to the second half... but I would surely ask Fede Alvarez if I was to interview him.

Evil Dead 2013 is a treat for the fans of gore and horror, in any case. Another reminder that out of ten awful remakes, sometimes one rises to the top and delivers. Not for the faint of heart, for sure, but if you're a true horror fan, and even more, if you miss your old school, gruesome gore rides, this one is for you.