When you say ‘Evil Dead’ to most horror buffs, it’d most likely conjure up images of chainsaws and boomsticks as Ash smashes his way through hordes of Deadites, sporting a shitkicker grin while throwing up endless quips. That’s not really how it all stared though. Due to the more comedic tone that Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness bore, it’s really easy to forget that the first film in Sam Raimi’s classic trilogy is much more likely to cause you to shit your pants than wet them. It was genuinely creepy, unsettling stuff.
21 years since Ash kicked the medieval dead’s collective ass and got back to S-Mart, we’ve got this remake to chew on. While you’d be forgiven for expecting another polished, soulless rehash, bereft of the original’s charm, the truth is that this Evil Dead harks back to the series’ roots and delivers a slick update that lathers on the gore without a hint of tongue in its undead, rotting cheek. It’s very, very violent and very, very creepy.
Produced by the gang behind the original, Evil Dead 2013 sees a group of friends take a break to a cabin in the woods to get one of the group, Mia, clean after a lengthy bout of abusing her body with drugs. As expected, one trip to the basement and a reading from a skin-bound book later and some seriously weird stuff starts to go down. As Mia starts getting more and more out of control, her friends question whether or not it’s simple withdrawal symptoms or something a little darker. Well, spoiler alert, it’s something very bad indeed as, unsurprisingly, the Deadites soon run amok and the gang has to quell the spread of evil in the forest and save their friend’s soul – all while trying to make it to morning in one piece…because that’s when the Deadites get some shut eye and the trees stop raping people.
While it’s not copying the original movie verbatim, it plays out with all the same set pieces and, somewhat surprisingly, doesn’t really suffer that much from not having an Ash-style character. But then the reason for that is that this Evil Dead isn’t a remake, it’s a new installment in the existing franchise, covering much of the same ground in the same way that the latest version of The Thing did. In that regard, it feels very much like a love letter to the original and it’s good to see that the respect for its source is there. As such, it’s much easier pill to swallow than a shitty franchise reboot that gives its predecessors and its established fan base the finger.
As a standalone film, Evil Dead is dark, sinister, very gory and pretty good fun. As part of the bigger series though it slots in nicely, whetting the appetite for the Army of Darkness sequel that Raimi has promised as well as that inevitable crossover between both branches of the Evil Dead franchise. In all, it’s far better than most would expect. Just make sure you watch to the end of the credits.
As for the Blu-ray package, the dark image is nice and clear with the many black and red shades standing out nicely. The DTS HD Master Audio track renders every growl and snarl beautifully, helping to create that claustrophobic sense of dread we’ve come to know and love from the first two films in the series. Extras on board are your standard fare – a commentary from the cast and crew and a bunch of featurettes. One or two are okay such as “Unleashing the Evil Force” – which explores the origins and design of the new Naturom Demonto (aka The Book of the Dead). “Evil Dead and the Reboot” is worth a peep for fans too as it features a little Brucie action. Other than that, it’s a pretty forgettable batch.
Overall verdict: A nice update for the franchise and a nice, respectful homage to the original. Not awesome but well worth a look.
Special Features:
‘Making Life Difficult’ featurette
‘Being Mia: The Physical and Psychological Transformation into “Evil Mia”‘ featurette
‘Directing the Dead’ featurette
‘Unleashing the Evil Force’ featurette
‘Evil Dead and the Reboot’ featurette
Audio Commentary with Director Fede Alvarez, Writer Rodo Sayagues and Actors Jane Levy, Lou Taylor Pucci and Jessica Lucas
Reviewer: Jordan Brown