Evil Dead

Cast of Characters:
Mia - Jane Levy
David - Shiloh Fernandez
Eric - Lou Taylor Pucci
Olivia - Jessica Lucas
Natalie - Elizabeth Blackmore

Director - Fede Alvarez
Screenplay - Fede Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues
Based on the script "The Evil Dead" by Sam Raimi
Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, some sexual content and language


      In 1981, a relatively unknown writer/director named Sam Raimi filmed, for just under half a million dollars, The Evil Dead. The film received mostly positive reviews and eventually the film became a cult-classic within the horror film genre. As of today, that relative unknown Raimi has become one of Hollywood's biggest directors, directing two more entries in the Evil Dead series as well as Darkman, The Quick and the Dead, A Simple Plan, For the Love of the Game, Spider-Man and its two sequels, and this year's Oz the Great and Powerful. Now in 2013, Raimi, original producer Robert G. Tapert and lead actor Bruce Campbell produce a new reboot of the classic horror film, Evil Dead.

      The film opens with a group of friends led by David (Shiloh Fernandez) along with his girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) and two friends Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) and Olivia (Jessica Lucas), a registered nurse. The four are staying at a cabin in the woods owned by David's family to help David's little sister Mia (Jane Levy) kick her drug habit of smack. Quite honestly, Mia could be the most sober one in the group and you'd still think she's got some screws loose in her head. She's as moody as they come and she likes to sketch. If you know anything about creepy people in horror films, they always like to sketch things with their heads hung low. She's also been complaining about some horrid smell of death since she got there that apparently no one else can smell.

      Within no time, the family dog of David and Mia's finds a trap door located in the center of the living room. Opening it up, they discover that smell Mia may have been talking about is a clutter of dead animals hung on hooks in the basement. It is then Eric who discovers a mysterious book that says "LEAVE THIS BOOK ALONE!" So naturally, they do so, and the film ends, and Mia kicks her habit, and everyone's happy. The end... Hey, of course not. Eric - like an idiot - opens the book and hey, while we're at it, let's recite the chants they don't want us to recite too. What's the worse that could happen? Say the nearest exit out of there is conveniently flooded during a rainstorm. Say Mia becomes possessed by the nastiest bitch out of hell. Say Mia walks out of her room with a shotgun in hand and tells the other four, "You're all gonna die tonight!", while the others stare back awkwardly, stay put and go, "Hey, Mia, why don't you put the gun down." No big deal, right? Go on, Eric. Recite away. These people either have spines of steel or are really that stupid. It'd probably take the Gates of Hell opening up right in front of them to get them all out of that damn house.

      I don't expect characters in any horror film to be Mensa members, but I don't expect to be as stupid as the ones in Evil Dead are. David is either suffering from an extreme case of denial, naivety, or is just retarded. After seeing all the horror he has witnessed at the hands of his little sister, he still says to Eric, "Well, maybe she's just sick and needs to see a doctor." Olivia is a registered nurse, but I'd never trust my worst enemy's life in her hands, let alone mine considering I'd be surprised if she could register for a Hotmail account. Natalie is just the token bimbo of the group that commits the big cliche we've seen time and time again where she hears Mia - still possessed, of course - crying for help, so she goes down into the basement to see what's wrong. As for Eric, for God's sake, the book said "LEAVE THIS BOOK ALONE!" There's absolutely nothing cryptic or in need of interpretation about it. Leave the damn book alone! All this film has to offer is nothing but gore and more gore. Granted, the makeup and prosthetic effects by Jane O'Kane and Roger Murray respectively as well as the production design by Robert Gillies are first rate. There's no doubt, as I've said before on here, that crew members such as the editors, the makeup artists, and the production designers are the unsung heroes of each film that is made. However, this film is so unoriginal and the characters are so dumb that it doesn't matter how good the makeup and production design is. It's just a waste of their talents. Directors like Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and even Mel Gibson have been able to wield gore and violence within their story like an art form. Gore just to see how much you can make the viewer cringe, on the other hand, is neither clever or interesting.

      I'm a big fan of well made horror movies; films that can scare me witless or leave me with that unnerved, gut wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach. The Exorcist is not only my favorite scary movie, but also one of my favorite movies in general. There's also The Ring, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Others, The Orphanage, and this year's Mama was entertainingly frightful. More fittingly, I'm a huge fan of the original Evil Dead. While I didn't like the second or third entries in the series as they were a little too campy for me, the first Evil Dead contained just the right blend of creepy scares, frightening chills, and dark humor. That's what made it great. That's what made it a top 10 horror film for me. Save a few funny one-liners here in the remake, all the wicked humor that made the original so good is stripped away and we're left with a gory mess that takes itself way too seriously. So, readers, avoid this film at all costs and rent the original 1981 classic The Evil Dead instead. I give Evil Dead a D- (½★).