Like Over-the-Top Horror and Gore? "Evil Dead" Remake Delivers

Director Fede Alvarez had the difficult task of remaking the beloved '80s horror film The Evil Dead. Sam Raimi's original was made on a shoestring budget and featured tons of practical makeup and gore. Bruce Campbell's Ash, the charismatic, big-chinned star of the original Evil Dead trilogy, is almost entirely responsible for why those movies are so highly regarded. Both Campbell and Raimi gave their blessing to Alvarez's script and acted as producers on his remake. Much like Alvarez, I am a fan of the Evil Dead movies and I was concerned the remake would be yet another example of an unnecessary cash grab.

Thankfully, this movie was made by a fan. It so easily could have been botched by some hack working for Michael Bay's production company (looking at you, Nightmare on Elm Street and Texas Chainsaw remakes). Luckily, Fede Alvarez knows what Evil Dead fans want. They want to be taken on a creepy, blood-soaked (and I mean gallons) thrill ride that also has a surreal and unpredictable tone.

While the original Evil Dead movies leaned more toward slapstick and even broad comedy, this new one keeps a straight face throughout. I was worried a totally serious Evil Dead movie would be no fun. After all, without Ash, how can Evil Dead even be Evil Dead? Let me tell you, fans of the original will have a lot of fun with this movie. If you appreciate nasty, gruesome violence that can be both disgusting and awesome, Evil Dead will deliver. By the end of the film, the remaining actors are literally drenched in blood.

I am shocked this movie did not get an NC-17 rating from the MPAA for its violence. This just goes to show you how inconsistent the MPAA can be when giving a film the R rating. I just don't understand how a relatively mild historical drama like The King's Speech can be given an R, and so can the absurdly gory Evil Dead.

On the subject of the gore in Evil Dead, Quentin Tarantino himself might blush at some of the violence on display here. I don't fancy myself much of a gorehound, but I had a blast watching Fede Alvarez go nuts with the blood in this movie. Limbs are lopped off, characters are shot repeatedly with nailguns, and yes, there is some chainsaw violence for you fans of Evil Dead II.

At the risk of focusing solely on the gore, I should mention that the acting and script are fine, but unspectacular. The only actress who really impressed me was Jane Levy, who turns out to be the lead of this movie in a way. Without spoiling the movie, she actually ends up playing three characters at the same time. It was refreshing to see a female lead in a horror movie of this type who isn't a complete idiot or a bimbo.

On the subject of the script, it's tough to buy the central concept post-Cabin in the Woods. Like the original two films, five friends go out to a cabin in the woods and accidentally awaken an evil force from the woods. Stop me if you've heard that before. That being said, the film does give a decent enough reason for why the friends stay in the cabin after they make a gruesome discovery. Jane Levy's character is a drug addict attempting to detox in the cabin. Her friends see her acting strangely after she encounters the force in the woods (fans of the original will know there is a disturbing tree-related scene) and just assume she is experiencing side effects of not taking drugs. However, there are still some scenes where characters act dumb in order for a scene to be suspenseful or for the movie to go on a bit longer. These contrivances did not end up bothering me too much because I was having so much fun waiting to see what crazy gore would fly at the screen next.

My experience watching Evil Dead was a pretty good one. I knew going into it that it probably would not surpass the quality of the originals and I was right. It's hard to top movies that are already so beloved by horror fans in the first place. Taken on its own though, Evil Dead is a solid, gory exploitation movie that should please fans of the original. I don't expect to watch this one over and over again, but it got the job done. I would be interested to see Fede Alvarez do another Evil Dead movie in the future; he certainly has the passion and talent to do so.

P.S. Stay during the credits for Evil Dead. You'll get two groovy treats!