Review: Evil Dead

BY JEREMY HAAS

* SPOILER ALERT

Horror movies are a staple in film culture. Yet it seems modern moviemakers are running out of ideas for real horror. We are seeing constant remakes of stories that need no remodeling and continuous rehashes of old ideas, all of which in an effort to make a quick buck off of teenagers with nothing better to do than buy tickets to the latest movie with an Exorcism-based plot.  One recent movie did catch my eye, still.  Despite the fact that it’s a remake, and it completely ruins the hilariously crude production values of the original, the current remake of Evil Dead really did impress me.

The original Evil Dead was released in 1981, and it starred future horror-film poster boy Bruce Campbell. The story centers on five teenagers who spend a night in a remote cabin in the woods (original, I know).  In said cabin, they stumble upon a creepy, satanic looking book accompanied by a tape of its translations.  As they play the tape weird, horrific events ensue. An evil entity possesses the teens, tormenting them until only one is left alive…and that’s the breathtakingly handsome Ash (Bruce Campbell).  Despite the typical story arc, Evil Dead was endearing because of its cheesiness and obviously mediocre production values.  Rather than taking itself too seriously, the film plays on the fact that it’s a B-movie, one that people would watch for fun rather than actual fear.  The comedy is reliant on how overdone everything about the film is, an feature that has earned it a cult following.

Despite the preconceptions it had to overcome, this remake surprised me. It didn’t try to follow the story of its predecessor shot for shot, or character for character.  It did include subtle parallels with the original that die-hard fans could appreciate, and it did keep the same basic “cabin in the woods” formula, but the newest installment did a spectacular job at being its own movie.  It’s terrifying, suspenseful, relentlessly disgusting  aspects kept me hooked for its entire 91 minute run time.

In this new Evil Dead, the main character is played by the stunning Jane Levy, who is not only beautiful, but also the only big name on the bill. Known for her work in the teenage sitcom Suburgatory, her fame makes for a good dynamic with the other four characters.

Now let’s delve into the narrative, which this remake had a little more of.  Jane Levy’s character goes to a remote cabin in the remote woods to kick her drug addiction, cold turkey.  Four long-time friends, one of who is her older brother, join her to make sure she sticks it until the bitter end.  After the back-story is established, things start to get interesting.  One of the friends, beardy-man Eric, finds the basement of the cabin, outfitted with quite a few dead cats hanging from the ceiling, along with a book wrapped in barbed wire, bound in human flesh.  Now, me, being the superstitious guy I am, would leave that book alone, but no, Eric has a little more courage and curiosity than I do.  He opens the book, and of course reads it’s few English phonetic translations, out loud, because that’s how horror movies work.  Suddenly, an evil force is unleashed, and once again, five friends are possessed and tormented until only one remains.

What really stood out about this film was it’s sickening amount of gore.  From the moment beardy-man Eric reads this little book of voodoo, Evil Dead refuses to yield.  It featured excessive blood spillage, limb removal, and super interesting ways of using household appliances as weapons of painful murder.  The first half hour of the movie fit every murder weapon used into scattered establishing scenes.  There were also a few subtle allusions to the original Evil Dead series, like Jane Levy’s “Michigan State” sweater, or nameless blonde girl’s initial reaction to seeing her friend possessed (“WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER EYES?!”)

Under any other circumstances, I would hate this movie.  It’s got the usual horror formula, along with tons of plot holes, and in addition to that, it’s based off a movie that really should not have been remade.  The reboot of Evil Dead, though, was absolutely ruthless with its gore, making me cringe nonstop for a good hour.  Serious suspense and stomach-churning bloodshed make up for the numerous downfalls, because in the end, Evil Dead wasn’t trying to do anything serious, it just wanted to put its audience into utter shock.