The Evil Dead Remake Has Lashings Of Gore - As It Should!

Evil Dead (2013)

Wow.

Look, there's going to be triggering stuff in here. I can't help it. I don't normally worry about blood too much, but this time I'm going to be showing a lot of it (eventually). What's more there is an um... "iconic" moment in the original movie "The Evil Dead" and regardless of how they handled that in the remake, I'm going to have to discuss the original on which its based anyway. So the review below WILL (later on) include a r*pe discussion. However, I'm going to do as much of the review as I can before I reach that point. Also, there will be two trigger warnings below. The first is for discussion and images related to violence and the second (very close to the end) is for the r*pe discussion.

This review is going to cover a lot of bases so here's the contents:
1. The Non-Triggering Review
A short basic introduction that expresses my general feelings on the Evil Dead series as a whole, includes my opinion on the new movie, but is somewhat lighter on actual analysis. ("So like every other movie review you've done then?" - Oh touche!)

2. Confused by the Critics
I explain why I think some criticisms of the new remake make no damn sense and analyse what might be causing the reviews to be so drastically polarised.

3. The 'iconic' moments
I talk about the bloodthirsty elements and get into the real guts of the movie. I talk about how much this remake has taken from its predecessor and whether it should have done so.



1. The Non-Triggering Review

Before I get to any of the triggering stuff (don't worry, the warning will be nice and clear when we get to it and any triggering stuff will be a long way under the cut), I'm going to try and give as thorough a summation of my thoughts on the movie as I can.

Okay, so um... look hand-on-heart here. I didn't like the original movie of "The Evil Dead" from the 80s. I saw "Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn" first and was kind of puzzled by it. But I increasingly loved it the more I watched it. It marked the beginnings of my adoration of horror comedies, since Raimi seems to be unique in his ability to not only have real creepiness and horror and real laugh out loud moments in the same film, but to have both in the exact same moment!



Then I watched "The Evil Dead" and it was a massive let-down. I wasn't used to low budget horror at all - and the original is SERIOUSLY low budget. The film felt slow and plodding. Bruce Campbell's character wasn't the charismatic narcissist I'd come to love in the sequel either. It didn't have the comedy of the sequel. Okay, actually there is some comedy in the second half, but I didn't reach that point. When it came to the aforementioned 'iconic' moment, I just turned it off in disgust. (I came to watch it again last October for Halloween Candy's 31 day marathon. Familiarity with the entire Friday 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street and Texas Chainsaw Massacre series, along with a few Lucio Fulci movies probably helped me to stomach it better and be a little more forgiving of its flaws, but the hills certainly weren't alive with praise for it.)

So I must say, like many people, I was kind of hoping for this remake would be a horror comedy like parts 2 and 3. But the poster made very clear that was not to be the case. The teaser poster was covered in the words "THE MOST TERRIFYING FILM YOU WILL EVER EXPERIENCE." (In caps, just like that.) So I was just going to have to accept that this wasn't going to be a humourous film.



I've often said in the past that the best horror films have a sense of fun. Actually gore can be part of that. It's true that gore isn't always scary. In John Carpenter's "The Thing" the gory parts seriously freak you out, but it's the tension while you are waiting for The Thing to strike that really get to you. It's the atmosphere that makes a horror movie creepy, but the gore is the fun part. This film has lashings of gore and there are clear moments where, while not a laugh riot, you can tell the director is aware of the silly elements.

I've heard a few reviewers complain that the acting isn't very good. I have no idea what they are talking about. Some characters get rather less screen time than others, but the acting felt pretty good from everyone. Particularly impressive was Jane Levy who plays the first person to be possessed by the evil.



The basic story is simple. Several friends go on a getaway to a cabin in the woods. They find a scary-looking book. Someone is silly enough to read words out of it. Et voila, demonic possession of a particularly horrible sort ensues.

( Non-triggering section of review continues under the cut... )

Elsewhere on the internets!

(Lindy West's article)

(Review at "Diaries Of The Demented" blog)

(Review on the Screenrant Underground podcast)

(Horroretc Podcast discussion - I haven't heard it yet)

(Half In The Bag video review - I haven't watched it yet)

The short film (less than 5 minutes) that got Fede Alvarez noticed by Sam Raimi is not horror and, unlike the Evil Dead remake, is all CG visual effects:

(video link)