Evil Dead (2013) Review

Five friends travel to an abandoned cabin in the woods, in order to help one of them go cold turkey. Soon, they discover a strange, and seemingly evil book, the Necronomicon, and proceed to read an incantation from its pages. Almost immediately, demonic presences are awakened, and soon the inhabitants find themselves fighting for their lives (and fighting each other) in hopes that they may escape in one piece.

When the news broke that we were set to receive a reboot/remake of Sam Raimi's classic 1981 horror film Evil Dead, I cringed. While I don't wholly hate the idea of remaking films, I detest unnecessary ones. Then, when news broke that Diablo Cody, whose previous writing credits included Juno and Jennifer's Body, was set to write the script, I was convinced all hope was lost. However, there was still the light at the end of the tunnel. Sam Raimi and original star Bruce Campbell, were signed on as producers, and essentially, were told to oversee the entire project, to ensure that nothing would go awry.

I'll just come right out and say it: Evil Dead is the best horror remake I've seen since 2004's Dawn of the Dead. Hell, I think it actually surpasses that film. While it doesn't add anything to the original trilogy, you could argue that it will help more than harm its legacy. It is an overall fantastic, and above all, entertaining experience. Time is of the essence as of this review's typing, so I'll just move on to what I enjoyed about this picture.

The cast is all rather strong, with lead actress Jane Levy, playing the junkie Mia, easily stealing the show (and potentially this bearded reviewer's heart). She's able to go through nearly every emotion possible without any of them seeming weak, and pulls off being possessed better than any recent actress I've seen. I'm not sure I'd ever seen Shiloh Fernandez in anything prior to his role as David, Mia's brother, but his feelings for his sister's well being seem genuine, and he's the furthest thing from an Ash clone, whose traits seemed to be mixed in with most of the cast rather than one individual. Same with Eric, played by Lou Taylor Pucci, who must be the most durable human being on the planet. All the tossing around and pain endured by the original trilogy's performers seems to be nothing compared to what this poor bastard goes through. Come to think of it, everyone here gets a thorough beating, and they (or rather, their stuntmen/women) must be commended for it.

If you're a gorehound, there is a lot to gush over in 2013's Evil Dead, pun possibly intentional. There's a plethora of scenes that will make even the most hardened of individuals cringe, including scenes of dismemberment, tongue defilement, and many more. True, the remake's tree rape sequence doesn't seem as horrific as it did in the original, but tree rape is tree rape after all. Major props must be given to the effects crew, who decided to go with traditional effects work rather than rely on the easier, and more often despised choice, of CGI. True, there are some CGI shots peppered in here and there, but they're barely noticeable, and don't detract from the fun.

Now here's where everyone expects me to find some faults, as I can do with nearly every film (even my favorites). But, with maybe the exception of a finale that did feel obviously written by Diablo Cody, and a somewhat slow beginning act, I can't think of anything to truly dislike about this film. Hell, there's even homages to the original trilogy that don't seem forced, and it gets the vibe of the first film down fairly well.

To those who are still nervous or are forever naysayers, I say give this a chance. It won't surpass the original film by any means, but it is far from a bad movie, and one example about how to do a remake properly. I wouldn't be opposed to owning this in my DVD/Blu-Ray collection someday, and I won't hesitate to recommend this to any horror fan.