While not perfect, Evil
Dead does a masterful job giving fans what they want while updating the
original’s plot and tropes for the 21st century. A hallmark and
beloved cult classic of the slasher era, The
Evil Dead (1978) is the type of film that can benefit from an update,
unlike the Carrie remake that’s set
to photocopy its way into theatres this fall and looks exactly like the
original (except with modern cars and phones to make it current).
The Evil Dead was
made on a shoestring budget that, while making the film very frightening, also
gave the production a rough-around the-edges quality that shows the constraints
of independent filmmaking. Evil Dead plays with the conventions of
horror films, understanding that tropes established by the original have now
been copied to the point of becoming a lampoon. The new film is able to both
poke fun at how dated the original is while also sidestepping the material.
Instead of the five usual drunk, horny college students going to cabin in the woods
to “get drunk, and bump uglies”, the cast is now comprised of 30-somethings rendezvousing
to help their friend Mia kick a drug habit.
Even though this is Fede Alvarez’ movie, the giddy
fingerprints of Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell can be felt
throughout. Several camera movements and visual gags make this
prequel/sequel/remake feel at home in the canon of the series’ ever mutating
mythology. The majority of the film
plays against convention, using the basic premise of the original to set up a
fresh take on the cabin-in-the-woods idea. Even for the die-hard horror fanatic
and Evil Dead enthusiast, the 2013 version finds a way to grab you by the
throat and make you squirm in your seat. While blood rains over the set
(sometimes literally), and the overall gore quota is present in full force, it’s
used effectively to set up both scares and laughs.
This version has no clear protagonist, much like how Bruce
Campbell in the original didn’t emerge as the hero until the third act when he
was thrust from his coward position to unlikely hero because he was the only
warm body left. In the 2013 version Jane Levy (Mia) gets a chance to be both
the antagonist and protagonist and relishes every moment. She has an off-kilter
beauty that suits her role well and while she never takes the spot of Ash
(which the producers admit they never intended) she becomes a fitting central
figure that could line up next to Bruce in a future film if the series
inevitably bridges both worlds.
Bruce also gets a post-credits “Groovy” in (if you’re a fan
it’s worth waiting for) and the short, home video-like shot was a nice shout
out to his fans. The cinematography is effective and sets up several iconic
moments, and the score complements (but never repeats) the music from the original.
Thus the atmosphere is creepy and unique; by the third act the music alone did
something most horror movies aren’t able to do anymore: set up a scare without relying on quick cuts
or gratuitous loud noises.
Overall, Evil Dead
is an unsettling, disturbing movie that pays homage to its roots and serves up
generous scares for horror fans. It also
moves the series into the 21st century with minimal CGI that
complements its practical special effects.
Whether you’re a fan of the genre or a fanatic of Army of Darkness, Evil
Dead is a worthy successor in a franchise known for its inventiveness and
originality.
-Mike
