Evil Dead (2013) Review

Come closer.  I wanna tell you a secret.

Closer.

Shhhhhh. . .


... about this new "Evil Dead" movie. . .

. . . it's not a remake. . .

. . . it's a sequel.


Okay, that's arguable.  According to the director of this "remake", one Mr. Fede Alvarez, "Evil Dead" 2013 takes place at the same cabin as the original 1983 movie but with an all-new group of characters, which would actually classify it as a follow up, not a sequel.  To further declarify the issue, 1987's "Evil Dead II" essentially was a remake of 83's "The Evil Dead" (once again that's an arguable point, but it's one I happen to agree with).  The third movie in the original series, 1993's "Army of Darkness" (also known as "The Medieval Dead") was neither a remake of "The Evil Dead" or "Evil Dead II", but was a direct sequel to "II".  It did, however, rewrite the closing scene of "II" in its opening scenes, thereby making the heads of continuity freaks everywhere explode in mushroom clouds of brain matter.

To put it all in perspective, think of it like this - there are two parallel story timelines.  Timeline #1 runs like this: "The Evil Dead" (1983) to "Evil Dead" (2013).  Timeline #2 runs thusly:  "Evil Dead II" (1987) to "Army of Darkness" (1993).  To even further drive you nuts, original trilogy director Sam Raimi will begin writing "Evil Dead 4" this upcoming summer, which he recently referred to as "Army of Darkness 2" - this would be a third movie in Timeline #2.  New Dead director Alvarez also suggested that he wants to do a follow up to the new movie ("Evil Dead 2"?) - this would be the third movie in Timeline #1.

And to top it all off, Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Raimi speculated on a seventh "Evil Dead" movie which is to be intended as a crossover film between the timelines, bringing the two universes together in one big climactic blowout.  Ye gods.

All of this is mere speculation at this point (except for the "Evil Dead 4/Army of Darkness 2" writing news).  We'll see what happens, when it happens.  For now I should probably just stick to the present and review the damn remake already.

I gave this movie an "A-" in the Professor Shifty section of the blog.  I added the minus for one simple reason - Bruce Campbell, legendary star of the original trilogy, is not the star of the remake.  Still, his influence hangs over this picture like a hatchet-chinned floating head in a sea of blackness, as does Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert (producer of the OT).  All three of them are executive producers, leaving the writing/directing chore to new guy Fede Alvarez, who is clearly a lifelong fan of these movies.

Having seen it twice so far, at packed screenings, I can say this - I have noted two distinct reactions from audience members, which I will relay to you now.  Segment A: Scaredy Cats - lots of screaming and gibbering and hiding of faces.  In one case, a lady ran out of the theater, mewling.  She later returned, very sheepishly.  Segment B: Evil Dead Fans - lots of laughing and applauding and heckling of the onscreen characters.  An interactive audience, what these movies were made for. I am a member of Segment B.

There is another category which I shall call Segment Z.  These are the people who do not understand "Evil Dead" at all.  They see the over-the-top gore, the weirdness, the Three Stooges-style humor and they scratch their heads in confusion.  They gripe about how stupid the characters in the movie act, not realizing that it's all intentional - we're supposed to yell at these people as they make one stupid decision after another, supposed to applaud and scream when they get what's coming to them.  It's that weird venting of emotions that horror movies provide, that "at least I've never experienced anything like that" feeling which makes you feel better about the life you're living, no matter how crappy it may be.  Segment Z doesn't get this.  Thankfully, Segment Z rarely goes to movies on opening night.

So the movie has gore, scares, queasy laughs and stupid people.  Does it offer up anything that the orginial films didn't have?  Sure.  It's got character development.  And a theme.  And character arcs which feed into the climactic finale, providing a sense of closure at the end.  Does any of this matter in an "Evil Dead" film?  Not really, but it's all competently done.  Let's just say it's nice to see them try something different.

Director Alvarez does a great job.  He's not the master cameraman that Sam Raimi is, but he's a more dynamic visual artist.  There are some creepily beautiful shots in this movie.  And the cast is fine.  There's no Bruce Campbell-style breakout performance here, but they do okay.

What does this movie offer for longtime fans?  There are many, many references to the original trilogy in ED2013.  Thankfully, they're so well integrated into the movie that newbie viewers won't ever feel like they're being left out.  They'll be too busy holding back their own vomit to notice.

-  HEADS UP FOR ORIGINAL TRILOGY FANS:  You must, must, MUST stay until after the end credits.  It's Very Important.

In summary, I don't love this new "Evil Dead" as much as I love the original trilogy.  Heck, I consider "Evil Dead II" to be one of my favorite movies of All Time.  Still, this new movie is highly enjoyable pulp horror movie fare and I think it's in the same ballpark as the originals.  I will be seeing it again.  Hopefully with Segment B.

Groovy.