Evil Dead (2013)
Fede Alvarez's 'remake' or continuation of the story is honest to the original. The fact that Raimi and Campbell are back on board as producers gives the film a 'blessed' feeling, even if their names are merely just that - names on the credits and not an influence on the film. Because of this, it's quite sad to see Evil Dead reduced to such a serious film. It's gloriously bloody and violent, and it revels in it, but it's so damn serious.
And that's where we meet horror's crossroads. In ten years, we'll be looking back at the period of horror prior to The Cabin in the Woods release and post The Cabin in the Woods release. Much the same as people look back at horror prior to Scream and post Scream, or to go almost a decade earlier, prior to Halloween and post Halloween.
The Cabin in the Woods is such a great game changing film, that it's difficult for any horror film which deals with teens going into the woods (or really in any environment) to recover or be any different. You know that when they pick up that book or see the dead cats that shit is going to happen pretty soon. It's obviously a concept that is not uncommon in horror films, and it's also what sets films like Cabin in the Woods apart from films like the Evil Dead remake.
As a horror film, Evil Dead is fine. It's serviceable and watchable and ticks the right boxes. No doubt if you aren't a horror viewer, you would be shocked and grossed out at the sheer amount of gore on display, but I'm not sure that you'd be scared. Which is not to say that The Cabin in the Woods is a terrifying ride, it's that Cabin shares its shocks with its great laughs; something that the original Evil Dead and Evil Dead II did brilliantly.
The problems with Evil Dead is that it doesn't present characters to care about. The idea that gets the characters in the woods - and when shit does go down, to get them to stay in the cabin - is a smart idea, but unfortunately it's not developed enough. The addict's death in Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors contains a better and more potent comment on drug addiction than Evil Dead appears to. I wouldn't even say it attempts to make a comment on anything at all, it's just a device to get the characters to a place for bad things to happen.
If the idea of drug addiction, or rather, the idea of a character, was explored more greatly, then the torture that the characters go through would be at least on the way to being terrifying. Unfortunately, Alvarez's film ticks off the references to the original film in a way that feels like it's just placed there and not part of his narrative. The tree rape is there, but it's there. That's it. There's no lead up or scary aspect to it; Mia needs to get the demon in her so may as well have the tree rape her. Which is not to say that sequence should be titillating or enjoyable, but it at least should scare.
As the film progresses, the gore is laid on thick and amazingly so. This is probably the bloodiest film since Braindead. For some reason though, it feels as if Alvarez has mistaken gruesome deaths for genuine horror. The most chilling part comes late in the film as Mia is being stalked by a deadite. Mia hides in the walls of the shed, the deadite tries to stab her with a machete and manages to slice into her leg. Unlike other injuries in the movie, this one there is no blood, just the mere suggestion of injury. It's the less is more effect at use in a film which is over the top gore.
The other aspect of the film which really pulls it down is the score. Evil Dead looks brilliant, and besides some bland characters, the actors do ok, but not helping is the score by Roque Banos. It's not chilling or threatening in the way a good horror score is. In fact, when the finale comes around and the uplifting trumpets and violins rise over the blood rain on the screen, it feels as if somebody changed the soundtrack by accident.
However, with its lack of originality, poor characters and average score, Evil Dead still holds up as an enjoyable film. The gore is great and the practical effects are enjoyable and pleasing to see still being implemented. The lack of tension is sad, especially when moments present themselves perfectly to be a great set up for tension but are dropped or ruined by the score.
In this post Cabin in the Woods horror world, risks need to be taken and the cookie cutter mould needs to be improved upon instead of relied upon for familiar beats. Whilst it's an acceptable film, Evil Dead would have been better if it had tried to create an identity for itself instead of relying on imitating the originals moments. A groovy post credit clip hints at what may become of the sequel if there is one - the injection of a personality and a character who you care about.
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