One remote cabin in the woods, five people, one big bad evil spirit, how hard is that?
Being a fan of the Evil Dead movies of the past, I was curious about this remake, hoping to witness a new vision and establishment in the horror genre, which is what its source material is known for. Instead, we got a generic clunk of brain-dead “adults” who have a hard time acting, followed by a handful of disappointing “scares.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/FKFDkpHCQz4&w=468]
[movies name="Evil Dead" website="www.evildead-movie.com" opens="April 5, 2013" score="2.0" trailer="www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKFDkpHCQz4" rating="18a" advisories="BRUTAL VIOLENCE;COARSE LANGUAGE;TOBACCO USE" genre="Horror/Zombie" runningtime="90"]
Before we get down to business, lets just remind ourselves that The Evil Dead (1981) is the film that spawned several cabin related horror movies with similar plot devices. Now lets talk about a remake of the movie that spawned a dozen remakes.
The movies general plot and characters differ from the original, revolving around persons David (Shiloh Fernandez), Olivia (Jessica Lucas), Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), and Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) who take David’s sister Mia (Jane Levy) on a sobriety getaway to an isolated cabin, in order to help her get over her heroin addiction.
Suddenly Eric, who is supposed to be the smart one of the group, revives an evil terror from the woods by reading a mysterious book with red markings stating “DO NOT READ” embedded on every page. Eric reads anyways, and that’s when it’s okay for us to start yelling at the screen. The evil rises and before we know it, Mia’s body is possessed by the demons of the woods, which then gives her permission to torture and possess all of her friends.
Suddenly Eric, who is supposed to be the smart one of the group, revives an evil terror from the woods by reading a mysterious book with red markings stating “DO NOT READ” embedded on every page. Eric reads anyways, and that’s when it’s okay for us to start yelling at the screen. The evil rises and before we know it, Mia’s body is possessed by the demons of the woods, which then gives her permission to torture and possess all of her friends.
The movie lacks in several stages, relying on its sound effects and bass drops to jolt its audience rather than throwing them some good, uncomfortable horror. There’s plenty of gore, but that’s all we get and sorry guys, but gore isn’t scary. It’s disgusting. The acting is another unconvincing and nerve wrecking chapter, much thanks to Lou Taylor Pucci.
Comparing this revitalization to its original source material is almost insulting; there is zero originality besides the general plot and characters, and it decides to follow down the same predictable and generic film structure we’ve all witnessed too many times.
I thought it was a great idea for Sam Raimi (The director of The Evil Dead trilogy) to choose no-name YouTube short film director Fede Alvarez to remake his masterpiece, spawning more opportunities for independent filmmakers. Boy, was I wrong.
