In the remake to Sam Raimi's 1981 cult horror classic, five twenty-something friends become held up in a remote cabin in an effort to break one of their drug addictions. While quitting a drug addiction via cold turkey can be extremely tough, the young Mia soon discovers something far worse when the group of friends stumble across the Book of the Dead. Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead is an incredibly violent, fun and demented ride that is far from perfect, but appealing enough to fans of the original. One thing that is apparent from the onset of this version is that Fede Alvarez and company have creative an effective visual design. This is a very well crafted film, which elicits mood and creates atmosphere while also successfully disorienting the viewer. Unfortunately for Mr. Alvarez, his writing isn't nearly on the same level. The film uses Mia's drug addiction shamelessly to create a sense of mystery and doubt among the group when things go to shit and I quite frankly thought this type of disbelief went far too long to be believable. Now don't get me wrong, I could forgive this type of thing as merely a trope of the genre (dumb young kids) but the film's sentimental angle centered around Mia and her brother, David, doesn't really work either. Alvarez really does set out to make a film that rests on its own merits and while it makes a valiant effort, it still can't resist the tongue and cheek homages. Some viewers are bound to find this fun and cute, but I personally think the film would have been better if it had picked a path and stayed too it. One thing I can guarantee with this version of Evil Dead is that the gore hounds are sure to have fun, with this film being extremely violent and demented. Fede Alvarez' Evil Dead is far from perfect filmmaking, relying a little too much on generic sentimentality, but it's extremely violent, demented and fun, being definitely one of the best horror "remakes" in recent years. 7.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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