Time: 92 Minutes
Age Rating: R18 – contains graphic violence and offensive language
Cast:
Jane Levy as Mia Allen
Shiloh Fernandez as David Allen
Lou Taylor Pucci as Eric
Jessica Lucas as Olivia
Elizabeth Blackmore as Natalie
Director: Fede Álvarez

Five friends decide to spend a weekend in a remote cabin located deep in the forest. When they accidentally summon a dormant demon, they strive to survive its evil ploys.

Concluding my rewatches of the Evil Dead movies, I decided to revisit the Evil Dead remake as well. I remembered the lead up to this movie back in 2013, and even as someone who hadn’t watched the original trilogy yet, I could tell that most people weren’t exactly excited that the classic horror movie from the 80s was getting a remake. However, it ended up being quite a surprise, and while not everyone likes it, I think it’s really good.

Remaking a classic like Evil Dead is a bit tricky, especially when it comes to figuring out how closely to stick to the original. However, I think Evil Dead (2013) strikes the right balance. It captures the spirit of the original films and keeps elements from the trilogy, but it avoids being derivative and puts its own different spin on the story. While there are some familiar scenes and details that make it into the remake (such as the infamous tree scene), I liked the way it changes things to make it their own so they don’t feel included only out of obligation. Not all of it is perfect, and some lines of dialogue which pay tribute to the original movies are a little out of place here. Something new in the remake is that there are some added emotional stakes. In the original, the main 5 character go to the cabin for a vacation. In the remake however, its to help one of the characters Mia (Jane Levy) overcome a drug addiction, and there’s also a prominent connection between her and her brother. I think this emotional core does help the movie go quite some way, in spite of the story just being okay. The tone is starkly different from the previous three movies, which always had some degree of comedy in them. Evil Dead II was a horror comedy, Army of Darkness was a fully on comedy, and even The Evil Dead had elements of dark humour. Evil Dead (2013) on the other hand is very straight faced and full-on horror from beginning to end. While you could argue that this is one area where it isn’t true to the original films, I don’t think the comedy would’ve fitted in this much darker take. It delivers on the Evil Dead insanity that you expect. It is bloody and gory, which you’d expect from the remake, but it also is grim and dark and twisted in all the right ways. It all builds up to an incredibly satisfying and perfect third act, which it absolutely earns. Not all the writing works, the characterisation is a bit underdeveloped, and some characters make some really bad decisions, mainly the one that sets off the chain of events (it is up there in terms of worst decisions ever made in a horror movie, which is saying a lot). Still, it’s quite entertaining on the whole.

The characters are mostly generic and some of the acting are fairly hit or miss. That being said, Jane Levy gives a fantastic and captivating performance in this. She is incredibly convincing and shows such range in this movie, definitely one of the best ‘recent’ horror performances.

Fede Alvarez was a great choice to direct, he clearly had a vision for the movie beyond just remaking the original Evil Dead. It is very well shot and makes use of its great sets. Much of the environment and setting felt so real and it made you feel gross and dirty like the characters on screen. For the most part, the remake uses very little CGI and placed an emphasis on using more practical effects instead, which was one of the best choices for the movie. This especially works with the far more violent direction the remake has taken; this has to be one of the goriest and bloodiest horror movies from the past 10 years, and the effects really help to sell this.

Evil Dead (2013) is a gory, entertaining and greatly directed horror remake, with fantastic effects and an amazing performance from Jane Levy. There are some little issues like the underdeveloped characters, but it is solid on the whole. More importantly, while it pays respect to the original movies, it actually felt like its own take. Definitely one of the best horror remakes, and it’s worth checking out if you liked the original Evil Dead films.