It’s a familiar story. Five college kids head out to a secluded cabin for a weekend of debauchery and shenani… no wait. Actually, in Fede Alvarez’s “Evil Dead” the responsible 20 somethings are at the cabin out of friendly concern for one of their own, Mia (Jane Levy), a drug addict who, during her last overdose, had a close brush with death, motivating this group bonding/ interven-cation.
This is one of the sole effective plot conceits of the film, as it provides motivation to the otherwise deeply illogical decision-making of the group. They’re just trying to keep Mia in a controlled environment where they can help her persist through her withdrawal symptoms. And hey, if she starts babbling about evil spirits chasing her through the woods and then decides to scald her own flesh with a flaming hot shower, that’s just the wacky quirks of addiction, right?
Besides that premise, however, Fede Alvarez’s “Evil Dead” reboot is a surprisingly predictable exercise in gratuitous gore. For a film that not only claims Sam Raimi’s delightfully inventive, low-budget 1981 cult hit “Evil Dead” as source material but also has the audacity to promote itself as “The most terrifying film you will ever experience,” you’d hope to see serious experimentation and groundbreaking going down. Yet the characters are flat and often unsympathetic, the scare tactics are standard, and the film can’t seem to commit to any particular tone.
Early on, it makes a half-hearted attempt to be character-driven, setting up an estranged brother-sister relationship between Mia and her brother David (Shiloh Fernandez) as well as a tragic backstory involving their mother, who became monstrous before passing away due to a mental disease. Yet, it still elects to subject its characters to the most mind-numbingly moronic horror movie character behavior, quelling nearly any empathy the audience might feel.
For instance, early in the film the cast discovers that dozens of mutilated felines are hanging from the rafters in their basement. They are not nearly alarmed enough by this. For future reference guys: If the butchered cats hanging in your basement are still freshly decomposing, you might seriously maybe want to probably leave. Like honestly, I could make you a reference sheet for this situation if you need it.
Also, they continually fall for the old, “Look, I’m not a possessed demonic being anymore. I’m just your sweet little sister/friend. To prove it I’ll serenade you with some childhood tunes to distract you from, you know, that killing me thing you were about to do. Bet you feel guilty and hesitant now, huh?”
Unlike the original “Evil Dead” series, it doesn’t often turn to dark humor to mock this usage of horror conventions and acknowledge the over-the-top gore. Sure, there’s the occasional line that mildly alludes to the famous black comedy of the originals, but in this case how funny you find the film is more dependent on just how twisted your comedy preferences are.
There is definitely the occasional gore gag that’ll conjure up laughs, such as slipping on detached flesh banana-peel style or a mostly severed limb flopping to the ground while the newly one-armed character comments on how much better she feels now. Still, they’re few and far between, and not nearly as memorable as classic gags like “groovy” and the one-minute evil camera chase found in “Evil Dead 2.”
If there’s one thing that the film truly commits to, it’s the gore effects. More specifically, it’s the admirable ethos of doing things the old-fashioned way and creating realistic effects without CGI. And it works. The injuries in this film feel agonizingly authentic. Tongues are split, blood rains for the sky, bones crack sickeningly, faces are methodically sawed off, and, at one point, one character is burned alive.
So, if the sight of viscera really does it for you, this film will more than fulfill its promises. Part of me feels like the DVD extras of this film will actually be more engaging than the film itself, thanks to the fact that they’ll offer some insight into how this movie magic was brought to life with little digital enhancement.
Still, the technical impressiveness of the film alone isn’t enough to justify its existence, and the only other thing the film really has going for it is its take on its female characters, who, this time around, do get to participate in some more active deadite battling.
Despite these notable aspects though, “Evil Dead” still feels like an uncalled for remake that barely rises above the average slasher flick. But who knows, if the planned sequel involves a team-up of the one surviving character with the iconic original protagonist, Ash, maybe it could all be worth it in the end. I could live with that.
Rating: 3/5
