April | 2013 | The Visionary Film Fanatic

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore

This goes without saying that it is extremely difficult to reboot any classic film and make as successful a film as the original. The Evil Dead reboot is something that had my doubt from the get go, it was by far one of my horror movie and I found that recent horror reboots butcher the source material. Evil Dead is successful in making a movie that is thoroughly enjoyable and a love letter to the original classic but lacks all the humor and over course the main character Ash. What I found great about this adaptation is the main character Mia (Jane Levy) is brought to life by an actress that I feel is just beginning and could very well do great things with her career. It follows the same set up as the first; tree rape, an older sibling taking care of their possessed sister, the book of the dead, but I found that the new film breathed new life into the film. What bothered me the most was how bad some of the acting was in the supporting cast, such as Elizabeth Blackmore as Natalie she really had nothing to do except say a few lines and eventually die. I am a sucker for great cinematography and surprising it is far better than I’ve seen in most movie nowadays.

Five friends become held up in a remote cabin when they discover the Necronomicon and unwittingly awaken a dormant demonic presence living in the nearby woods in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Soon after, the demons possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.

This reboot, instead of being humorous, is out there for gore’s sack. It is by far one of the goriest films that I’ve ever seen. The amount of gory was teased in the red band and the majority of the kills were featured in it but still the gore lived up to the trailer and certainly the audience was freaked out by the amount of it. Me, not so much I feel that I was seriously desensitized to the amount that was portrayed and i have to blame the red-band trailer for that because it left nothing up to the imagination and it showed just how much gore would be present in the film so I had no problem with it. From what I’ve heard that they plan on doing a sequel and I find that great because it left off somewhat similar to the first one and Mia could easily get possessed again in the near future but if they do a cross over that would be great to because I wouldn’t mind seeing Bruce Campbell reprise his role of Ash.

Despite what I found wrong with the movie and from what I liked I knew going in that there would be problem, like every horror reboot, but I find that this more successful than most of them and is compare to Dawn of the Dead and Let Me In reboots and is way better than either Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and the Halloween films. For what it’s worth I think the film succeeds at what it sets out to accomplish.

8 out of 10

Review: Evil Dead (2013) (monsterzeronj.wordpress.com)
The Dork Knight’s Groovy Evil Dead Review (nerdfarmblog.com)
New Evil Dead Infographic Breaks Down the Carnage Between the Original and the Remake (dreadcentral.com)
Evil Dead – Evil Enters Thru The Vajayjay – Review (dc50tv.com)
Review: Evil Dead (themonsterpopcorn.com)
See the Evil Dead Remake Right NOW! (dreadcentral.com)
Exclusive Video: Fede Alvarez and Jane Levy on the New Evil Dead (MAJOR SPOILERS!) (dreadcentral.com)
EVIL DEAD ( remake) (zruizlgbt.wordpress.com)
“Evil Dead”: How a First-Time Uruguayan Filmmaker Reinvented an American Horror Classic (complex.com)
Evil Dead Returns in Brutal Fashion (mitng.org)

Right now Only God Forgives is my most anticipated film of the year though there are many that are up there but this one takes the cake. I was such a huge fan of Drive, it has made it in my top 10 favorite films list and that I eagerly anticipating what comes next from the duo that brought Drive. The film finds Gosling playing Julian, a former kickboxer and gangster living in Bangkok. When his brother is murdered by a ruthless Thai police lieutenant, Julian is forced to seek vengeance or risk his own death. Scott-Thomas plays the mother doing the forcing. It sounds like a much needed depart from Drive, I mean that it is going in a different route than that movie because it would be a shame if the two where to much a like. The cinematography, coloring, and general all look as if they will be impressive as well as Kristen Scott Thompson looks to give one hell of a performance. I hope that this turns out as good as it looks.