FILM -- Evil Dead

This film is based on the original 1981 film “The Evil Dead”, which was written and directed by Sam Raimi.



The director of Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez, says this is a reboot that shares some plot similarities. AHEM! I say it’s a REMAKE, plain and simple. Moving on, the film starts with a flashback, where we see a girl being chased through the woods. She’s eventually caught by a few men, blindfolded by a bag put over her head, and then taken to a basement where there are group of popes gathered around. An old woman reads out in a foreign language from the “book of the dead”, instructing someone to take the girl and give her peace. We then find out that the old woman is speaking to the girl who’s been captured by her Father because the girl is demonically possessed. The Father eventually kills the daughter once her true demonic form comes out. Right after that, the credits roll!


We’re then introduced to the main characters in the present day. The plot revolves around a group of five friends who are having a getaway trip in an old, dusty cabin in the woods. I have no idea why people continue to want to “get away” in the scary, isolated woods by staying in a rusty cabin, but whatever! Anyway, the main character is Mia, who has been convinced to come to the cabin by her brother David. The reason why the group has come to cabin is to help Mia with her drug addiction, giving her an intervention and isolating her to keep her away from whatever it is that she is addicted to. The rest of the friends include Natalie, David’s girlfriend; Olivia, who seems to have a thing for David; and Eric, who you will notice looks like Kurt Cobain with his glasses.



As time goes on, the group of friends notice a horrid smell coming from the cellar. The group goes to investigate the cellar and soon discover it filled with dead animals hanging from the ceiling. They also find a shotgun, ammunition and a book that is wrapped in a trash bag and barbed wire. Fast forward, Eric foolishly decides to take the book upstairs and eventually opens up the book that is bound in human flesh. The book warns you not to read aloud from the book, but Eric intelligently reads aloud, unleashing demons from the woods that come after the friends one by one.


When I first heard about this film, I was one of those horror fans who was extremely excited about seeing this film. However, I was sadly disappointed. There were only two things that I liked about this film; yes, ONLY two! I liked the cinematography and the music. I disliked the plot and the characters. I’m a huge fan of gore; in my opinion, there can never be too much gore. Yet, there can be UNNECESSARY gore. I definitely felt that the director was trying to top the original film in terms of the gore. I felt he was focusing on the gore so much that the plot got slapped together and put on the back burner. While watching the film, I remember waiting for something awesome to happen. I waited so long that the ending credits were over and the theater was empty.


Overall, I cannot recommend this film.

2 1/2 out 5 queen skulls!