Its not the original, but so what.

Rating: 7/10 (20 April 2013)

Now, if you have seen the original 'The Evil Dead' and expect this film to follow in its foot steps like the classic sequels, then you are going to be disappointed. That's because this film is a far cry from the original and should be treated as such when watching and reviewing the film yourself.
This film in my honest horror film lover's opinion is certainly better than the modern horror films being churned out in the 21st century. Though not an original concept the film certainly should not be branded as simply another trashy horror film filled with drugs, blood and sex. Which is unfortunately what most horror films have gradually become. This film however contains no sex, no drug use and an unbelievable 'Tarantino Worthy' amount of blood. Though to some this may appear to be a way of creating cheap scares to put the audience at unease, i find this to however not be the case. The amount of the blood, though ridiculously over the top is reminiscent if i remember correctly, to the original films with the ridiculous amount of blood used to make the audience burst out with laughter. This film though trys to take a more serious and 'frightening' approach to the Evil Dead franchise.
Though the film does not scare, as im sure those who've watched it know, the film certainly puts its strengths more into the gory effects, 'make you jump' moments and attempt at creating more of a back story involving the brother and sister Mia and David. The back story itself i think fits very well with the films concept of there being no escape from the cabin and the evil unleashed from them being there. The visual effects themselves i thought were fantastic, and the fact that they aimed to create these effects with as minimal cgi as possible is the best way for films to be nowadays. The effects themselves aiming to create the scares and jumpy moments were very effective in my opinion. The visual effects of skin decay, dismemberment and demonic possession etc are certainly more horrifying for a modern audience and more realistic. But this was what makes classic horror so beautiful, as the effects are far more cruder in design but far more creative and require more imagination than your average teenager with a 3D modelling program on their household computer.
When watching this film, if the classic film sits happily in the back of your mind, then this film may disappoint you depending on what you're expecting. But if the original has not sat in your disc tray then shame on you, but that also means that you're not expecting the film to surpass the original film so loved by many. This film is merely a re imagining of a cult classic and merely aims to create a new story from the Evil Dead concept of a group of teenagers unwittingly releasing a deadly evil upon themselves through reading passages of the Necronomicon.
As a classic horror film lover, i'm ashamed to say i saw the trailer for this film before i had even seen the original and for some reason was procrastinating when it came to see the original. And when watching it was simply blown away, which is what modern horror films just simply don't do anymore when the best horror films weren't even released in this century. So i knew that this film was not going to live up to the original and didn't enter the cinema with false hopes. But nonetheless i have to say i wasn't let down by this film as other people claim to have been. Yes its a remake and therefore another unoriginal concept but i was simply drawn to the fact that the attempt to reboot had been made, as with Dawn of the Dead (2004) remake and The Thing (2011) prequel. Which in both cases the originals far surpass them in every way as classic horror masterpieces, but that still didn't stop me from watching them, and enjoying them.
So if you are going to see this film don't expect perfection in story telling, dialogue or acting (Shiloh Fernandez for me was far too wooden) as this film is not. When watching this film just embrace the valiant effort made to reboot the classic Evil Dead series and i have to say i cant wait to see the Evil Dead sequels to follow. The fact is remakes/reboots and unwanted sequels are always going to be made and there are going to be those who either love them or hate them. Which one are you?