not nearly perfect, but an example of how simplicity can go a long way in horror film

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2013)

Horror film has been something of a disappointment for me over the last few years. With favorite horror films generally being the ones that play on the conventions of the genre such as Drag Me to Hell or Cabin in the Woods, or the horror/comedies like Shaun of the Dead, I can't remember the last time I saw a real good horror film. Which is why I was so excited to see Evil Dead.
A remake of the 1981 cult classic that was directed by Sam Raimi, Evil Dead was given the tagline "The most terrifying film you will ever experience" by its marketing department. Unfortunately, Evil Dead is not quite that good, but it does give us plenty of thrills, chills, and buckets of blood to make any horror fan happy.
The story is a very simple one: five young adults travel to a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods where evil and terrible things start to happen. Changing up the original 1981 story a bit, Evil Dead justifies the group being there because one of the girls, Mia (Jane Levy), is trying to give up a drug addiction cold turkey. The secluded cabin will provide a place for the group to keep Mia away from any outside influence and keep her clean. But everything changes when the group discovers that some sort of ritual had been performed in the basement of the cabin and a strange book, which is covered in a black bag and held closed with barbed wire, is found. And whenever you have the nerdy dude included in your horror story, which we do with one of our characters named Eric, you know he can't help himself but read anything he finds. Nerd.
So Eric the Nerd opens up the demonic looking book to discover demonic pictures and demonic writing. Written in blood are warnings about not messing with the book, but Eric reads on. Even when the book says not to read, say, or think the passage that is written, Eric grabs a paper and pencil to scribble out the words that have been crossed out and reads what is written. Let this be a lesson to you kids: reading is bad for you.
By reading the passage, Eric has released an evil into the forest that surrounds the cabin. And the evil attaches itself to the most vulnerable target: Detox Mia. And now that the evil is out, all hell breaks lose (there is really not a better way to put that). You better get ready to cringe and watch Evil Dead through your fingers. This film is not afraid to show disgusting and gruesome images. It. Is. Brutal.
Where the movie succeeds so well is in these horrific moments. A horror film that provides just that: horror. The film isn't dressed up with being overly sexualized or beating around the violence. When the evil hits, it hits hard, and it doesn't let up until the credits are rolling. There is blood, vomit, more blood, amputations, blood, every sharp thing in the cabin being used as a weapon, and then another hundred gallons of blood. When the amount of blood being slashed around almost meets laughable levels, you know you got something special.
To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/evil- dead/