Perfect in every way

Rating: 10/10 (4 April 2013)

Evil Dead, simply put, is a new horror classic. It's a remake of the memorable 80's time capsule The Evil Dead (a film which has actually aged quite splendidly thanks to some impeccable filmmaking), but this new film is a creature all by itself. Directed by Fede Alvarez and featuring very little CGI (if any), Evil Dead is the horror movie by which all modern horror films should will be looking up to years down the road.
The most immediately distinguishing and intriguing characteristic about this new Evil Dead is how polished and neat the storyline is able to flow. These aren't just some people coming to hole themselves up in a cabin for awhile with no particular rhyme or reason other than that they just want to have a good time. David (Shiloh Fernandez) comes to the cabin to help kick his sister (Jane Levy) Mia's drug addiction with some of her closest friends, Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), Olivia (Jessica Lucas), and Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore). Her addiction is becoming a downward spiral and negatively affecting everyone around her. As a last effort, the group decides the best way to get Mia back to normal is to hole her up in the family cabin and not let her leave.
The movie takes its time to let us know the characters before bad things start going down, even though the opening scene kicks things off pretty deliciously as it marks the audience's first introduction to a deadite. From there, things don't kick into overdrive until Eric starts playing around with the flesh-covered book they recover in the basement. After this, really bad things start happening rapidly that lead to blood. Lots and lots of blood. To discuss what happens in further detail would be to divulge entirely too much information.
The directing is slick and stunning with some phenomenal camera-work and shots that rival anything you will find in the original movie. To compare Evil Dead to the original is unfair, though, because the original movie is a product of its time and the best possible movie it could have been at that time. Evil Dead is polished, precise, perfect down to the last scene of the movie which will stick with you long after the credits have rolled. The cast couldn't have been better, either, with Shiloh Fernandez and Jane Levy especially standing out as the brother and sister duo. Each of the five main roles contributes something significant to the flick and there isn't a single player involved that the movie could have done without. The new design of the Book of the Dead is flawless and creepy: while it might not be a face like the original, the skin on the cover and the pages within are still effectively chilling.
If you are a horror fan in any fashion, Evil Dead is the must-see movie of the year. At this point, I'd be shocked if any other horror movie this year comes close to matching the brilliance, brutality, and spectacle that is developed over the course of 91 minutes of terror. Evil Dead is a modern horror classic that you have to see to believe. Bring on the sequel!