Joyless re-imagining of Raimi's classic horror-comedy.

Rating: 4/10 (20 August 2013)

A young woman attempts to kick a drug addiction by holing up with five friends in a secluded cabin. Soon the discovery of a secret cellar leads to the unearthing of a mysterious book, the uttering of ancient Latin and the animation of a great, soul-thirsty evil. After an opening sequence falsely promises a blend of modern horror aesthetics and Raimi wit, the film quickly devolves, Alvarez content on re-imagining Evil Dead as a relentless, joyless splatterama. When illogical, ill-defined protagonists, dialoguing solely in first act horror sequiturs give way to extended scenes of closeup, hyper-realized violence, Alvarez's inspiration shifts from the source material. Not content with the assigned text, his film begins to mimic Fulci's earlier practical-effect gorefests, only without the inspired lunacy that makes those films so captivating. It's a dire situation when a protagonist has been put through so much torture, yet her victory still feels unearned. Remember all those times you were watching The Evil Dead films thinking "I wish this was super realistic, way, way grosser and devoid of a charismatic lead"? Me neither. C-