A decent horror flick, but not a true Evil Dead movie

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2016)

Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead "remake" is a decent horror flick in it's own merit, but really lacked the qualities that made the previous Evil Dead entries such classics. After hearing that Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell themselves are producers, I had high hopes that this "remake" was going to be a ton of fun, just like the last entries in the series. Sadly, I was surprisingly disappointed as Evil Dead (2013) wasn't nearly as fun as it should've been. This entry in the franchise made the fatal mistake that all entries before it have managed to avoid. It made the mistake of taking itself seriously.
This may seem like an odd complaint, but if you are a fan of the original Evil Dead films like I am, you must understand what I mean. The original films weren't full-on horror movies, but arguably the best horror-comedy films ever made. They perfectly blended wacky humor with low-budget, yet extremely graphic, special effects gore. This created one of the most unique horror experiences in history as it's cult status remains solidified to this day. Evil Dead (2013), however, decided to take an entirely different route and go with full-on horror with virtually no wacky humor. There was still plenty of awesome practical effects violence, but the lack of humor and lighthearted fun made this a disappointing, and frankly unnecessary, entry to the beloved series.
Now it should be said that Evil Dead (2013) is certainly not for the faint of heart. It is by far the most brutally violent film I have ever seen. 90% of the violence in this film is practical effects, even further adding to the grueling and gut-churning ultra-violence. Despite it being incredibly sickening at times, it is truly impressive. The violence had a constant feeling of realism as all of the practical effects utilized are absolutely phenomenal. While it was, at times, shockingly graphic, I had a hard time looking away as the special effects work was so beautifully executed. Even the most bold and bombastic scenes of violence looked immensely realistic. I was very happy to see that Raimi and Campbell were sticking to the roots of their classic Evil Dead entries and fully realizing their potential for practical effects.
While Evil Dead (2013) is incredibly violent, it doesn't maintain the originality that the earlier franchise entries set before it. Even with the impressive special effects, we only really have an average horror movie. Without the humor and goofy fun of the originals, there wasn't a lot interesting or unique about this remake. However, the final act of Evil Dead (2013) feels like a love-letter to all the fans as we are treated to one of the greatest sequences of the entire franchise, the rise of the Abomination.
The Abomination itself sadly isn't too impressive as it mostly just looks like a slightly different standard Deadite. Despite the somewhat disappointing Abomination, this final set piece and grueling battle is such gleeful fun that it is reminiscent of the originals. Here we see what true Evil Dead is as the sky begins to rain buckets of blood and the Abomination rises from Hell. With mind-blowing amounts of blood drenching the landscape and the old cabin burning in the background, this final sequence is among my favorites of the entire series, all topped off with a goose-bump inducing visual of female Ash sending the Abomination back to Hell. It was hard not to smile when we finally got to see Raimi's and Campbell's full influence on the film.
Overall, Evil Dead (2013) is a decent horror flick but it never earned the right to become a true Evil Dead movie. It lacked all the qualities that separates Evil Dead from every other horror film out there, making this "remake" pretty unnecessary. The practical effects where undoubtedly incredible, but it always took itself way too seriously, which is something a true Evil Dead film would never do. And sorry Ash, but that after-credits sequence didn't make me like this film any more, but rather made me want to watch the other ones instead, which is ultimately what I would recommend anyways.