An enjoyable film, as long as you don't compare it to the original too much

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2014)

This was a good modern horror in it's own right, if slightly forgettable. However it didn't quite live up to the dark humour of the original, but if judged as a film in it's own right, which in this case it definitely should be, Evil Dead is worth watching, with enough thrills to satisfy the modern horror enthusiast. The original concept was utilised, but there were enough differences in the execution of the plot to keep the film fresh. The trope of the abandoned cabin in the woods is certainly an overused one (that has even been recognised enough now to be inverted and examined in other films), and some of the situations in it were a little tenuous, but generally the film was still of quality despite these potential pitfalls. But then, a remake of Evil Dead couldn't really be set anywhere else but a cabin, could it? I did miss the fun clay-mation scene that was there at the end of the original, but once again, I am bias (and something like that might have just looked forced in the context of the rest of the remake). So yes, overall, though a little unoriginal (but then - it is a remake), a pretty good job was done with this film, though maybe a little more dark humour like the original would have made it better. Too many modern horror films are cynical without the little twist of laughter that made films like Silence of the Lambs and Texas Chainsaw Massacre infamous.