Effective remake

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 2014)

Why make a remake of Evil Dead? Beside the point that such a thing has already been done - it's called Evil Dead 2 - the original movie is such a cult classic and so perfect in its own flawed way that I don't really see any way to improve upon it.
And truth be told, the only area where this remake fares better than the original, is in the special effects department. Yet, unlike so many other needless remakes, this one comes amazingly close to the original in both atmosphere and quality. It feels like Evil Dead, or what it would have been like had the original been done today for the first time.
What do I mean by that? It simply plays the tropes just as well and just as straight as the original. Sure, at times it feels a little bit like paint-by-numbers, and there isn't a lot of originality here, but it's still different enough, yet similar enough, that fans of the original can love its vision and passion for the source material.
And as an standalone horror movie, it's heads above its peers, which doesn't say much nowadays, but there you have it. It's absolutely, delightfully gory, it doesn't shy away from the no-no's or taboos, the characters work in their satirically stereotypical way and as a whole you feel the chills.
Though I must admit that the final fight/boss/horror/aberration was a bit of a disappointment after all the buildup.
If you liked the original trilogy, I urge you to give this one a watch. It's not as good, but it's a close thing. It's Evil Dead for the new century.