Horror filmmakers better be taking notes - this is how a remake is done folks

Rating: 7/10 (6 April 2013)

This gut wrenching, blood-soaked remake pays it dues to the source material, managing to pleasantly surprise the die-hard fans of the original trilogy while establishing its own identity for newcomers to the franchise; a true homage to the 1981 cult classic. Horror filmmakers better be taking notes because this is how a remake is done folks.
Obviously the film differs significantly in plot from original. Consider this a "rebirth" rather than a "remake". As I'm sure you're all aware the film focuses on a young girl named Mia (Jane Levy) who takes a trip to her families old cabin for a drug intervention, bringing together old friends and her brother David (Shiloh Fernandez) to help her through it. Mia's loved ones swear to each other no matter how bad things get they won't let her relapse again and it's not long before all hell breaks loose when her friend Eric uncovers the "Book of the Dead" and reads a passage from it. The demon quickly latches onto the first soul it can find (Mia) and then the fun begins. The set up is actually extremely clever. So when Mia starts telling stories about there being "something" in the woods the others all brush it off as a drug addict hallucination. The demon quickly takes over Mia and makes a promise to everyone that they are all going to die that very night. It's as much a promise to the audience as it is the cast. Next we have 60 minutes of nail guns, chainsaws, turkey cutters, mirror shards and needles all being used as you can imagine. It's the most rated R fun you'll have all year.
Director Fede Alvarez doesn't let us down, he makes the cast go all out doing indescribable acts of violence to one another, each actor out doing the next pushing the R rating as far as it could possibly go. He also keeps the overall tone serious which only falls short for a bit before the climactic scene. the climactic scene being the best thing I've ever seen in a horror film.
The actors all do a decent job with the occasional poor line delivery - which I read as intentional comedy. One thing they all manage to really do well is cry out in pain. A strange talent however I couldn't believe how much of a difference the actors made to the violent imagery. They all had very convincing performances as kids getting sliced and diced by one another. Jane Levy stands out being consistently good throughout the entirety of the film – you'll be sure to see her in other things after this.
The cinematography was interesting to say the least with odd lighting choices and even weirder camera angles, which at first I didn't like but it quickly grew on me. I was really glad the 'Raimi- cam' (which I just refer to as just the Demon POV shots) were back and better than ever. That being one of many throwbacks to the originals just one I thought was worth mentioning. Unfortunately the score was rather forgettable but for everything they lack in music they gain in sound design. If you're someone who closes their eyes to avoid gore you will have no luck here, the sound effects are so good you're going to have trouble not imagining what's happening on screen with such convincing noises of bone's crushing and skin peeling. The FX in general are probably this films greatest success. Going back to the old fashion way of things and using make-up/prosthetics really shows the talent in such a CGI heavy industry today.
The film does a great job of pleasing its targeted audience however don't go into the film expecting to be terribly frightened. It's really not a very scary film, although I never found the original very scary either so I don't see this as a negative aspect. I know there have been lots of complaints about how the film isn't scary but I was glad to see so few jumps scares in a horror flick and to be honest the idea of close friends becoming demons and torturing you to death is scary enough for me.
Beware though, this film is not for the faint of heart. When I say that they pushed the R rating as far as it could go I mean I don't understand how this film actually managed a theatrical release. It had everything you would see in an NC-17 film. If the idea of gore makes you uneasy, pass on this film.
Evil Dead is a great remake to a great cult classic and I suggest anyone who is a fan of the horror genre to check it out.
7/10*
Also if you are one of the die-hard fans mentioned earlier make sure to the stay after the credits. You won't be disappointed.
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