There Will Be Blood ( and More Blood )

Rating: 3/10 (9 April 2013)

This film is not recommended.
Yesterday's creative ideas can easily become today's cliché. The perfect case in point: Sam Raimi's 1981 low budget thriller, The Evil Dead, a true cult classic in the horror genre. ( In fact, Raimi and his star of that film, Bruce Campbell, are co-producers of this update, so much of this new film's flaws belong to them too.)
The original film had lousy acting, a dumb script, and bad production values, but it also brought with it the innovative director's keen vision and camera-work, plus some wit, to redeem its bloody limitations. This new reincarnation, directed by Fede Alvarez, essentially follows that story with some interesting tweaking, but it sorely lacks the humor and real suspense of its predecessor. However, what is doesn't lack is Alvarez's inventive ways to systematically dispose of his young victims and his obsession with more detailed close-ups of grisly deaths and dismemberment. ( Alvarez does seem to have an unhealthy and morbid obsession with tongues in this version.) Entertainment to some, but for me, not very satisfying. ( But then, I never much liked mincemeat either.)
For those who may not know the basic plot, it goes like this: Five friends go to that cabin in the woods and find a heavy flesh-bound volume entitled The Book of the Dead, where upon these sacrificial lambs unleash those evil spirits that will later maim and torture them. ( Right away, the savvy moviegoer begins to wonder the I.Q. of these people, but we go along with the premise anyway. It's all par for the course. )
The acting is still less than stellar, with the exception of Jane Levy as Mia, who comes to this remote forest via intervention for her drug abuse. ( This is one of the few revamped touches that improves upon the original version. adding some logical sense to the story. When she starts hearing voices and seeing things, the others really don't know if she is hallucinating or possessed. ) Needless to say, they begin to find out, one by one.
This downgraded version trades its cleverness for graphic torture scenes involving all sorts of tools to aid in the increasing body count: pliers, box cutters, nail guns, meat slicers, machetes, the tried-and-true chainsaw, etc. ( ACE Hardware really should have paid for the product endorsement rights. ) Yet the real horror in horror films these days is the latest advances in state-of-the-arts technology in its bloodcurdling realism. The filmmakers had nary an ounce of creativity or humor added to their new revision, rarely straying from the formulaic plot structure or improving upon the earlier film. But they seem to pool all their skills to gleefully share in their bloody pound of flesh. Self-mutilation has never looked so darn good! ( I have to say that I turned away from the screen numerous times to avert the violent onslaught of carnage on the screen. It is an understatement to say that this film is not for the squeamish.)
Evil Dead (2013) slaughters the essence of its original source to satiate today's modern movie-going audience's thirst for blood and gore. Less is more, but that old adage is too often forgotten by filmmakers and producers and far away from the clichéd nowadays.
Perhaps, the next sequel ( and yes, there will be another in this series ) should be titled: Evil Dead 2: Pardon Me Sir, Is That a Chainsaw in Your Hand, or Are You Just Happy to See Me? GRADE: C-
ANY COMMENTS: Please contact me at: jadepietro@rcn.com