Fede Alvarez doesn't get the original and this is the result...

Rating: 2/10 (10 January 2018)

I wanted to love this remake so much, but unfortunately it doesn't hold a candle to the original. Although Alvarez claims to love the original, I doubt he really understands what The Evil Dead (1981) actually achieved.
Let's start with the positives;
* Cinematography is good. The Cabin, the woods, the visuals - great stuff.
Negatives ;
* The cast of characters is a typical group of stereotypes that lack personality. Ash carried the first movie and the interpersonal relationships were believable. Two couples and a guy's sister who just wanted to get away a couple of days. The 2013 characters feel soulless and bland in comparison.The Jock, the nerd, the hot chick...awful. It immediately makes that you don't care about any of them whereas you come to love the hell out of Ash, the haphazard, reluctant hero who turns badass.
* The necronomicon. The original was a mysterious, evil book which didn't divulge what it's intentions were. The 2013 version however...wow. It is practically a step-by-step instruction manual for dummies on how possession takes place and how to combat it. The fact that all pages contain notes in different languages takes away from the mystery - apparently this has happened dozens of times before all over the world. The notes aren't very eloquent either and consist of singular curse words...ok.
* The deadites. The original characters were menacing, broody and disgusting creatures that struggled in their possessed human bodies - which is confirmed in the final scenes. You always felt they were clamoring to come out but were limited in their options. The white eyes were horrifying - I can't get the image of possessed cheryl out of my mind for the rest of my life. This version degrades the deadites to foul-mouthed exorcist like masochistic creatures which never 'feel' right - too generic and too much off the mark.
* The story. This version is so full of dumb decisions and plot holes that I can't even begin to describe them. Again, it falls into the category of horror film tropes which get annoying after 30 minutes. You begin to hate the characters and actually hope they get killed off. The original was way more believable and convincing in it's story and therefore way more terrifying in all aspects.
All in all, this is a generic horror movie that doesn't even start to do justice to the original. I don't know how much creative input Alvarez had but as far as I understand he was given the green light on all aspects - and therefore fails miserably to capture the soul of the original. Watch a blueray of the original instead, it is far superior in all aspects.