Evil Dead
In an effort to help a childhood friend stay clean from a life of drugs, four friends, David, Eric, Olivia, and Natalie (Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore), make a pact to retain Mia (Jane Levy) at a remote family cabin for several days to dry things out. But, when an ancient book of the dead is discovered in the basement, the group unknowingly summons an evil presence back to the cabin. Now it’s a matter of surviving the night lest they all be dead by dawn! First things first, if you’re not already familiar with the original Evil Dead from 1981 and it’s remake Evil Dead II from 1987 there’s a good chance you’ll be missing out on some of the humor, the call backs, and the fun that the franchise has brought forth so far to achieve cult status; it’s high time you educate yourself. That being said, and as with any re-make, this latest incarnation of Evil Dead is in danger of disappointing it’s core audience– fortunately, it will not. By putting together a reworked script that adds actual depth and character development, what was once absurd and goofy now carries some weight and actually makes sense. Going further, the acting isn’t half bad and there’s some empathy generated for each of the characters as their fate is called. Writer/Director Fede Alvarez and writer Diablo Cody have given sufficient backbone to what might have otherwise been quite thin. What is missing here is some of the campiness of the originals, but that’s not to say the film is void of humor, there are after all plenty of gallows-esque humor points throughout. Even more impressive is the makeup/prosthetics and the cinematography, both are notable and respectable in their own right, often leaving incredibly visceral and indelible afterthoughts. Appropriate scoring adds the extra edge to sell things further, and semi-ironic use of an air raid siren somehow seems to fit right in. Enough to leave you squirming in your seat several times over, mission accomplished. Remember to sit through the credits, extra fun ensues. Worth it. Evil Dead is miraculously only rated R.