‘Evil Dead’ Review Roundup
Evil Dead has been reviewed prior to its April 5 release in theaters. See what the critics had to say.
Bruce Campbell was immortalized in what is considered a classic horror film series, even though the Evil Dead films were really more parody than pure horror. That was exactly what original director Sam Raimi was going for. For the longest time, if you wanted a good zombie film, you had to get yourself a copy of Night of the Living Dead.
Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi worked so well together that Raimi even cast Campbell with a cameo in all three of the original Spider-Man films.
The comedic aspects of Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams were what made the original Evil Dead and its sequels (Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness) true classics. Even the videogame shooter icon known as Duke Nukem borrowed heavily from Evil Dead‘s dry wit.
Evil Dead has been remade with a new cast including Elizabeth Blackmore, Jane Levy, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci and Shiloh Fernandez with the blessing of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.
In case you haven’t seen the originals, Evil Dead starts with a group of five people taking a quick getaway at one of their family’s cabin in the woods, where someone ignores all sense and reads aloud from the wrong book (The Necronomicon, AKA the book of the dead). From there, all Hell breaks loose.
This time, the main character is Mia (Jane Levy), a woman going through rehab and determined to beat her addiction. When demons start running rampant in her head, everybody just chalks up her behavior to withdrawal-related crankiness. However, when her face starts transforming and her voice gains an unholy quality, everybody quickly learns that it’s something else entirely.
Shiloh Fernandez exhibits none of the humor that Bruce Campbell’s character did, instead going for the play-it-straight approach, even right down to the gory details. And this film is a bloodbath. The effects are as convincing as the original Evil Dead‘s effects were not.
Lou Taylor Pucci is the most charismatic actor in the whole film, and he only has one wisecrack. The only form of subtle humor director Fede Alvarez threw in was a passing view of the shotgun and chainsaw from the original films.
As far as Lou Taylor Pucci’s semblance of humor goes, someone asks him if there’s anything in the book that will rid them of the troublesome spirit, and he retorts that he can’t possibly know because it’s not a book of science.
Original audiences will get the inside references to the Bruce Campbell films that Fede Alvarez threw in, though the extreme violence will probably keep the squeamish at bay.
What are your thoughts on the remake of Evil Dead?
