In 1981 Sam Raimi, (the Spiderman series, Oz The Great and Powerful,) made his first feature film, The Evil Dead. It was very cheap, but ferociously original.
Rated NC-17, the film was disturbing and gory enough to be banned in England, all but ensuring a following. The original film spawned two sequels that made The Evil Dead trilogy one of the most popular cult movie franchises of all time.
This year, similarly unknown director Fede Alvarez brings us his remake.
Five young adults head to a remote cabin in the woods. In the cellar they find a book bound in human flesh and inked in blood. Through the recitation of the book’s passages, the evil is given licence to possess the living. Then things get messy.
Evil Dead claims to be “the most terrifying film you will ever experience.” Is it?
We say, “Cunda astratta montose eargrets gutt nos veratoos canda, amantos canda.”
TAYLOR: I was looking forward to this one, being a fan. I was slightly disappointed in this film’s execution, but judged solely as a horror film, Evil Dead is pretty good. Real gore is messy and this film shows it in all its gutsy glory. I guess, nowadays, true horror gore is considered taboo and therefore it is often implied, or cut away from. Evil Dead brings hardcore to the mainstream.
HOWE: I wasn’t impressed one bit with this. To me a horror movie should have some scares. This doesn’t and that is its huge downfall. Way too much gore that I wasn’t able to watch because I’m not into seeing someone throw up blood into the mouth of someone else, or dismember themselves with a cooking utensil. Doner kebabs will never be the same again.
TAYLOR: To a degree, I agree. It’s not as scary as it could be, but horror fans don’t share your squeamishness. This film is just a little too quick to be really scary and not without its faults. However, there is still some fun to be had with Evil Dead. Judging it by its own merits, as a horror movie in 2013, it’s pretty good. Although definitely not the most terrifying film I’ve seen, even in the last 12 months, it is the most graphic and it looks real. Fans of the series and horror buffs should check it out.
HOWE: The acting wasn’t that great and I felt that this let it down. They should have tried, like Cabin in the Woods, to land a bigger name than the actors involved to give it some redeeming quality. To me, Evil Dead scores high on the gore, but for scares, I’ve seen a lot more frightening.
TAYLOR: Cabin in the Woods was fun, but it’s a cute comedy compared to Evil Dead. Don’t listen to Mr. Howe horror fans, just gather up your Deadites and go.
— Taylor gives Evil Dead 3.5 work sheds out of 5.
— Howe gives it 1.5 amputated hands out of 5.
The film is currently showing at the Galaxy Cinemas in Vernon.
