When it comes to remakes of beloved cult horror films it usually pays to keep your expectations low, and when it comes to cult horror the Evil Dead series is more beloved than most. Somewhat encouragingly however, this latest re-imagining comes with the full blessing of the original director and star, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, with Raimi going so far as to handpick his successor behind the camera, newcomer Fede Alvarez. The film-makers have made all the right noises too, promising to pay due respect to the original while delivering a suitably edgy contemporary sheen to the venerable franchise.
The setup will be familiar to any fan of the 1981 film – five friends arrive for a weekend in the creepiest vacation spot this side of the Bates Motel, an isolated cabin in the woods. The twist this time around is that they’re trying to help one of their friends (Mia, played by Jane Levy) to beat her drug addiction. It’s a mildly clever premise, and it allows for a compelling enough reason for the group to stay in the cabin even after Mia starts foaming at the mouth, screaming obscenities and generally acting like a demon from hell. Just withdrawal symptoms, right? When she starts actively trying to kill them, they recall the foreboding tome bound in human skin that they’d been leafing through earlier (not to mention the cellar full of ritualistically sacrificed cats). Needless to say, this was one book they should have left on the shelf. From that point on the gore quotient ramps up considerably with some of the most gruesome scenes I’ve ever witnessed in a mainstream Hollywood movie. It includes characters getting stabbed in the eye with syringes, arms getting sawn off, and gallons (two tanker trucks worth, according to the director) of fake blood. The commendable thing about this is it’s nearly all done with practical effects. There’s only minimal use of CGI, so the actors are genuinely getting drenched in all manner of disgusting fluids, but by the time we reach the finale and it’s literally raining blood, I found myself shrugging.
The first Evil Dead was not without its faults – the acting was fairly crap, the script was minimal, and the creatures were on the creaky side, but what it did have was a truly unique atmosphere, a genuinely uncanny aspect that was created by some combination of the authentically spooky location, the jerky stop-motion effects and Rami’s low-fi directorial flair. And that’s precisely what this remake lacks – the Evil Dead feel. It’s a thoroughly professional, slickly made exercise but ultimately it ends up feeling rather hollow. Alvarez and his crew deserve credit for not taking the easy way out and relying on CGI and star Jane Levy handles all manner of indignities with admirable stoicism, but this is ultimately a rather po-faced and lifeless effort. You would hope that all involved are aware of the irony of remaking a movie about meddling with things better left dead, but on the evidence of this outing they should have left well alone.
Fuzzy Lamentations 