Getting involved in the creation of a remake, particularly
in the horror genre, is dooming oneself to making mediocrity. Remakes are seen
as they are- a largely shameless cash grab under the guise of “re-imagination”,
although it often leaves a longing in recapturing the magic of the original.
Horror remakes are a class all on their own, a virtual guarantee that you’re
seeing a pile of complete shit; sure, they seem promising, yet end up doing
little more than adding Roth-esque gore and robbing the original of a sense of
originality. When a remake of the 1981 cult classic The Evil Dead was announced, it seemed downright irreverent,
especially considering the tonal shift from a B-grade camp-fest to a gritty
teen slasher. The horror community suffered enough with the mutilation of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; for fuck’s
sake, leave the perfected original product alone.
Yet all the prerequisites to make the movie passable were
done right. From consulting franchise icon Sam Raimi to omitting the
irreplaceable Ash, the creative team did enough to differentiate themselves
from the source material while still acknowledging the importance to stay in
its creators and fans good graces. Evil
Dead is, far and above its industry comparables, its own film- and it
succeeds in making itself a splashy, justifiable trip back to the Necronomicon.
The plot rewrites were immediately impressive nuances of
horror genius, not only ensuring that the remake is not a shot-by-shot
revisitation of the source, but avoiding the clichés the horror genre is rife
with. A group of 20-somethings
retreat to a remote cabin in the woods (bear with me) in order to provide Mia
an opportunity to go cold turkey from a heroin addiction. After her friends
reveal to her brother David a similar attempt had been made before, they
promise that they will stay put regardless of what she does. When the group
discovers a satanic ritual in the basement, seemingly conducted with a book of
the dead, one of the friends reads from it unleashing a demon on the group. Mia
is the first possessed, but the group asserts that this is her desperation to
get back to continue using, until it’s too late.
Evil Dead establishes
itself as a unique hybrid of supernatural, psychological, and slasher horror.
It is immediately zippy and chaotic, wasting no time in mounting tension for
the audience. If any association could be made, it bears most similarities to
satanic supernatural from the 70’s and 80’s, like The Exorcist and Poltergeist.
This immediately gives way to a more interesting film, with the terror
being associated with a being that can manipulate all the characters by knowing
all about them and the relationship they hold with those whom are possessed. While
a relentlessly violent new-age style horror film, its supernatural aura is what
grabs the viewer and inspires the most terror.
I was especially keen on the re-writes executed to avoid
cliché. The group perceive the activity at first as withdrawal symptoms, and
the demon’s manipulation of the sympathies of the cabinmates makes the ensuing
rife between them understandable. While different from the original, the film
still winks at some of the most infamous moments from the franchise- the tree
rape, Ash’s chainsaw- genuinely well-executed moments used to please devoted fanboys.
And yes, the violence is explicit and gnarly, but because of the appropriate
execution of the other elements of the film, it doesn’t feel conspicuously
exploitive. It often inspires more terror than repulsion, as it should.
It’s still a remake, though, and doesn’t manage to totally
overstep the negative perceptions associated therein. With a release closely
following the critical darling Cabin in
the Woods, its hard to disregard how the parody so faithfully follows the
first segment of that film. The ending feels like a tacked on afterthought to
franchise the new Evil Dead; sure,
I’m welcoming it enthusiastically, but the ending was lazy.
Horror is a difficult enough genre to impress in. Its “been
there, done that” formulaic approach gives way that the bad rep the genre has
is merited. But when a good one comes along, its hard not to revel in the
giddiness associated with the terrifying disorder of a good horror film. Evil Dead should have been a forgettable
mess or mediocrity, but instead is a wild, perverse ride that inspires a
healthy number of screams and laughs. While not wholly original, a gripping,
engaging ride is more than enough to make it a memorable addition to a flailing
genre.
Grade: B+
