Evil Dead (2013) - Review (contains spoilers!!!)

All the hardcore Raimi-ists out there who are eager to bash this film because it doesn't hold a candle to the original, or because it shouldn't have even been tampered with in the first place, please just relax.  While I may agree with you, I know for a fact that the original The Evil Dead will remain a classic of cult proportions.  Its reputation will remain untarnished.  This modern reboot is exactly that, which is a fresh take on an old idea, so it is meant to be different no matter how sacrilegious you think it may be.  And let's not forget, both Sam AND Bruce Campbell had producer/supervisor roles on the 2013 version.

That being said, I'm surprised Raimi and Campbell didn't try to exert more of their creative influence upon first time feature director Fede Alvarez.  While the film never pretends to be anything other than a bare bones linear horror film, outside of the the visual and makeup effects Evil Dead just doesn't achieve much else in terms of production ingenuity, scare tactics, or overall storytelling.  Don't expect to find ANY of the off-beat humor found throughout the original franchise.  When compared to most other horror flicks, much less the ground breaking original, the film simply maintains the status quo.

The cinematic setting remains roughly the same as the 1981 version, when five twenty somethings meet to stay at a cabin in the woods completely isolated from civilization.  Always a good idea.  The most original idea of the movie (which is saying something) concerns why the characters have assembled in the first place, as the group has convened in order to help their friend Mia kick her long standing drug addiction.  No one can leave and thereby give up on Mia, despite the warning signs of blood stained floors and a basement filled with sacrificed cats (perhaps a heavy handed way of highlighting what happens when a feline is just too curious?).  Soon after the group settles in the cabin for the foreseeable future, they unintentionally release an evil spirit that sets out to swiftly destroy each of them after possessing our unlucky ex-drug user.  But no matter what occurs, the friends must keep Mia in the house to make sure she overcomes... ahem, her inner demons.  The point is driven home repeatedly and annoyingly, which as you can probably guess, allows for all manner of ridiculous happenings before the group realizes something is out of the ordinary.

The blame for the failings of Evil Dead has to fall squarely on the shoulders of director and co-writer Alvarez.  Outside of the strong tortured performance of Jane Levy in the role of Mia, the other actors limp along begging to be put out of their misery.  Flat and emotionless, the friends sharing an apparent collective IQ of about 12, walk around this death trap of a house wondering out loud about what has befallen them.  Hint:  your girlfriend might be possessed if she suddenly begins to carve off her face with a shard of broken mirror, then begins to pursue you like a starving zombie, and repeatedly stabs you in the face and chest with whatever sharpened objects she can get her hands on.  What is incredible is that there is absolutely no sense of extreme fear, hysteria, or terror amongst the clique.  In fact, most of these people seem downright clear-headed as their friends are maimed and dying off at the hands of the controlling wraith.

Given, not everyone goes to the movies (especially a horror film) for top filmmaking quality, or to "feel" something.  Some cinephiles just want to see their films filled with action, blood, and gore, which is where this film is surely triumphant.  There are truly creative visual effects with fantastic prosthetic and makeup work, and I applaud the choice to forego the utilization of CGI.  Dismemberment, blood purging, stabbings, and slashings, amongst many other gruesome injuries are all pulled off with wild success.  It just isn't enough to carry the film.

The film moves at a brisk pace from character setup, to demon summoning, and right on through the subsequent death toll.  While this acceleration of development thankfully keeps the runtime at a tolerable level, it's also too quick and constant to evoke any real emotional response.  The audience is never able to connect or empathize with the thinly written characters, and the lack of tempo change eliminates any potential thrills.  Without the occasional slow climb, the viewer never gets the dramatic roller coaster drop.  I was always ready and expecting the next inevitable brutalization.  At the predictable conclusion of the film when our hero prevails, in albeit glorious chainsaw induced blood splatter, the scene should have been the type of cinematic moment that would illicit an ovation from the theater audience.  Instead, one could feel a collective sigh of relief knowing the credits were seconds away.

Evil Dead is nothing but a mildly entertaining festival of gore, but unfortunately the beauty (gore) here is merely the polish barely hiding the inadequate surface underneath.  Without any other element (humor, suspense, compassion, logic, etc.) to help offset and benefit the horror tale, it's difficult to rally behind cringeworthy death after death after death..