1/10
There is no use anymore complaining about horror
remakes. By now, you must accept any
halfway decent horror film from the ‘70s or ‘80s has already been remade or is
in the pipeline. There was Friday
the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, The
Crazies, Last House on the Left, and even more but listing them all will
not make anybody feel better. Now, a
studio turns its attention to Evil Dead, a commercial flop in 1981,
but a certified cult classic now.
Five early 20-somethings trek to an isolated cabin in the woods. There is a reason for it but that would fall
under plot. Evil Dead and plot do not
work very well together. Plot is just
something to slog through to get to the reason they are trying to reanimate the
franchise, blood, detached limbs, found objects used to impale your body, and
even more blood.
The violence and gore far exceed the original but there is a
key element missing. The original Evil
Dead movies are known for being campy.
The characters do not take themselves too seriously; it is as if they
are all in on the same joke. Not in
2013. Nobody smirks, chuckles, looks
askance, or offers up a bad pun. It is
all confusion, stupidity, and screaming.
Just what is the Evil Dead?
There is an ominous book that looks like it is bound in skin and has
blood splatters on most pages. When
mystical words are spoken aloud, the exact same camera shots are employed as in
the original of ‘something’ hurtling through the woods. There is a whooshing sound through the trees
as the camera, acting as the eyes of ‘something’, charges its way towards the
cabin. We have no idea where it came
from or what it looks like, but it uses an eye-opening method to literally
enter the drug-addled and annoying Mia (Jane Levy).
Mia is at the cabin to, once again, wean herself off of hard
narcotics. Her friends, her brother, and
his girlfriend go with her for moral and, if required, physical support. Mia’s brother, David (Shiloh Fernandez), wins
the award for worst actor amongst the other four well-qualified
candidates. Fernandez is technically in
Bruce Campbell’s role from 1981, which was always going to be a tough sell, but
no matter, he is not believable for one second.
Another hard to swallow fact is there are four writers with
screenplay credits. One of them is Sam
Raimi, the original writer/director, because he created the story. Another one is Diablo Cody, the wit behind Juno
and Young
Adult. First, what is Cody’s
name doing billed behind people named Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayaguez who have
no other feature film credits on their resumes?
Second, and more importantly, where in the script is Cody’s
influence? There are no snarky
observations or pithy retorts. A writer
known almost solely for her biting style and unique voice has zero impact on
Evil Dead’s drudgery.
Maybe I just miss Bruce Campbell. I suppose when they eventually get around to remaking Jaws I will miss Roy Scheider. Having the real Ash show up with a wink, a
grin, and hopefully an off color quip would at least have reminded the audience
of more entertaining movies from the past.
But no, Campbell was smart enough to stay behind the scenes as a co-producer in this obligatory,
and remarkably tired, remake.
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Written by: Fede Alvarez, Diablo Cody, Sam Raimi, Rodo Sayaguez
Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore
When I saw the comment on my review I had not looked at yours yet. Wow 1 out of 10, you did not like this at all. I get the vacancy of the spot where Bruce was, but I still see a solid horror film that is miles beyond the pablum that is passed off as a fright film nowadays. Heaven forbid a Jaws remake, but if it ever were to happen, I hope Spielberg is as successful as Rami was here. I herd some of the Diablo Cody lines in the story,at least I bet they were hers. It doesn't sound like you will be giving it another chance, but sometimes after an initial reaction I have altered expectations and my reaction is moderated. I'm going to see it again soon, if you don't mind, I'd like to come back and talk some more. See you soon.
ReplyDeleteI won't dispute any of your reasoning here, as it's all sound, but I thought the movie was inspired, all things considered. It seemed, to me, to have the right combination of reverence for the original and balls-out insanity.
ReplyDeleteThe script is certainly weak, the acting subpar, but I wasn't expecting cleverness and subtlety from a remake of Evil Dead. Fair?
Certainly fair - perhaps I have finally run out of re-make appreciation. I didn't give 'Mama' a recommendation earlier this year, but I look back on it a bit fonder now because it was an original script rather than a film whose sole purpose is to retell a story you already know but enhance the blood to 2013 levels.
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