Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore.
Director: Fede Alvarez.
Remakes are a unique animal and are actually an inherently challenging feat: somehow, the film-makers need to balance fan expectations while simultaneously attempting to appeal to a new audience. Ultimately, the latter is the true goal: at some point one has to realize that, no matter how great or classic a film may be, eventually new and younger audiences aren't going to bother viewing an older film...and even if they did, they simply won't be able to relate to or respect that original film. You could make an argument that the original should stand on its own and you can make new things for the newer audience, but the horror movie demographic tends to hate new stuff, too...so what are you left with? Either you make things for new audiences and alienate adult horror buffs, or you basically don't make anything at all. As such, remakes occur.
I think a good argument could be made that Evil Dead has no business being remade and not for the traditional reasons of proprietorship or nostalgia that are usually at the heart of most remake protests. In my earlier write-up on the original, I stated that the movie was probably the pinnacle of DIY guerrilla film-making and to remake that, well, might kind of be missing the point entirely.
That said: the remake of Evil Dead is actually pretty good. The opening sequence is moody but ultimately pointless, and its set-up is flimsy at best (the idea that these kids support this form of very unhealthy detox despite some of them having a background in medicine is a broken one, but it keeps them from the door long enough for shit to get real, so...necessary evil, I guess), but the cast is pretty game, especially Jane Levy, who gives an excellent performance.
The most impressive thing about the film is the great care taken to recreate a lot of elements of the original film without directly invoking it too much: it's still very modern, but the cabin is lovingly designed to be similar, the classic car is out back, the necklace looks similar. Everyone involved has a clear affection for the source material. There's actually some more flourish than the original. While Raimi went for high energy, director Fede Alvarez goes for a quiet sense of menace. His shots are slow, brooding creeps and low-light(without being "leave the lights off" dark, which is a thing too many modern films go for these days) compositions. He plays a lot with directional distortion, too: the opening shot features a camera shot that rotates around, and as the book is read Eric suddenly appears on the opposite side of the frame.
The assault in the woods is a mixed bag: on one hand, there is some really solid imagery of the vines entangling and cutting her, splaying her out helplessly for the demon to go after...surrounded by impenetrable fog. Against the near-white background, and the light brown vines, her pale skin and black dress just pop against the frame...it's beautiful photography. Unfortunately, the attack itself comes off as very lowest common denominator. There did not need to be a vaginal intrusion.
Jane Levy's terrified begging of her brother to get her out of the cabin...it's really a wonderfully scary little scene. It's intense and intimate, almost soundless, focusing entirely on Levy's performance. It doesn't have a lot of pay-off, and somehow that makes it work even better: the tension is just left hanging there, promising more horrible things to come.
Again, Alvarez makes strides to mess with perceptions: when Mia slowly enters the living room of the cabin, the camera tilts to the right, creating a subtley off-center frame...the sound also once again drops out, only to roar suddenly back in.
The big nod to the original comes when the gore effects kick in: taking its cues from Raimi, it goes big with globs of gooey vomit and blood splattering all over the floor and people's faces...it's a very deliberate effort to horrify while being over-the-top and amusing. It doesn't work every single time it's deployed: Oliva's carving of her own face certainly isn't designed to be amusing, instead very much being interested in shocking(and it IS that) but as she begins her shrieking and stabbing, we seem to be once more attempting that playful audacity. It's uneven, but it's not ineffective: it is the first real attack by the demons, after all, and Alvarez still wants to set a tone for his violence sequences. It's a mixed message early on, but as much as I like this film I certainly can't say it's excellent...but while that set tone might be uneven, stuck between going for full-on gross outs and horror...it does set the pace nicely, and from Mia's first moments of possession onward it is entirely a frenzied, aggressive dash for the finish line, not unlike Raimi's cult classic.
While Mia's demon dialogue is kind of generic and cliche, the make-up effects and gross-out moments are very effective, especially against the claustrophobic set-piece of the basement stairs:at the top is potential freedom, more space, but below is pitch black...it's very well set. The attempts to expand on the mythology-the demons having an ultimate goal-doesn't really play well, but it isn't necessarily a detractor.
The body horror elements are well played, though: Mia splitting her tongue with a box cutter, Natalie's hand and arm rotting to the elbow...once again the movie tips it's over-the-top hand. It's difficult not to be both repulsed and a little amused as Natalie turns and faces Eric and David, tells them she feels "much better now" and then glances down as her half-attached arm finally succumbs to gravity and grossly flops to the floor.
I give the remake credit for attempting to give more characterization, even if it doesn't often pan out as well. The script doesn't show much skill at the quiet moments, at least compared to the bigger ones. The film seems far more at ease with severing a limb than discussing parental issues, but it seems to be somewhat aware of it, since any scene if dialogue is kept very short and then interrupted by some sort of aggressive horror moment. Case in point: as the two men argue about their plan of action, a now-possessed, one-armed Natalie begins to fire a nail gun at them, putting more wounds into Eric (who is giving Ash a run for his money on absorbing punishment), and then attacking with a crowbar. It's the type of borderline absurd, audacious scare tactic that the film relishes in presenting.
While the "burial will restore Mia" thing is undeniably silly, and a flawed invention, it does come with two solid justifications: One, it gives David a reason to confront Mia and bring another strong horror sequence into the film and two, it allows the movie to switch its narrative away from the mostly dull David and back to the much more interesting Mia. The movie seems to know that its best weapon is Jane Levy, and takes a lot of effort to make sure she bookends their admittedly clumsy narrative.
Most horror movies don't have a spectacular score-or even bother to attempt having one-but this film actually has some pretty effective pieces of music involved. In the end, this film really wanted to have some sort of real emotional hook-and it doesn't entirely fail, particularly because Levy is capable of bringing a lot more to the role than the page likely had for her-at its heart. It's not that Shiloh Fernandez isn't good-he actually isn't bad at all-it's just that the character of David doesn't seem to have the emotional resonance that Mia has.
Despite the wonderful image of the burning cabin, Mia's red dress, and the bright red rain falling sheets-all evocative imagery that is once again well framed and presented by Alvarez(who seems to do his best compositions when Levy is on screen)-that final act of this film really does feel forced. It's very well photographed, and even manages some tension and intensity(as well as more excellent scoring, this time along with the sounds of alarm sirens), it's just that the story doesn't provide nearly enough reasoning for any of it. The arrival of some sort of demonic avatar brings very little to the table, especially considering that the only reason previous sequences worked was because the characters knew their aggressors, and seems more designed to check off more boxes or cover things they forgot to do("Wait, did we not use a chainsaw? Shit, re-write!). Mia's one-liners feel forced and difficult, but the imagery along with them makes one last strong shot at that audacious aggression they were striving for.
Final Thoughts: While possessing a fairly weak script filled with mediocre dialogue, mostly flat characters and a flimsy narrative, Evil Dead makes up for it with its very specific stylish ambitions. At turns overly gross-out and tongue-in-cheek messy, the film does struggle to maintain its balance against the funny and the exploitive, but succeeds more than it fails by taking refuse in audacity. Alvarez has a way with set pieces and cinematography, perhaps less with actors despite a strong performance by Levy and an admirably passable one by Fernandez, and does some wonderful visual work here. Bringing it together are strong gore effects and an effective musical score. While not a perfect film at all, it is not only a worthy successor of Raimi's series but also an actually strong remake.
Final Rating: Three Stars.
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