Unfortunately I was unable to watch the original before coming in to see Evil Dead because life gets in the way. Living the swole life comes with its price, and I haven't had a chance to watch a whole lot of movies lately. However, I will critique this movie like any other, and I think not seeing the original gives me a chance to fairly analyze this film. Let's take a look.
I expected a lot of jump scares in this film, which I am not a fan of; partly because they work but mostly because it is a very cheap way to get a scare. Look at The Shining, for example. There are almost no jump scares in that film, yet it is one of the scariest films of all time, relying on building suspense and strong performances to create fear. I was pleasantly surprised with how few jump scares this film used. Evil Dead tries to go for classic scares in some instances which is a plus. Another aspect of the film that was entertaining was Eric is the freakin' Terminator. This guy would NOT die. (Spoiler Alert) Eric takes severe beatings, stabbings, needles to the eye, crowbars to the head and body, and is shot repeatedly with a nail gun, yet STILL manages to save some of the supporting cast REPEATEDLY. I found this flaw hilariously bad and it made the film somewhat enjoyable.
With the tagline "The Most Terrifying Film You Will Ever Experience", I expected more from Evil Dead. However, all I got was a bloodbath with lots of screaming. Critics seem to like this film, more or less, but it is very stereotypical of your average horror film: A recovering drug addict sees horrific things and it is blamed on her addiction. Curiosity kills the cat as one character summons all evil in the film. All the characters were bland and predictable. Another major fallback of this film is it didn't know when to end. There were what seemed like multiple climaxes and it really ruined the structure of the story. I've been told the original The Evil Dead is funny/campy, but the remake doesn't showcase any humor (other than TerminEric, which was unintentional). Finally, the acting in this film is extremely dry and lacks energy, but I should have expected that seeing as I have never heard of anyone in the lead cast.
Lackluster writing, excessive violence, and a jumbled plot make what could've been a solid remake a very bland one. Fans of the original will appreciate some of the homage paid in this film (from what I've read, there are a few instances). However, I cannot recommend this film as it falls in the cracks of your classic bad horror flick. This is a forgettable film that you should save your money on and just not see.
MY RATING:
2 out of 5
-KEVIN MILLWARD-
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