Evil Dead

Dir. Fede Alvarez

**

The central problem with this remake of Sam Raimi's classic is that the marketers spent so much time hyping it up as "the most terrifying film you will ever experience". In spite of it being boldly grotesque and disturbing, the final product is ultimately nothing more than mediocre horror, solely relying on gore to immerse viewers.

As with the original, the film features a small group of young adults who spend a weekend in a remote cabin in the woods. David (Shiloh Fernandez) seeks to establish a better relationship with his mentally ill sister Mia (Jane Levy). Scarred by the death of their mother, who died in a mental institution years earlier, each sibling remains tormented by the past. The other members of the group include David's annoying girlfriend Olivia (Jessica Lucas), their nerdy friend Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), and a dumb blonde named Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore).

When Eric discovers an occult book in the basement, an ancient force of evil returns to torment this helpless band of mortals. The most absurd moments in the film are when David tries to convince the others there's still hope for Mia after she's transformed into a demonic figure and began eating people. How long is it gonna take for you to realize you're dealing with the supernatural!

Both Natalie and Olivia are only there so the producers have a sufficient number of people to kill off in an hour and a half, and David suffers from Fernandez's weak performance. Eric and Mia were to me the only remotely interesting characters. Beyond that, Mia is virtually the only one that undergoes any kind of actual development. That said, there is a nice twist at the end which Alvarez incorporates, one that is not the same as the original.

In spite of the script not being a replica of Raimi's, possessing a fair amount of cleverness in answering certain questions within the story, it nonetheless fails to really enrapture audiences. Using every cliche technique known to moviegoers, I found myself able to predict nearly every moment where Alvarez makes a futile attempt to frighten viewers. With one exaggerated gory sequence after another, whatever thrill exists at the film's beginning is quickly diminished by its blatant predictability. Although the original possesses a comical tone, I found the characters and story much more intriguing nonetheless.

I'm not a horror fan in the first place, but I felt it refreshing for a director to exceed the limits of relentless gore in this genre. However, his vision is shattered by a pretty pathetic cast (with the exception of Levy and Pucci) and an over-reliance on cliché tactics. These obstacles prevent Alvarez from delivering a genuinely unique horror film.

While this film offers a different take on an iconic tale, paying tribute to it at the same time, it is at most a decent reimagining. Hard-core fans will rush to see it, but I found it to be passable in spite of its anticipation.