The Evil Dead 4K UHD (1981)

[ROSS.T.G.]

It’s both. It’s what makes it unique.

[BluProofie]

Raimi has said that if one skips the recap it is meant to be a sequel. He couldn’t use footage from the original so he recreated some stuff with just Ash and Linda for budget reasons. It was never, ever meant to be a remake.

[Geoff D]

I got mine today and will do the usual in a minute, but upon comparing the discs (including the Elite DVD) I noticed something curious: the audio on the 4K disc has been pitched down so voices sound deeper and the music is at a lower pitch.

[4kUltraBD]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I got mine today and will do the usual in a minute, but upon comparing the discs (including the Elite DVD) I noticed something curious: the audio on the 4K disc has been pitched down so voices sound deeper and the music is at a lower pitch.

Would you say that it's something obvious, or only noticeable when doing an A/B comparison?

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

the audio on the 4K disc has been pitched down so voices sound deeper and the music is at a lower pitch.

Not so groovy.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by 4kUltraBD

Would you say that it's something obvious, or only noticeable when doing an A/B comparison?

I can't says I noticed anything amiss when watching it, but then I'm not an uber fan who has the movie seared into his brain. But when I was comparing it to the Blu-ray I instantly twigged that the Blu-ray was pitched higher, everyone sounds a bit squeakier in comparison. If people wanna check for themselves then switch between the English and Spanish audio on the UHD, the Spanish audio having used the previous music/effects stems. Obviously you won't be able to compare the dialogue but you can with the music, try the bit when the cellar door flies open as they're seated at the table, or when Ash is looking at the sunrise at the end of the film.

[4kUltraBD]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I can't says I noticed anything amiss when watching it, but then I'm not an uber fan who has the movie seared into his brain. But when I was comparing it to the Blu-ray I instantly twigged that the Blu-ray was pitched higher, everyone sounds a bit squeakier in comparison. If people wanna check for themselves then switch between the English and Spanish audio on the UHD, the Spanish audio having used the previous music/effects stems. Obviously you won't be able to compare the dialogue but you can with the music, try the bit when the cellar door flies open as they're seated at the table, or when Ash is looking at the sunrise at the end of the film.

Thank you for the info. I (along with everyone) will be eagerly awaiting your full review.

[ROSS.T.G.]

So it’s not as shrill. I can live with that. I’ll know if I’m watching this weekend in about 30 minutes

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I can't says I noticed anything amiss when watching it, but then I'm not an uber fan who has the movie seared into his brain. But when I was comparing it to the Blu-ray I instantly twigged that the Blu-ray was pitched higher, everyone sounds a bit squeakier in comparison. If people wanna check for themselves then switch between the English and Spanish audio on the UHD, the Spanish audio having used the previous music/effects stems. Obviously you won't be able to compare the dialogue but you can with the music, try the bit when the cellar door flies open as they're seated at the table, or when Ash is looking at the sunrise at the end of the film.

I wonder if this was a deliberate change, or a mistake?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

I wonder if this was a deliberate change, or a mistake?

Are you kidding? It's Lionsgate. Mistakes are hard-wired into their DNA.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Black Sun

Agreed. Everyone always says that 2 is a big budget remake of 1 and therefore better. No, it really isn’t. 2 is nowhere near 1 in terms of tone, and I’m not just talking about the “groovy” one liners. It’s like going from Friday the 13th Part 1, 4, or 5 straight to Part 6; Evil Dead 2 is like the Amblin Entertainment version of Evil Dead. If you prefer the difference in tone, great, but calling it a remake of 1 with a bigger budget just isn’t accurate.

it's more of a continuation than a sequel per say, granted it took some six years, the beginning happens right where Evil Dead 1 ended. Now as to the tone, it sort of is similar to Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 where humor slided into the inner workings of the story and characters - it's jarring and odd, but it's off kilter beats and such form to create something new and it's own uniqueness. Strangely since 2 and 3 were far more funny, the writers for the Ash vs. Evil Dead tv series capitalized on it and merged tight storytelling, insane amounts of gore and bloodletting, humor, likeable characters into one insanely entertaining tv series.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Are you kidding? It's Lionsgate. Mistakes are hard-wired into their DNA.

True.

[LoSouL]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I can't says I noticed anything amiss when watching it, but then I'm not an uber fan who has the movie seared into his brain. But when I was comparing it to the Blu-ray I instantly twigged that the Blu-ray was pitched higher, everyone sounds a bit squeakier in comparison.

Maybe that's why it seemed so much more palatable to my ears than every other time I've watched it.

[JackForrester]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Raimi has said that if one skips the recap it is meant to be a sequel.

Except Evil Dead II is supposed to start when the first film ended, with the evil force hitting Ash and pushing him thru the woods, but after that we still see Ash driving straight to the bridge trying to escape when he was supposed to already know it was gone.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by LoSouL

Maybe that's why it seemed so much more palatable to my ears than every other time I've watched it.

Yes, I remember you saying you were digging the audio and it's definitely a new mix.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by JackForrester

Except Evil Dead II is supposed to start when the first film ended, with the evil force hitting Ash and pushing him thru the woods, but after that we still see Ash driving straight to the bridge trying to escape when he was supposed to already know it was gone.

I think the only reason that scene's there is so that first-time viewers don't think, 'Why doesn't he just use the bridge?'

[Alister_M]

The continuity between the three is completely out of whack. It's the same with EDII going into AOD, at the end of EDII he's being hailed as a savior and at the start of AOD he's been taken prisoner. The flashbacks at the start of AOD don't match up either.

[Geoff D]

Right from the start I got the biggest shit-eating grin on my face because the grain looks gorgeous, it's abundant but oh-so-finely resolved. To be honest it hardly felt like I was watching 16mm in that respect because it's not got the sort of coarse golfball-sized grain that I was expecting. In case that sets any alarum bells ringing re: any "grain management" I'll make the case that, although 16mm is inherently rougher than 35mm, this film was shot in the years prior to the faster, uber-grainy stocks that would dominate the '80s and so the emulsion wasn't necessarily as rough as balls. Some shots do still look a bit dupier and grainier but that's to be expected. And I actually spotted some DNR on the Blu-ray when I was comparing back and forth! I still think it looks great but the shot in the car when Scotty says "the only thing that works on this car is the horn!" his face looks very smeary and weird in 1080p, while on the UHD it's far more filmic with the grain intact.

In terms of spatial resolution I was hard pressed to spot any differences in measurable detail between the two discs. I said earlier in the thread (https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...4#post15353894) that I just didn't expect this to blow away the Blu-ray for resolution, it having been remastered well enough to extract as much resolution as is realistically possible, and so it proved. There's a fraction more coherence in the wider shots on UHD owing to the tighter grain but even on things like massive close-ups (dat unibrow) I'm struggling. Several shots are just plain out of focus and not even 8K would help that, never mind 4K. I'm not knocking the UHD by any means, the source material is what it is and the UHD has other attributes to enjoy.

Where the UHD comes into its own is the HDR grade. I also said before (https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...8#post15354108) that I had several moments in mind where the SDR tends to blow out and, lo and behold, the UHD improves them with a notable expansion of the range, like when Scotty flicks on the light when he first enters the cabin. Not that this is an HDR showcase, don't mistake my comments, but then it was never ever going to be that sort of grade. What I am saying is that there's an admirable amount of range on display that imparts more naturalism and depth to the highlights without burning your eyes out, it's the sort of subtly beneficial grade that's the antithesis of what HDR is marketed as.

Colour is generally a bit more dour than the BD. Skin tones have an overt pinky flush on the SDR Blu-ray but are more subdued on the UHD, which has a slightly warmer look to the colour balance in some shots. The red red kroovy still looks great, looking a richly dark ruby tone. Black levels are a touch lighter than the Blu-ray which has more of a higher look to the gamma, the UHD doesn't suffer for it though. And there are some shots which actually play darker on the UHD than the Blu-ray, like the shot of the sunset just after Scotty checks out the tool shed.

Given that this 4K transfer is not the further tweaked & cleaned Blu-ray version I can say that it didn't bother me a jot, it's not like the 4K is some grindhouse effort that's covered in dirt and scratches and is now full of horribly glaring goofs. Noooooooooope. It's still very clean with only the odd white speck visible, and I spotted a vertical scratch when Cheryl wanders into the woods. As for the goofs, I spotted the dude's reflection in the window but everything else seemed to elude me. (When I checked the Blu-ray version of the window shot, the fix actually looks rather crude as they've matted a sheet of frozen grain onto the window!) Some shots actually have different framing as well.

Compression is just excellent, handling the grain with ease, and the only oddity I spotted was with the first shot of the sunrise when Ash leaves the cabin at the end, the grain seems to 'stutter' from frame to frame BUT it looks like something that was done to prolong that shot (step-printing the frames) rather than it being a mastering problem. The Blu-ray appears to have the same effect in that shot, but as the grain is much less prominent it's harder to spot.

Photo time, these aren't great as they're increasing the shadows a lot but you can just about see what I mean when I'm pointing out specifics. DO NOT TAKE AS GOSPEL, they're just for show.

In the car, ignore how dark the shadows look which isn't accurate to either version, but look at the highlight detail on their clothing, the background, Scotty's hand etc. Skin tones aren't as peppy on the UHD. It's not a blinding shot, it's just exceedingly more natural now. Not the same frame, but it doesn't matter in this case.

[Show spoiler]
BD



UHD

Another shot of the increased range, FYI the UHD isn't that dark in the shadows at all, concentrate on the highlights on the door, door frame, the wall to the left.

[Show spoiler]
BD




UHD

This last one is for the framing, it's when they get out of the car. Same frame. UHD has been shifted up. Ignore the clipped highlights in the UHD photo. Open in two tabs and flick between them for the best effect.

[Show spoiler]
BD




UHD

[ROSS.T.G.]

Nice, I can’t wait to watch it. Sadly I still haven’t received mine.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by Alister_M

The continuity between the three is completely out of whack. It's the same with EDII going into AOD, at the end of EDII he's being hailed as a savior and at the start of AOD he's been taken prisoner. The flashbacks at the start of AOD don't match up either.

Which Ash Vs. Evil Dead makes full use of.