Evil Dead (2013)

[bullets]

I really enjoyed Evil Dead. I don't think it's as scary or good as the original , but it was still fun. There's all the gore and brutal violence you would want in an Evil Dead film. The effects and make-up look great. Also there's all sorts of references to the original film. The acting was decent, but I didn't feel emotionally invested in the characters. They all did something stupid at one point and the brother's denial almost came off as silly towards the second half of the film. It's still better than most of the recent horror films in the last couple years. The crowd seemed to really enjoy it. I think most of them hadn't seen the original based on the huge gasp/omg during the vine moment.

So it was loads of fun , but it makes me want Evil Dead 4/ Army of Darkness 2 with Bruce Campbell even more.

[drmb1990]

Originally Posted by Rich1983

The Evil Disappointment (Beware Spoilers!)

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]We start off with one of those John Carpenter’s Halloween style pre-title screen sequences that happened long before the plot of the film starts, just to justify the film becoming just another one of those girl ghost movies, instead of being a demonic film true to the Evil Dead franchise.

After the title screen, a group of people wind up driving to the cabin. The cabin looks great, but why are they there? They were so gung ho about not being willing to leave when that one girl really wanted to. They had this high school teacher studying the Necronomican. They had a nurse. It was not made clear why they were even there to begin with.

When they arrived, the trademark swing swinging and banging against the cabin was not there. The swing was just not doing anything. In the original Evil Dead, it was so creepy when the swing was banging against the cabin.

Also, not once in this entire film did we hear the “Join us!” voice which is a trademark of The Evil Dead. Also, the “We’re gonna get you!” bit which WAS in the trailer, WAS NOT in the film.

Also, the book itself looked like complete garbage. There was no face and ear like in the original. It looked like bad stitching all over it. The dagger that went with the book was not even in the film as well. Also, the book would not burn? Give me a break!

AND THE BIGGEST TRAVESTY OF ALL…

Fede Alvarez had two signature, classic, trademark franchise climaxes in the film, which were completely wasted.

[Show spoiler]In the original Evil Dead (1982), the forest conception scene was a climax. It was a brutally shocking moment which was what the entire film lead up to, up to that point. As a major catalyst, this scene is the single plot point which finally allowed the demons to enter the cabin, which gave them access to the rest of the cast. This scene seemed extremely down played and almost thrown away. It gave us a Grudge like girl ghost puking blood which fertilizes the character instead.

That brings us to the classic scene lifted from Evil Dead II (1987) when the character’s hand gets possessed by the demons. In Evil Dead II, once again we were dealing with a climax, because that led to the character ultimately having to saw his hand off, which in itself would become a character, and render the victim handicapped throughout the rest of the franchise (not that that would stop Ash!). In Fede’s film, the girl saws her arm off with an electric knife and that is the end of it. You never even see her hand come to life after that, the way it did in Evil Dead II (1987). The scene was completely wasted.

I can say some nice things about it too.

The make-up effects and gore were both absolutely top notch. On the surface, this was a very well made splatter film.

[Show spoiler]There was an absolutely brutal scene in the film dealing with a nail gun and a girl cutting a piece of her cheek off.

It was a brutally intense gore filled horror film. There is no doubt about that. The cinematography looked great as well.

The problems come in when they attached the title The Evil Dead to it.

This was a good horror film, but it was not The Evil Dead, pure and simple.

LONG STORY SHORT

If you are looking for a brutal gory splatter horror film full of random disgusting things, this is the film for you.

Those of us, who are waiting for a film to come out to be true to The Evil Dead franchise, are still waiting for that film, because this IS NOT IT.

It is very clear that the director, Fede Alvarez, does not understand The Evil Dead franchise and what truly makes these films work, or he would not have thrown away two climaxes, nor would he have committed the other misdeeds he committed on this poor excuse for an Evil Dead film.

While I'm not putting you down for your opinions I just have to ask... did you ever read any of the articles about the film before and during production? Or even the reports and interviews once everything was said and done?
The film isn't a "remake" it's a sequel of sorts to the original if you will and there are several winks to the original that are thrown throughout the film. Like for instance...

[Show spoiler]the car... and also how the brother and sister talk about how the cabin belongs the their family and so on.

There are many more that I'm not going to mention because I want to watch it again and make sure I actually catch them all. Also the highlights or "climaxes" of the new film were different from the original. Mainly because Fede and company were setting out to make a film all its own and not just a cut and paste of the original. I mean HAVE you seen the Psycho or Omen remakes? Those were horrible and they went the route of not changing anything from the original just re film it all.

[Show spoiler]Yes it had the tree scene, but it was actually shown in the book why it happened and it was all part of the ritual and also to allow the demon to go into the cabin and kill the others causing it to get stronger. Also the scene with girl cutting her hand off, I agree that it could have played out with the hand coming back and smacking Eric around come more(seriously that dude took a beating here)

Also about the book, it had to be changed due to legal reasons(yes Sam and Bruce were on board but the lawyers on set said no) so that was why it looked different.

One more thing...

[Show spoiler]The opening was basically a set up of how they got the book to actually awaken the demon. It actually takes place a few days before the real showdown and I thought it actually worked well with the film as a whole. Then it was explained why they were at the cabin, were you not paying attention? Mia(which is basically our new Ash to a point, yet Evil Dead 4/Army Of Darkness 2 is in the works and supposedly a sequel where the two worlds meet is on the agenda if all goes as planned) wanted to stop doing dope and they take her out there so she can quit cold turkey without a way to go back to the city and get more. She overdosed one time before and actually died so this was their way of making sure it didn't happen this time. So they stay at the cabin not really knowing what is happening to Mia and when they end up figuring out it all it's to late because the road is washed out and they can't leave.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by cine74

Posting a street date for the home release before the film even hits theaters will only want to make me skip the theatrical showing and just wait for the Blu. I think it over several times before deciding to venture out to the movies these days. It's just too much of a hassle dealing with morons who think they're home and can do whatever they want in public.

Agreed. They're clueless in the industry. Why would I spend $25 for two tickets to see this in the cinema , which is almost guaranteed to have some gore cut out, thanks to our friends at the MPAA, when I could just wait 3 months, and own it on blu-ray as a blind-buy, probably unrated even, and if I hate it I can just sell it for a few bucks, which I can't do at the cinema? And if I keep it I can watch extras, commentaries, etc.

They're shooting themselves in the foot this way. Not that I care - saves me money. I'll just wait for the disc, thank you.

Meanwhile the "experts" want to blame lack of cinema-goers on "piracy". Wrong. I can only afford a few films a year in the cinema. Today I saw Jurassic Park 3D - Evil Dead will wait until it's on blu.

And funny you mention the morons at the cinema. Jurassic Park is rated PG-13, yet there was a couple there that had at least 8 kids with them that had to be all no older than 7 or 8, and that was the oldest. And of course they were running up and down the aisles in the middle of the film. Then there was the 3 guys sitting a few seats away from me that kept playing with their phone throughout the film, with the ultra-bright little screen distracting me from the film. And the film was also misaligned - the top of the film was cut off quite a bit due to it not being centered on the screen.

Yeah, I think I'll wait for the blu, thank you.

[drmb1990]

Originally Posted by bullets

So it was loads of fun , but it makes me want Evil Dead 4/ Army of Darkness 2 with Bruce Campbell even more.

it's supposed to be on its way and I am so ready

[sancho]

Day 1 blind buy.

[mmyersisgod]

That's my birthday! **** the haters, I loved it. Also it was the goriest film I have ever seen...and I am a diehard horror fan and have seen some of the goriest films of all time.

[sukraj]

I'll wait for the bluray release.

[Edword]

Originally Posted by Rich1983

The Evil Disappointment (Beware Spoilers!)

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]We start off with one of those John Carpenter’s Halloween style pre-title screen sequences that happened long before the plot of the film starts, just to justify the film becoming just another one of those girl ghost movies, instead of being a demonic film true to the Evil Dead franchise.

After the title screen, a group of people wind up driving to the cabin. The cabin looks great, but why are they there? They were so gung ho about not being willing to leave when that one girl really wanted to. They had this high school teacher studying the Necronomican. They had a nurse. It was not made clear why they were even there to begin with.

When they arrived, the trademark swing swinging and banging against the cabin was not there. The swing was just not doing anything. In the original Evil Dead, it was so creepy when the swing was banging against the cabin.

Also, not once in this entire film did we hear the “Join us!” voice which is a trademark of The Evil Dead. Also, the “We’re gonna get you!” bit which WAS in the trailer, WAS NOT in the film.

Also, the book itself looked like complete garbage. There was no face and ear like in the original. It looked like bad stitching all over it. The dagger that went with the book was not even in the film as well. Also, the book would not burn? Give me a break!

AND THE BIGGEST TRAVESTY OF ALL…

Fede Alvarez had two signature, classic, trademark franchise climaxes in the film, which were completely wasted.

[Show spoiler]In the original Evil Dead (1982), the forest conception scene was a climax. It was a brutally shocking moment which was what the entire film lead up to, up to that point. As a major catalyst, this scene is the single plot point which finally allowed the demons to enter the cabin, which gave them access to the rest of the cast. This scene seemed extremely down played and almost thrown away. It gave us a Grudge like girl ghost puking blood which fertilizes the character instead.

That brings us to the classic scene lifted from Evil Dead II (1987) when the character’s hand gets possessed by the demons. In Evil Dead II, once again we were dealing with a climax, because that led to the character ultimately having to saw his hand off, which in itself would become a character, and render the victim handicapped throughout the rest of the franchise (not that that would stop Ash!). In Fede’s film, the girl saws her arm off with an electric knife and that is the end of it. You never even see her hand come to life after that, the way it did in Evil Dead II (1987). The scene was completely wasted.

I can say some nice things about it too.

The make-up effects and gore were both absolutely top notch. On the surface, this was a very well made splatter film.

[Show spoiler]There was an absolutely brutal scene in the film dealing with a nail gun and a girl cutting a piece of her cheek off.

It was a brutally intense gore filled horror film. There is no doubt about that. The cinematography looked great as well.

The problems come in when they attached the title The Evil Dead to it.

This was a good horror film, but it was not The Evil Dead, pure and simple.

LONG STORY SHORT

If you are looking for a brutal gory splatter horror film full of random disgusting things, this is the film for you.

Those of us, who are waiting for a film to come out to be true to The Evil Dead franchise, are still waiting for that film, because this IS NOT IT.

It is very clear that the director, Fede Alvarez, does not understand The Evil Dead franchise and what truly makes these films work, or he would not have thrown away two climaxes, nor would he have committed the other misdeeds he committed on this poor excuse for an Evil Dead film.

Umm it was explained why they were all out there at the cabin.

[Show spoiler]There were there to help support Mia and to help her try and finally quit her drug addiction by going cold turkey.

Not sure how you missed that.

Originally Posted by mar3o

Agreed. They're clueless in the industry. Why would I spend $25 for two tickets to see this in the cinema , which is almost guaranteed to have some gore cut out, thanks to our friends at the MPAA, when I could just wait 3 months, and own it on blu-ray as a blind-buy, probably unrated even, and if I hate it I can just sell it for a few bucks, which I can't do at the cinema? And if I keep it I can watch extras, commentaries, etc.

They're shooting themselves in the foot this way. Not that I care - saves me money. I'll just wait for the disc, thank you.

Meanwhile the "experts" want to blame lack of cinema-goers on "piracy". Wrong. I can only afford a few films a year in the cinema. Today I saw Jurassic Park 3D - Evil Dead will wait until it's on blu.

Yeah, I think I'll wait for the blu, thank you.

I wouldn't really say they are shooting themselves in the foot. How much of the general public knows that this is coming out in July? Probably not a good percentage. The majority of people that know this is coming out in July are members on this site (along with other forums). I doubt even half the people that are in theaters watching this know there is a release date for the DVD/BD.

[Kryptonic]

It kicked ass. Can't wait to see the unrated cut on Blu.

[BluProofie]

As a huge fan of the original trilogy I loved it! Glad this Blu is coming so soon! Day one.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by mmyersisgod

That's my birthday! **** the haters, I loved it. Also it was the goriest film I have ever seen...and I am a diehard horror fan and have seen some of the goriest films of all time.

Lol, my birthday too. Planning on seeing this maybe tonight so we'll see.

[Abdrewes]

Rich1983, thanks for your thoughts, I look forward to your thoughts on future movies. I more or less agree with your assessment.

[Ray O. Blu]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

It kicked ass. Can't wait to see the unrated cut on Blu.

Agreed. Highly enjoyed it. Will be an awesome one to watch at home, CRANKED UP!!!

[xxBachelor1981xx]

I saw this last night with a buddy of mine. We both liked the original and this was just as good. I cant wait until the bluray comes out to see the uncut version and special features. I just hope it makes enough money to get a sequel.

[StankYouSmellyMuch]

Day one purchase for me! The original had its fair share of gore too and at the time I think some may think it was too much. The same is happening with the remake. I think because I'm a zombie fan, the movie didn't scare me as much because all I thought about were zombies instead of possessed by demons. Looking forward to see and own the uncut version! Also the I think part 2 is in the works along with Evil Dead 4 and Army of Darkness 2 with the original director and Bruce Cambell.

[mmyersisgod]

What company is releasing this? It better get a slip!

[bunkz323]

Originally Posted by mmyersisgod

What company is releasing this? It better get a slip!

A bad ass slip, lenticular like cabin in the woods would b nice

Sent from my LG-MS870 using Tapatalk 2

[bunkz323]

Originally Posted by xxBachelor1981xx

I saw this last night with a buddy of mine. We both liked the original and this was just as good. I cant wait until the bluray comes out to see the uncut version and special features. I just hope it makes enough money to get a sequel.

Well it was made for about 17 mill i heard and it made 26 mill already, im pretty sure we're getting a sequel, not to mention the dvd/blu sales are gonna boost that up.

Sent from my LG-MS870 using Tapatalk 2

[Edword]

Originally Posted by mmyersisgod

What company is releasing this? It better get a slip!

It might be Sony, but I could be wrong.


I'd say a sequel will probably happen now, especially with the opening weekend numbers. They are already working on a sequel so unless this bombed we'd probably get one anyways.

[Guvnagrover]

Originally Posted by Edword

It might be Sony, but I could be wrong.

I think you are probably right; just got back from seeing it and it was TriStar which said that it was a Sony company.

Loved the flick, especially since they mostly used practical effects. This will definitely be one that is added to my collection once it's released.