“Leave this book alone” is written in blood on a page of the Necronomicon in the 2013 ‘Rebirth’ of the Evil Dead. What should be written is “Leave this franchise alone.”The film is in wide-release currently and David provided a mostly positive take after its SXSW premiere, but I felt an alternate view on it was necessary. Last night upon leaving the screening, the crowd I was with were divided roughly 50/50 as to whether they liked it or felt it another unnecessary remake — no one loved it, that’s for sure. I’m an Evil Dead fan (all three previous movies) however I am not beheld to them. I entered this movie with no bias towards it due to what came before. I entered the theater to be provoked into a state of unsettled entertainment. It’s a horror movie and you have to suspend certain instincts. The audience disbelief when words started to be read from the Necronomicon was audible, but I consider myself to be pretty good at going along for the ride with these sorts of things.
So you know the story (and to be fair the film does a nice job of setting up our typical kids in a cabin scenario), the protagonist Mia, played by Jane Levy, is an addict. Her friends take her to her parents abandoned cabin to help her detox. Cue a setup for withdrawl and the associated venom that comes with it, presented as a nice mask for the reality of the situation that Mia has become possessed.
But this nice setup leads into a pretty dull and wasted period of inactivity that I think is largely due to poor writing and a uninspired cast (sans Levy). The two guys are quite insubstantial, one girl is a nurse and offers some use but ended up a bit preachy, while the last girl is just nail fodder — and I mean that in a literal sense rather than a sexual one. There is just no real development or spark amongst them to pull you in. People have cited to me the lack of character development in the original Evil Dead which I acknowledge. But society is far more desensitized to acts of violence and gore than when the original first screened. Movies are smarter (or can be) and the audience is more prone to knowing what to expect |Editor’s note: I disagree wholeheartedly. There’s a reason why Grown Ups 2 is going to come out and make a ton of money — audiences are dumber.|. It isn’t enough now to just throw gory scenes at you, there needs to be more depth than that. It has to be mentioned but in a post-Cabin in the Woods age there is no excuse for having such a bland bunch of characters.What Cabin in the Woods achieved in the opening ten minutes, Evil Dead couldn’t do after an hour of setup. What Cabin in the Woods achieved in the opening ten minutes was fantastic — that Evil Dead couldn’t get even close after an hour of setup is just pathetic. True, they didn’t have Joss Whedon on board writing, but there are other examples of ‘horror’ movies that give you a little more in the way of character development that pays off. Neil Marshall springs to mind with efforts such as The Descent or Dog Soldiers. Actually, a Neil Marshall helmed Evil Dead remake is something I would like to see…
For everything the rest of the cast lacks, Jane Levy totally rises to the occasion. In fact it may be that Levy embodies so many personalities throughout the film (sarcastic teen, junkie on detox, girl possessed by demon, and finally ass kicking retribution girl) there is not much left for anyone else to take on. She nails the role, from the opening scene sitting on Raimi’s Oldsmobile (even with the terrible emo music playing over the top) |Editor note: minor spoilers through the end of this paragraph| right to the end where she finally gets the chance to fight back against the entity that violates her throughout the entire movie. The infamous ‘tree rape’ scene is back and reimagined in a way that pertains to more of a sexual assault. The tree restrains Mia while a demon female vomits something which ‘enters her’ and thus begins the possession. With its sharp cuts it makes for one of the more disturbing scenes in the film. This violation and ensuing havoc leads to the finale of the film with a one on one Our Editor Dave used the term ‘chainsaw blowjob’ and he’s pretty spot on conflict with a manifestation of this demon that entered her. It was one of the highlights to see her finally fight back against what has tortured her, with a plethora of fake blood used to make for a visually striking and pretty badass scene. Our Editor Dave used the term ‘chainsaw blowjob’ and he’s pretty spot on with that.
That said, I think more conflict between the demon and Mia being shown would have helped setup the finale a lot better. One of the most infuriating aspects of the film is that Mia is locked up beneath the floorboards for large periods of time occasionally peeping out or being cut into the film chuckling at the mayhem going on above her. I think playing up the fight for Mia’s body and soul, adding more interaction between her and her friends, some more psychological torment and mockery, would additionally have drawn more out from the rest of the cast, setup for a more emotional final showdown, and helped the movie massively.
So what else worked? For one thing: practical effects. There is really nothing that can replace it, and a needle-stabbing scene was particularly intense and well done. And who doesn’t love some good abuse of a nail gun? Production values were good without being too glossy, but in relation to that, I saw Evil Dead 2013 at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin, and as such we were treated to one of their customized pre-shows featuring old clips and interviews. This time round something caught my attention — it was an interview of Sam Raimi by Jonathan Ross back on the promotional circuit for Evil Dead 2. A question was asked about money and effects. The response was that “when you have no budget and you need to lift something, you’re forced to innovate, to come up with something that works,” he said. “When you have a lot of budget and you have to do the same thing, you just ask how much an anti-gravity disc would set you back.” The rebirth is certainly not an overly glossy presentation but I will say it felt like somewhat of an empty experience. The original had innovation and charm permeating throughout. It is interesting that Raimi, Tapert, and Campbell were onboard and I commend the direction taken with some decisions (dropping Ash was a bold and necessary step), but some head scratching was generated by a brief clip that showed at the end of the credits. Unnecessary fan service after a failed attempt to create something fresh and new?
They had a license to really push the envelope and be bold, and instead came up with something that was just ok. In short, last night I thought the film was poor, today I am pretty ambivalent about it. To me, that is not the feelings an Evil Dead film should generate. They were in a position to make and release a horror movie which would capture a lot of attention, draw from old fans and old perceptions (banning, X-rated, video nasty tags) and launch something that could succeed even with an R-rating. They had a license to really push the envelope and be bold, and instead came up with something that was just ok.
A real shame.
- Practical effects for the win!
- Jane Levy
- The rest of the cast
- Nothing really new or bold enough to justify the Evil Dead name