Review of Evil Dead (2013) by Thequietgamer — 22 Jan 2015

Horror movie remakes, or really just remakes of any kind, are rarely any good. However this is one of those movies that manages to go against that. Granted it's nowhere near as good as the original, but it manages to take the plot and key scenes from that movie and provide a unique take that proves to be enjoyable.

The scares are of the jump variety. I was surprised to find though that a few of them are effective. However the real star here is the gore. Buckets of blood and mutilation are present just like in the original. The brutality and sickness of the acts onscreen help capture some feeling that made the 1981 classic so loved. There's even a bit of it's humor here and there.

The issue with this remake is that the characters are much dumber than in the original. They make the same dumb mistakes horror movie victims were making back in the original Friday the 13th movies. The worst offender is the guy who causes everything to start. Yeah, just ignore all those warnings genius. It can get a little insulting at times that the director and co-writer Fede Alvarez expects us to believe that people would really be that dumb in the scenarios on display here. I mean there would at least be one smart person among them, right? Even worse is that it leads to a drawn out chase scene at the end.

Despite my irritation at the moronic characters I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the movie. I found it to be a pretty great throwback. I believe that those unfamiliar with the original will find a great modern horror movie here, and those who have watched the original will get a kick out of this new take on it. Even if it isn't as good. It's a solid remake and a pretty great modern horror movie.