The Evil Dead Franchise (Sam Raimi/Fede Alvarez/Lee Cronin, 1981-2023)

[ianungstad]

Trailer for the Evil Dead remake. Pretty violent. NSFW.

[colinr0380]

It kind of looks like the original film crossed with the fluidy vomit sprays of Prince of Darkness as an explanation for the possession/infection/transmission, whereas the possession just happened at any time to anyone in the original. That sounds an interesting body-horror take on demonic possession, although it ickily implies that the molesting tree roots from the original film are probably going to be the source of the fluid.

[The Narrator Returns]

As a regular horror movie, it looks pretty good. But as an Evil Dead movie? No, just no.

[Mr Sausage]

The trailer definitely has that unpleasantly hard, sharp edge to it that extreme horror films sport these days. Part of why the original worked so well (and even then I'm not a huge fan of it) was its manic, cartoonish energy coupled with the low-rent splatter effects. I don't know that watching people mutilate each other is going to be all that fun when it's taken very seriously, but who knows. The incessant blood spraying is certainly in keeping with the spirit of the series, and that one demon girl looks way more horrifying than any of the deadites in the original trilogy. The best parts of the first one were when it pretty much realized it was a comedy, tho', so I'm not all that enthused about the idea that it might be taken as a very serious, transgressive horror film.

[domino harvey]

Looks perfectly of a piece with the first film, which wasn't an annoying hamfest like the sequels

[Murdoch]

I was hesitant when I heard the news of a remake, but that trailer left me with good impressions overall, especially the updating of the deadite. It will be weird to see a film modeled off of the series with realistic gore given the rather cartoonish effects of the originals.

[domino harvey]

I'm interested in seeing how Jane Levy, who has shown herself to be a talented comedienne on Suburgatory and who likely has a long career ahead of her, fares in something like this

[The Narrator Returns]

Looks perfectly of a piece with the first film, which wasn't an annoying hamfest like the sequels

Um, I'm trying to think of something reasonable to say in response to that, which doesn't make me look like an asshole.

I disagree.

[colinr0380]

I'm not sure about the actor's careers, but I don't think faring very well is going to be in the cards for many of the characters in this film!

I agree with Mr Sausage that I preferred the first film for when it realised it was a comedy and we were not really being asked to emphathise too much for any of the actors going through their gruelling experiences, although that rather grated against the grimness of some of the scenes in there. Which is why Evil Dead II is my favourite, being more focused on being a truly realised all out horror-comedy remake of the first whilst not being quite as tonally off-the-wall as Army of Darkness (aka the "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" film, throwing in more Harryhausen and Three Stooges than any horror elements)

From that trailer, this remake for better and worse seems to be operating without the humourous element.

[Roger Ryan]

If one has to do a remake of EVIL DEAD in 2013, I suppose it's a good idea not to include any comedy since 2012's CABIN IN THE WOODS effectively played a similar premise for laughs. Then again, there have been plenty of straight horror "cabin" films in the past thirty years as well. For me, the appeal of the original EVIL DEAD was rooted in the low-budget 16mm do-it-yourself nature of the production; you wanted to like the film because you knew Raimi and company strapped the camera to a board and ran around a forest with it. The charm of that film is in the context of the production and the time it was made. Remaking it is like the numerous attempts to redo TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE; some things you can only do once.

[Finch]

Cautiously optimistic that this may be a worthwhile remake with a slightly different take on the original premise, with the ickiness (trees impregnating the raped girl? ) dialed up to eleven. And dom is not alone in preferring the "straighter" tone of the first film to the overt cartoon/stooges-style humour of the second (and I generally like the Stooges!).

[Professor Wagstaff]

I kinda dig this poster. Whether it'll reach its lofty decree is something I'm skeptical of, but I like the nerve. I barely notice posters in the theatre lobby anymore, but seeing this on my way out of a screening of "Not Fade Away" made me stop and take notice.

[The Narrator Returns]

Wasn't the original advertised as, "The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror"? I thought the tagline was just an homage to that.

[domino harvey]

This one has eyelashes getting torn out though! That alone made me squirm more than anything in the original

[The Narrator Returns]

Even more than Bruce Campbell's acting?

Thank you, my next show is at 10:30.

[Mr Sausage]

This one has eyelashes getting torn out though! That alone made me squirm more than anything in the original

More than the jagged pencil being twisted in the girl's ankle? That makes me cringe way more than eyelash removal.

[knives]

I'm with Dom, any eye damage even as petty as this is creepier than just about any other short of finger nails. I can barely watch Gray's Anatomy/

[Roger Ryan]

Wasn't the original advertised as, "The Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror"? I thought the tagline was just an homage to that.

Yes, and the quote supposedly came from Stephen King whose endorsement was a big part of the marketing push.

[jindianajonz]

Disclaimer: I am not really a fan of horror, and I have never seen any of the original Evil Dead moves (:::ducks tomatos:::) so I don't have much to compare this to, but...

I actually had a chance to see this recently, and can confirm that this will make you squirm with its excessive gore. The first 3/4 of the movie were very suspenseful and well done. Since I'm not a fan of horror, I don't have much to compare it to, but I'd put it close to Antichrist in terms of how much they show and how shocking some of it is (demon possession is a great way to include some gratuitous self mutilation, although unlike Antichrist they stayed away from the genitals in this one). The last 1/4 kind of petered out a bit for me; there's a plot point (I wouldn't call it a twist) that I couldn't suspend disbelief for and that took me out of the movie. The film concluded with a finale that was very visually impressive though, so I could almost forgive it.

All in all, it was gory and compentent. I enjoyed watching it.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that this film is almost entirely devoid of humor. It is very over the top, but it takes itself seriously the entire time.

[Markson]

For those made sqeamish by the so-far released extreme footage: an interview with Alvarez reveals that all of the film's effects are practical––there is absolutely no CGI in the entire film! Perhaps our unconscious understanding of the film's "reality," i.e. that everything displayed in the footage is "really there," is (partial?) culprit for the forum's strong reaction to the overwhelming icky-ness portrayed. Similarly violent––CGI-infused––modern horror fare is often regarded as silly and cartoonish, no?

[Finch]

Playlist review is damning.

During the Q&A someone asked Alvarez why he felt it was okay to break the 180 degree line in the film, to which he responded that it hadn't really occurred to him and you can see this kind of sloppiness throughout the film. He didn't set out to break the rules, he just didn't really understand them in the first place. On a smaller debut he could've worked out some of these kinks out before transitioning onto a larger effort but here his inexperience is glaring. Horror is tension and release, anticipation and delivery, so despite throwing 100,000 gallons of blood on the screen, Alvarez doesn't seem to grasp these most basic fundamentals. Instead his film plays as a series of scenes where intense "stuff happens" and at times it's disgusting but never scary or fun.

Urgh, think I'll pass.

[kidc85]

EDIT: I forgot to mention that this film is almost entirely devoid of humor. It is very over the top, but it takes itself seriously the entire time.

That's surprising, isn't it written by Diablo Cody?

[Finch]

Supposedly she only did a polish on it.

[ianungstad]

She rewrote some of the dialogue for the female characters.

[mfunk9786]

Honest to bl-AAAAGGGGHHHH!