3.5 stars - it has Evil, it has Dead, but it doesn't have much else
Remakes in general tend to be underwhelming, and whenever you take a classic well-loved film and try to remake it, you're almost certainly doomed to fail. The best you can hope for is to make something 'as good' as the original - but you will more than likely fall short.
This is kind of what happens with the remake of The Evil Dead. Oh, it's a well crafted film - without a doubt. Hardly 'the most terrifying film you will ever experience', as the poster promises, but Fede Alvarez makes a decent enough movie, such as it is... and yet, somehow this film seems kind of hollow.
The reason is because, even when Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert were making Within the Woods - the film that was used to get investment to make the original Evil Dead - the concept of a bunch of teenagers going to a cabin in the woods and getting killed by a supernatural entity was pretty much a well-worn cliche. The reason investors bit, and that The Evil Dead was so special, was two things - the writing and directing by Raimi, which incorporated numerous innovative camera techniques and blended slapstick comedy with horror in a way that hadn't been done before, and the outstanding performance of charismatic lead Bruce Campbell.
This version of Evil Dead has neither - by playing it straight, it burnishes off much of what's made the Evil Dead series unique, and director Alvarez has few new tricks up his sleeve to compensate for it. Furthermore, none of the film's cast is as engaging as a Bruce Campbell on screen. In fact, there is a distinct lack of characterization in general. The film has an excellent setup - four friends take a fifth to a cabin in the woods as an intervention, cutting her off from her drug addiction - but if fails to capitalize on that premise. In fact by film's end we still know very little about any of these characters, with one in particular (Natalie) being such a non-entity that she's practically the equivalent of a Star Trek 'red shirt' - existing only to be killed.
The original series solved this problem by killing off everyone in short order, and then making Ash suffer for 90 minutes as he's beaten up, thrown around and generally abused for the remainder of the film. Yet he Will Not Give Up. He takes everything the 'deadites' can throw at him and just keeps fighting. His sheer stubbornness is what makes the film. Even when they use his own body against him, he'll chop his own hand off before giving even an inch of ground.
This movie just doesn't have anything to compare to that. Oh, people lop their own body parts off - the aforementioned Natalie does (as does another character who inexplicably manages to rip her own arm off just by pulling when it's pinned under a vehicle!?), but none seem to do it out of sheer indomitable willpower. Instead, this version seems more interested in using it as an excuse to show more blood and bodily fluids (you'll probably feel like taking a hot shower by the time it's done).
But, probably the most annoying thing about the film is the use of a siren sound effect every time the baddies attack - it gets irritating and old awful fast.
As a movie, it's O.K., but as I was writing this review I came across this old pic I took of Tom Sullivan (creator of the original Necronomicon ex Mortis for the Evil Dead series, goofing off with the original prop) and I realized what this film was truly missing - fun.
While this Evil Dead is able to entertain for a full 90 minutes, it's not likely to leave a lasting impression. There is nothing different or unique here. In short, it isn't really anything special - and the original Evil Dead films, they were special.
