Zlobni mrtveci

When I first learned that Raimi's masterpiece will officially be getting a remake, excitement got mixed with fear. Yes, regardless of what they say, it's still a re-make. Will the Evil Dead live up to the name, or will it only shame the great legacy of horror-comedy Sam Raimi left behind? In a way, a bit of both. Here's what I have to say on it;

First thing you want to know is, most probably; is this movie worth watching? Yes, definitely yes. It's not that great, and it's far from the original, but give it a try. It's a relatively well-made movie with a few good scares and a satisfyingly fast-paced story, albeit with a little too much pointless gore and several (accidentally) laughable scenes. And no, not laughable in a good way. At the start we have a classic: a group of friends visiting an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. Surprisingly, this fits well, as there are a few long-buried (pun not intended) family issues, and not just the usual sex-drugs-and-a-mass-murderer thing we've seen so many times. Well, there are drugs, but only those Mia (Jane Levy) is trying to stop using. All seems well. Soon, however, there’s dead animals hanging in the cellar, book of the dead (of course someone reads it), and regurgitated tentacles…raping people. Sounds fun, right? Well it is fun, with a few decent scares and rather good plot development, until about halfway through the movie. From then on, there’s a bit too much pointless gore (70,000 gallons of fake blood, anyone?) and unrealistic scenes (ever tried to revive someone using syringes and a car battery? Or, let’s say, being revived in that same way…by a mechanic?). Oh and the entire hand scene? Overkill! But definitely a tribute to the original, none the less. So no, don’t try and compare the two. The new Evil Dead is something entirely different. A good remake? Not really. A good tribute? Perhaps. My only advice for hardcore horror fans is; try and forget the original while watching the remake. As horrific as it sounds, that’s the only way. If you do compare the two, you’ll be severely disappointed. On its own, however, this might make a decent, (though not necessarily good, mind you), horror movie. People get possessed, stabbed, cut, dismembered…you name it. We have syringes, nail guns (it’s as nice as it sounds), chainsaws, crowbars and electric meat slicers… Oh and at one point, there’s a rain of blood. Talk about overkill.

All in all, this movie is nothing really special. Yeah, we get a satisfying amount of gore, relatively fast-paced story and a few decent scares. If you’re not an avid horror fan, you might like it. However, fans of the original will probably hate it with a passion. Not even a cameo appearance of Bruce Campbell in the credits as Ash will change that. All I can say is this; go and see it. It doesn’t deserve the hate, nor does it really deserve the praise, even though it received both, and way more hate than praise. After all – we all knew a remake was just a matter of time. It could have been much worse, when you look at the horror industry nowadays.