There’s nothing quite like hearing 1,600 people roar, cheer, scream, cringe and laugh for a film premiere. Evil Dead nearly blew the roof off of the Paramount during its SXSW premiere, with fans of all ranges going bananas. That’s a roaring thumbs up for a film that was initially met with a large amount of skepticism. One thing is for sure: if you dug the tone of the red-band trailer that swayed a lot of fans’ minds, filmmaker Fede Alvarez‘s redo is going to rock your world. Everything about this film is about elevation –the gore and violence are challenging, and can quickly move from over-the-top hilarious in the extreme, to cringe-worthy and visually pungent. In 90 short minutes, Evil Dead gives you an emotional workout, and it’s a blast to experience.
We follow a group of old friends that gather at a cabin that was once the old summer home of a brother and sister, Mia (Jane Levy) and David (Shiloh Fernandez). Mia is there to kick her drug addiction, which makes her the perfect person to be possessed and start seeing all the bad shit that goes down in the creepy cabin. She’s just having withdrawals, right? Wrong. The Necronomicon isn’t going to let these campers off the hook that easy. From the outset, Fede sets the tone that got a raucuous cheer. It nearly flawlessly nails it’s tone again and again. There’s some shaky acting in the beginning as we are introduced to the cabin stayers, but eventually the pace and the atmosphere is ramped up and continues on an upward climb until its frenzied finale.
Being a fan of the original, and especially the trilogy, I came in with high hopes and had a lot of my doubts tempered when the aforementioned trailer hit, so it was a pleasure to see that level of intensity, gore, and zaniness throughout. This one wears the Sam Raimi influence on its sleeve, including the flying camera angles through the possessed woods, as well as the classic car. There are even some smash cuts and, of course, the vulgarity of the possession. I also love the tweak on the Necronomicon that causes all of the terror for the cabinmates.
However, my favorite part of the film is the simple fact that Fede opted to do practical effects and was relentless in sticking with it, making for seamless line from the original trilogy. This is a film built to last, and I think it’s a truly worthy addition to the Evil Dead lineage. There’s some true camp on display and it’s remarkable moment that one doesn’t necessarily care for the five campers, and yet Alvarez makes sure one is invested in the outcome. This can be chalked up to our lead actress, the lovely and twisted Levy. She’s the standout, along with Lou Taylor Pucci, and the filmmaker is smart enough to know that, taking full advantage.
Fede mentioned he loved the word “rebirth” when it comes to his Evil Dead, and it’s a worthy, fitting description. Come in with an open mind and it’s hard to imagine you will leave disappointed. This isn’t a low-budget affair, so it doesn’t have the original’s charms in that way, but it makes up for it with the creativity in brutality. This isn’t torture porn, but it’s gruesome and will make grown people cringe. Evil Dead and horror fans alike, take notice — Fede Alvarez has arrived.
Evil Dead hits theaters on April 5th.