"The Evil Dead,” the cheesy 1981 cult classic with raping trees and female demons sporting dollar-store wigs, gets a torrid update with “Evil Dead.”
The intense new movie presents the best case ever for remaking old horror films, a trend that generally has run its course.
This blood-soaked remake improves on its cheeky source material, paying homage while establishing its own identity for younger horror fans who never knew there was an earlier “Evil Dead.” (Though tsk tsk to them.)
It’s ultimately everything a modern horror movie should be.
The original, directed by Sam Raimi with Bruce Campbell in the lead role, traced five college friends who travel to a cabin in the woods — never a safe place — for some fun. They unearth a “Book of the Dead” that releases demons to ensure no one gets out alive.
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“Evil Dead” 2013 sticks to the basic blueprint, though an effective prelude is added depicting a possessed girl burned at the stake by her own father.
Turns out that burning took place in the basement of a cabin where David (Shiloh Fernandez), his drug-addicted sister Mia (Jane Levy of “Suburgatory”), Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), Olivia (Jessica Lucas) and Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) are visiting.
But they aren’t there for good times. It’s a detox intervention weekend for Mia, and they’ve made a pact to not let her leave, no matter how bad things get.
It’s not long before things spiral straight to hell as soon as Eric unwraps and reads from a barbwire-bound “Book of the Dead.”
Mia, totally over the intervention, bolts — with dire consequences including a nasty entanglement with tree branches and her quick demonic takeover.
The setup is clever. Mia’s ramblings of what happened to her in the forest are dismissed as druggie hallucinations. But it’s clear something is really wrong with Mia, who promises they’re all going to die, and whatever is wrong is deeper than dope.
The possession, nothing like the PG-13 possession seen in movies such as “The Last Exorcist” and “The Devil Inside,” takes over the characters quickly as they dismember themselves before turning on each other.
Cue the nail gun, chainsaw, knives and more.
Director Fede Alvarez doesn’t compromise, going all out as the cast does unspeakable things, tripping over each other in efforts to push the hard R rating. He also keeps the tone serious and straightforward, never falling into what came off as camp in the original.
The new movie does Raimi and Campbell proud; they’re both listed as producers. And if that’s not a sign of approval, there’s also a post-credits bonus scene worth sticking around for.
What “Evil Dead” • Three and a half stars out of four • Rating R • Run time 1:31 • Content Strong bloody violence and gore, some sexual content and language
