Evil Dead series retrospective

With Halloween coming up in the next few weeks, I decided that it would be a good idea to do a retrospective on a horror franchise. However, I’ll admit that I’m not particularly a fan of horror films. Sure, I’ve seen some of these films, but not many and in that regard I haven’t really watched many horror franchises. In the end, it came down to doing one of two series; at first, I was considering doing a retrospective on the ‘Scream’ franchise, which was one of the few horror franchises where I actually did see every film in the series. But since the last ‘Scream’ film hit theaters two years ago, I decided to look at a franchise that had a more ‘recent’ film release; the ‘Evil Dead’ franchise. After all, its remake was released back in April and is now on Blu-Ray/DVD. Also, there are plans for a sequel to both the remake and the last ‘Evil Dead’ film, ‘Army of Darkness’, with further plans for a  crossover film after that. So, without further ado, it’s time to look back at the ‘Evil Dead’ franchise from the original trilogy to its recent remake.



THE EVIL DEAD (1981)

‘The Evil Dead’ served as the feature-length debut of director Sam Raimi (who has since gone on to direct the original ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy and ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’) and was made after Raimi attracted the interest of investors with a 1978 short film he made, ‘Within the Woods’. Filmed on a budget of around $400,000, the film was released in 1981 (the film was shot in 1979) and helped launched the careers of both Raimi and star Bruce Campbell. It has been more than 30 years since this film came out, and it still stands as one of the best horror films ever made. Sure, it was made on a low budget and to some extent some aspects of the film are pretty dated. Still, the movie is an effective horror film; it’s very suspenseful and utilizes its chilling atmosphere to the full effect. Bruce Campbell does a great job in the lead role of Ash and while the other characters are sort of more in line with the traditional characters we see in plenty of slasher films (though for the record, this is not a slasher film); the other four leads are good as well. While the following two films began to move away from horror, this one stands as a true horror film and as such, it’s a must-see in the horror genre.

Rating: 4/5



EVIL DEAD II: DEAD BY DAWN (1987)

After the success of the first Evil Dead, Raimi then began working on his next film, ‘Crimewave’. The film… didn’t turn out so well, but that was mainly due to studio interference, with Raimi being unable to cast Bruce Campbell in the lead role or even edit the film in post-production. So, in response to that and with their careers on the line, Raimi, Campbell, and producer Robert Tapert returned to the franchise that jumpstarted their careers with ‘Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn’, one of the rare sequels that not only manages to be as good as its predecessor, but even better. That’s even more impressive when considering that the intro to this film pretty much redoes the whole first film again. The only difference here is that only two of the first film’s five characters return for this film and yet this film is not a remake of the original film.

So why is this film better than the first? For one thing, I actually consider this film to be scarier than the first film. The atmosphere and suspense is just as effective, but there’s just something about this film that makes it scarier, and I can’t explain why. But another thing that this film does very well is blending horror with comedy. My favorite moment is when Ash is forced to cut off his hand after it becomes possessed and the hand starts acting on its own, resulting in Ash trying to shoot it with a shotgun. Bruce Campbell goes through quite a lot in this movie (figuratively in the movie and also literally while filming it apparently) and once again, he and the supporting cast members are all great. You also have to appreciate the creativity present in this film, from the creature/set designs to the camera shots. That is why Evil Dead II is not just one of the best sequels ever, but one of the best horror movies ever made.

Rating: 5/5!



ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992)

When looking at the series as a whole, something that is clearly evident is a change in tone over the course of the original three films; we went from a straight-up horror film to a horror-comedy and then with the third film, it’s a whole different genre. ‘Army of Darkness’ is a mix of fantasy, adventure, and comedy with really little to no horror in the film at all. Because of this, some might consider this as ‘the black sheep’ of the franchise for not being an Evil Dead movie… but not me. In fact, this is my personal favorite film in the series. I guess that’s because I’m not really a big horror fan, meaning that this film appealed to me more. It’s incredibly entertaining, funny, and highly quotable. And now, here are some my favorite lines from the film:

“Well hello Mister Fancypants. Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things, right now: Jack and shit... and Jack left town.”

“Woah… Wrong book”

And of course, who can forget this classic…

“All right you primitive screwheads, listen up. You see this? This… is my BOOMSTICK!!!”

Those quotes come from good old Bruce Campbell, and really he’s the best part of this whole movie. The character of Ash has gone through quite a change over the course of these three films. In this film, he’s got an arrogant swagger that he didn’t really have in the last two films but yet he’s a doofus, forgetting the words (‘klaatu barada nikto’) that will help keep the dead from taking over. Sure, in the end, ‘Army of Darkness’ may not really be an ‘Evil Dead’ movie, but it’s still a great movie nevertheless and my personal favorite of the series.

Rating: 5/5!



EVIL DEAD (2013)

(For my original review of the film: http://www.rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2013/07/evil-dead-2013-review.html)

As far as horror remakes go, this new Evil Dead is one of the better remakes in recent years, but it still has some flaws. First off, the good; the writers actually give a legit reason as to why the main characters are going to an abandoned cabin in the woods, because the main character Mia is going through recovery from a drug addiction. Also, in this current age of horror remakes that utilize a lot of CGI, this film relies on practical effects, which look far better. But this new film suffers from a problem that a lot of current horror films have; it tries way too hard to ‘one-up’ its competition in terms of its violence to the point where it’s not scary anymore. Believe me, this film does succeed at doing that, but it lacks the humor and charm that Raimi’s films had, particularly the former. This is just a bleak film, not just because of the tone and atmosphere but because of the grisly violence which, like I said, is not really scary; it’s just disturbing. Also, character development is really lacking, aside from a pretty decent brother-sister relationship between the main two leads. The character of Natalie, David’s girlfriend, is completely unnecessary and could have been written out of the film altogether without having any real effect on the story. Jane Levy does a fantastic job in the lead role of Mia who, spoilers, basically serves as the ‘Ash’ of this ‘series’ (we’ll consider the Raimi trilogy and this new film as separate storylines for the moment). The rest of the cast is fine as well, but she is really the standout of the film and her performance is perhaps the best part of the whole thing. In the end, the new Evil Dead is not a bad film but it’s a flawed film. Still, to its credit, it does do some things right.

P.S. This film also has one of the worst post-credits scenes ever, which is even more disappointing when considering that Bruce Campbell returns as Ash for the scene.

Rating: 3.5/5

Evil Dead (2013) review

Over the past few years, we have seen countless remakes of some of the most beloved horror films of all time, including Friday the 13^th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Not only are most of these remakes clearly inferior to their predecessors, but a lot of them aren’t even necessary (but then again, pretty much every remake is unnecessary despite the few that are actually as good as the original). However, as sacrilegious as it may sound, there are some films that are worth remaking, like ‘The Evil Dead’, the 1981 horror classic which marked the debut of director Sam Raimi. This is mainly due to the fact that the original film is basically a low-budget B-movie and could benefit from a new reimagining. This new film, directed by Uruguayan film director Fede Alvarez, also has the distinction of being produced by not only Raimi, but also the original film’s star Bruce Campbell and series producer Robert Tapert. With that in mind, this new remake is one of the better horror remakes in recent memory. However, there are certain aspects of it that don’t really hold up when compared to the original.

Five friends; Mia (Jane Levy), her brother David (Shiloh Fernandez), Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), Olivia (Jessica Lucas), and David’s girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) head to a remote cabin in the woods in order to help Mia deal with a severe drug addiction. While there, they come across an old cellar, where they find a mysterious book titled ‘Naturom Demonto’. When Eric reads aloud a passage from the book, a demon is summoned and it immediately possesses Mia. When the group becomes stranded at the cabin because of a flood, the demon begins to possess each of them and they must now try to survive this demon as they are killed off one by one, until only one is left to defeat this menace.

The tagline for the poster referred to this movie as ‘the most terrifying movie you’ll ever experience’. That may seem like a little pompous, but believe it or not, the original ‘Evil Dead’ did the same thing too. This film does deliver on something else however; being a very bloody film. Like the original (which was actually rated NC-17), this film certainly does push the R rating. Also, in an age where a lot of horror films use CGI, this film mainly consists of practical effects, which is obviously much more effective than CG jump scares. The remake also does manage to distinguish itself from the original in terms of tone but that’s also its biggest flaw. The first ‘Evil Dead’, while still being a horror film, had an underlying comedic tone to it because of its ‘B-movie’ nature. This film is much more brutal but because of that, it falls victim to the problem that most horror films now have in that the filmmakers are trying to push the envelope in terms of violence and gore.

Aside from that, the characters aren’t really that interesting. There are some good ideas implemented into this movie, like the relationship between Mia and David and the whole scenario with Mia being a former drug addict (giving the characters a good reason for actually going to an old cabin in the woods instead of just going there to party), but like a lot of horror films, the characters do a lot of stupid things, and the character of Natalie is quite pointless (I’m guessing this is supposed to resemble the original film because Ash had a girlfriend, but it’s not the same here). Even Eric, who is probably the only one of the five to notice when things start to go wrong, is responsible for the whole mess happening in the first place. But while the characters are a little flat, the acting is solid all-around, especially from Jane Levy (who, SPOILERS, is pretty much the ‘Ash’ of the film) and Lou Taylor Pucci.

In the end, this new ‘Evil Dead’ is a bit of a mixed bag because there are both good and bad things in this movie. The acting is solid, the film succeeds at producing scares with the use of practical effects, and it manages to distinguish itself from ‘The Evil Dead’. However, it lacks the underlying humor of the original film and while there are some good ideas in regard to character development, some of the characters in this film aren’t that interesting. It ends up falling victim to one of the problems plaguing a lot of horror films today by trying to outdo its competition in terms of violence. To its credit, it’s one of the better horror remakes in recent memory because of its positives, but the negatives keep it from being as good as the original. But, to be fair, I would be interested in seeing how this ‘remake’ series will continue, seeing how it’s actually supposed to be set in the same universe as the original films and Alvarez and Raimi are planning sequels to their most recent entries in the series. Just make sure that you guys do something better than the crappy post-credits scene in this movie, where Bruce Campbell (as Ash, of course) appears, says ‘groovy’, and turns to the camera. That's it.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

2013 Preview: April

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner's Year-Long preview of the upcoming films. This is Part 4 of 12 and today we'll be looking at the April lineup. It's not really as big of a month as March was, but there are still some noteworthy films to talk about, including a remake of a horror classic produced by those who made the original and a biopic of one of baseball's most influential players.

*The month starts off with a bang on April 5^th with 'Evil Dead', the remake of the 1981 horror classic 'The Evil Dead', which was the directorial debut of Sam Raimi. Raimi produces the film along with the star of the original 'Evil Dead' trilogy, Bruce Campbell. This new film, like the original, focuses on a group of friends who go camping in the woods and run into trouble when they find a mysterious book. Jane Levy (TV's 'Suburgatory') stars in the lead role of Mia, who is apparently the female equivalent of Campbell's character Ash. But if you're not up for this remake, Sam Raimi is reportedly working on a sequel to 'Army of Darkness'.



*Another big film coming out on April 5^th is actually a re-release (the last re-release of the year (as far as we know')). 'Jurassic Park', the 1993 classic from Steven Spielberg and a film that was the highest grossing film of its time until James Cameron's 'Titanic'. This also comes out after the news that director Colin Trevorrow ('Safety Not Guaranteed') will helm 'Jurassic Park IV', a film that has been stuck in development hell since 2001's 'Jurassic Park III'.

*Another pair of films hit theaters on April 12^th. The first is '42', a baseball biopic about Jackie Robinson, the first African-American baseball player in the modern era of Major League Baseball. Relative newcomer Chadwick Boseman stars as the famous Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman alongside Harrison Ford as Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey and Lucas Black as Dodgers' shortstop Pee Wee Reese.

*7 years after the last entry in the series, 'Scary Movie 5', the fifth entry in the long-running horror parody franchise, hits theaters. However, series regulars Anna Faris and Regina Hall do not return for this new film.



*'Oblivion' is the first new movie that opens on April 19^th and is the second film by director Joseph Kosinski (his first being 2010's 'Tron Legacy'). It is based off a graphic novel of the same name that was co-written by Kosinski (the graphic novel will hit store shelves to coincide with the release of the film). Tom Cruise stars as Jack, a drone repairman in the future who is stationed on Earth after it was nearly destroyed following a war. When he meets a mysterious woman (Olga Kurylenko) who apparently knows him, Jack starts to learn some secrets about the people he works for.



*The same weekend also sees the release of 'The Lords of Salem', a horror film from director Rob Zombie. In the film, the town of Salem, Massachusetts is visited by a ancient coven of witches. Zombie's wife Sheri Moon stars in the lead role of Heidi, a DJ at a local radio station.



*'Pain & Gain' is the first film from director Michael Bay since 2005's 'The Island' to not be associated with 'Transformers' (although Bay is set to direct the fourth Transformers movie in 2014). Also, at a budget of around 22 million, it is his smallest film since his directorial debut, 1995's 'Bad Boys'. Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson, and Anthony Mackie star as a trio of bodybuilders who resort to extortion when they kidnap a spoiled businessman (played by Tony Shalhoub) in their pursuit of the American Dream. However, when the plan goes wrong, they now find themselves on the run from the police and a private investigator (played by Ed Harris). 'Pain & Gain' hits theaters on April 26^th.



*The final major release of the month is 'The Big Wedding', an ensemble comedy where a divorced couple (played by Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton) must fake being married when their son is about to get married. Amanda Seyfried, Susan Sarandon, and Robin Williams co-star.

And that's the lineup for April 2013. Check back next month for Part 5, where we start getting into the year's summer blockbusters.