Rejoice Evil Dead fans! I'm hear to tell you the remake isn't completely s hit. It isn't perfect, but it's pretty f ucking awesome.

So we all know the basic premise of the series. A group of hot twenty somethings venture into the woods. They stumble upon Breaking Dawn and read it out loud. A horrible evil is released and Treebeard nuts in some b itch.

The best thing about this remake? Surprisingly, it's the story. In this rendition, the main character, Mia, takes refuge in a cabin as part of some twelve step program. And it works on EVERY level. It affects the way she interprets the evil around her. Furthermore, it influences the actions of the secondary characters.

I was also impressed by how seamlessly they introduce standard Evil Dead iconography into the film. It's integrated beautifully and it all makes sense. Fans of the series will be pleased as they see Mia wield a chainsaw.

Speaking of which, I'm not going to tell you if Bruce Campbell is in the film or not. He's a producer. Enough said.

Was also amazed by how little CGI they used in the film. I f ucking hate CGI blood. And so do the creators. Heard an interview where the director was talking about CGI and how it dates a film. Even recent movies like Avatar now seem obsolete because they look like s hit. It's reported that the creators of Evil Dead transported 500,000 gallons worth of fake blood to the set...and it STILL wasn't enough.

As for the gore, it's pretty nasty. However I've seen worse. This might be the bloodiest AMERICAN film I've ever seen. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT watch the red band trailer for this film. It spoils some of the best parts. In fact, I think I'm going to stop watching red band trailers all together. I love to be flabbergasted. And it's hard to do that when you're watching a trailer because it's out of context. But I'm getting off track.

The scares are unfortunately a little TOO conventional. Don't get me wrong, the people around me were hysterical.  They were screaming and I was laughing. But the makeup seemed pretty standard. If you were completely turned off by the trailer, you probably won't enjoy the film. Don't expect any campiness this time around either.

The soundtrack is easily the worst thing about the film. It's both cheap and cliched as it relies too heaviliy on loud sreeches, screams, transitions, etc. Scare me by building suspense, not by giving me a migraine. Jesus, I'm starting to sound like my grandpa.

Overall, Evil Dead is a blast. I highly recommend seeing it with a group of friends. If your friends aren't horror gurus, then they'll probably be blown away. However, films like Martyrs, Inside, etc are WAY more intense. It's funny how foreign films are more progressive than American ones. There's a ton of hype surrounding this film and it's well deserved. But don't set your expectations TOO high. It doesn't reinvent the genre. On the flip side, this is probably the best horror reboot I've ever seen. Then again, that's not saying much.

Smiled the entire way through this film. Definitely see it in theater. B+

Basically agree with the above. It's lots of fun, but absolutely not in the same class as its source. Still, a strong effort and the perfect flick for a late night theatre mission.

Lots to say but I wanna write a real review of this one so I'll save it for tomorrow.

Fucking awesome movie. Nuff said.

~Zack~

I was a huge fan of this, one of the best times I've had at the theater with a crowded audience in a long time. I read the script prior to seeing this so I knew what I was getting myself into but was continually impressed with the effects and Fede Alvarez's cinematography, it sounds weird to say a horror movie of this caliber being beautifully shot, but it really was. I agree with Mia's side story of coming to the cabin to quit drugs cold turkey, it's a great way to have the horror begin without complete realization from the other characters, very smart. The audience I was with was cheering and clapping especially at the arm scene and when Mia takes on the chainsaw. Best horror movie I've seen in awhile, a lot of fun. I would say the film still manages to be campy and have it's subtle humour, the scenes with the duct tape were really funny. I agree to not watch the red-band trailer, it would have been a lot more jarring had I not known what was coming. Anyways, I really enjoyed this movie, the practical effects are worth the price of admission alone, I can't wait to pick up the DVD and see the special features.

I saw this last night.  I left with mixed emotions.  

The cinematography is the best thing about this movie in my opinion.  It was visually stunning I thought.  Also, major props to the makers of the film for not going the CGI route.  Another good thing about the movie was the beginning.  The characters early on actually appealed to me much more than the forgettable 20 somethings that we are saddled with for the majority of the movie.

I did not read the script before seeing the film because I wanted to be suprised.  Now that I have seen the movie, I have to say that I hated the ending (I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil it for others).  Lets just say that there was decent build up going to the ending, but that the end seemed rushed and kind of dumb.  Did another writer write the last 20 or so pages of the script? Well, that is what it felt like to me!  In all, I really didn't find myself pulling for any of the characters to survive because they weren't developed enough and none of the actors did that great of a job acting (which is what you would expect in most horror movies I guess).  **Slight spoiler: the drug thing seemed very cliche to me.  A 20 something with a drug problem?  Thats never been done before! (sarcasm)

Overall, I give this movie a "C-".  It is slightly better than most horror films you will see, but the high expectations going into it leave a bitter taste of dissappointment in my mouth.

This was a pretty awesome flick, it had some great gore and didn't use CGI, right there it gets an extra point. Then there was the climax which was absolutly fantastic, the last 20-30 min is one thing after another after another, it was full speed.  Unfortunatly I had to see this with the worst audience in movie history. Throughout the film I had to see the Goddamn screen of all these adolecent asshole's smart phones flicker on and off, now when I enter the theater I turn my phone off, not to silent or viberate but off, maybe that was just the way I was raised. On top of that there was a group of about 20 Hindu's in which one or more got up, left, came right back, sat down, then another one got up, theft, came right back, sat down, literaly from the start to the end of the film, there wasn't 30 seconds of peace in the group, they were hopping over seats and yelling at each other. It was worse than what the people in the movie were going through. Anyways, I probably would have liked the film more if it weren't for the cunts in the audience.

Shocked there aren't more reviews here. This is one of the major movie events of the year! And aren't we a bunch of horror fans??

My full review is up...

I, too, had a pretty terrible audience. Well, a good audience, actually, except for the five drunk dudes sitting right next to us who wouldn't shut the hell up and shouted people down when they pointed out the movie was being ruined. Ah well...people make the wrong choices sometimes.

Nice review, Chris (although I respectfully disagree with the title).

I really hate to say it but I think I've been sold on this one. I'll be seeing it ideally next weekend. I've got some AMC passes that become valid ten days after a given film's release date so I'll get to see it for free. Rob Zombie's new film also comes out the 19th and I think the two would make a solid double feature.

Rest assured, I'll be back here around that time to share my vitriolic hate opinion of the flick.

I caught this on a Saturday afternoon.  Packed theatre but the audience was well-behaved – THANK GOD.

It's hard to live up to its aggressive marketing campaign and amazing teaser trailer. I enjoyed the film - it's been a while since we had an over-the-top horror film with an energetic pace.  The actors all hold their own - I wish the two supporting females (Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore) were given a little more depth (they cut minor dialogue).  In the screenplay, Olivia and Eric’s relationship was more pronounced – here, you cannot tell.  Maybe it’s just me but I cared about these characters and their well-being.  All of them are put through awful shit.

A little complaint is the filmmakers could’ve sprinkled a few more ‘homages’ of the original into this.  WHY DID THEY CUT the creepy singing of “We’re going to get you…”?  I would’ve also liked a few more shots of Mia taunting the trio from the basement door like the original.  A few missed opportunities.

Fede really shot this with a brilliant eye.  It’s a beautiful film; cinematography, locations, even down to the character’s looks – everything worked for me.  
Judging by how it’s opening weekend gross – a sequel will be in the works.  All I can say is BRING IT ON!

ONEY

Just saw this earlier today, finally.  And the theater was exactly the way I like it - barely anyone there and very quiet, which is why I wait at least a week to see new movies and then see them during the week, matinee, first daily showing.

Well, I definitely didn't hate it, and I guess I actually liked it, but every hour that passes leaves me with less to hold onto and less to be impressed with.

In a nutshell, I think I'd call this very hollow and soulless.

The story is obviously extremely weak, or maybe we could just say, there is no story.  I enjoyed the intro but the more I thought about it, the more questions it brought up and the less it made any sense.

The acting and dialogue were also quiet weak, IMO.  In fact, there wasn't a single character with any real character, and none that I could really root for and/or fear for.  The writers, first timers, Fede Alveraz and Rodo Sayagues may have crafted a decent horror remake here, but their characters were nothing to write home about.  Diablo Cody actually did some uncredited work on "Americanizing" the script, but she too, didn't do these characters any justice at all.

The FX work was good, at least on a first viewing, with most of the scenes in low light and lots of frenetic camera editing going on.  The gore was over the top, much as it was claimed to be.  The graphic violence loving kid inside me is all for that, but when it gets right down to it, I do seem to need some kind of story and characters I care about to really invest myself.

And there was plenty of time to create better characters, as the opening (after the intro) was actually very slow and dull, but IMO, contained very little enjoyable character building.

I did like how these film makers made this version their own. I thought the demons had a cool and evil look, and was impressed.  The tone was balls out, no holds barred, which I also appreciate.

Basically, once things start moving, it's 1 big setpiece kill/attack to the next, and with so few characters, that doesn't lead to many surprises.

But, I left feeling...well...feeling a little let down, maybe because I was expecting more?  Not sure, but I definitely wanted to like this and actually did overall.

It's just nothing to write home about.  Nothing that really sticks with me other than a few visuals.

I'm happy it's doing well at the Box Office.  I'm happy critics have been kind to it.  I hope its success opens the doors to more mainstream horror movies in the cinema, as opposed to cheapass, sucky DTV's which continue to give horror a bad name.

Definitely not bad, but on that same token, definitely not great.

Jeff,

I agree with you in the sense that this movie starts out stronger than expected. I love the idea of one of them being there to dry out. It makes her pleas fall on deaf ears early on.

Then, it is all means to the ensuing bloodbath which they execute so well. There is not much story, but at least you have a protag. And there are some impressive twists and turns as we watch her escape this evil.

Definitely a fun ride, IMO. Took a girl to see this who is partial to independent dramas. She loved it eventhough she hid her face most of the time. I am surprised this has won the love of most critics and am happy. If you can grit your teeth and keep you eyes glued to the screen, it's worth it. Well done and I very rarely cringe whilst watching horror anymore. This one had me squirming in my seat more than once. Kudos to Sam Raimi and his film makers. Glad they won the weeked. Shows horror is far from dead.

James

I'm sad.

Have to wait so long for the Blu-Ray.

Anyway, I completely adored this movie. Now, the original is a classic. For me that is indisputable, and as a result this was never ever gonna match it let alone better it. But boy did it try. I loved every second of it.

When speaking about remakes director Fede Alvarez hit the nail on the head. People don't hate remakes by nature. People hate bad films, which unfortunately 9/10 remakes tend to be. This was the one in every ten. My favorite remake by a distance, even though I love the Hills Have Eyes and Piranha 3D.

This just delivered. Straight up!

Normally I sit with a grin plastered on my face at all the gratuitous violence in modern Horror movies, and I did for some of this too but there were occasions where I'd gasp and wince. There were a few nicely placed moments of humor and plenty of little nods to the original that only a nerd would pick up on.

I loved David, Eric and Mia. The other two were competent. I mean, come on there is only five people in the movie they should all be developed.

Fede has a great cinematic eye so I'm keen to see him direct the sequel (can't wait) and cross genre boundaries. Whilst I'd love to see him do more Horror I'd hate for him to be limited to only Horror.

0.5 lost for Characters and sadly 0.5 lost on the finale. The abomination wasn't scary enough (was better in the script) and it ended in a rush, being defeated a little to easily IMO.

8.5/10

Watched this against my better judgment. Fortunately, I didn't pay for a ticket.

I love the Evil Dead. That is, the original Evil Dead. One of the best horror movies ever. So I had much vitriol stored away for this one. As it happens, said vitriol went to waste.

Honestly, I didn't mind this one so much. In a lot of ways, it stayed true to the spirit of the original but still changed it up and went it a darker, sicker direction. I think if they'd slapped an Evil Dead 4 title on this one, it would've been legit or rather what one might expect for a sequel for a franchise over 20 years old. I also felt in a lot of ways, this is the film Sam Raimi and co. would've made if they had the resources and the experience back in 79.

That doesn't exactly speak the world of this film though. A lot of what gave the original the charm and the character it had came accidentally. There was also a lot of humor and looseness to it that made it a more rounded film. Not that I have a problem with the new one changing it up but making a darker film means one has to read it differently. That is, you have to take it more seriously.

That said, the primary issues I had with the film were the rushed pace, the flat characters, the bad faux-Exorcist dialogue from the possessed characters, and the lack of scares. I feel like you can't take hot to generally good-looking 20-somethings and make them look scary by sticking some generic contacts in their eyes and warping their voice a little. They still look like there's an actor's headshot in there somewhere. If they picked uglier actors, maybe that would've helped but obviously, no one's going to do that. Of course, if the film were sillier, stupider, and cheaper-looking, you could overlook these things. But it's not.

At the end of the day, I guess it's a more or less effective remake. I've a surprisingly nonexistent acrimony for it. But why would you want that when you can watch the original Evil Dead with Bruce Campbell and claymation at the end? You'd have to have been born in the 90s. Otherwise, I'd schedule an MRI.

Gone completely is what made 'The Evil Dead' series tolerable. Yes, The Gorier the merrier Raimi mandate of yesterday is en force. If you want yer BUCKETS OF BLOOD and VOMIT you have come to the right cabin. But, after watching this (missed it in theaters) part of me liked the take no prisoners splatterfest...and the other self missed the dark and twisted humor. There's really nothing to hang your hat on except a end crddits stinger.

That said--I did like the setup, which worked for me. I also liked (to a point) the discovery of the Necromicon and all the warnings inside "Don't do this" and "Don't do that" words scribbled out...and there's the dummy who wakes up the Deadites by finding the impressions and reads the spells. It's better than the reel-to-reel recording I thought, which has no warning.

On a viseral level, it delivers the goods in spades.
On a rewatchable level, I pass.

Mixed bag for me.

Like Darren, I thought the setup was nice. They cut out a lot of character development from the script though, mostly just at the start. I would've preferred if they expanded upon David and the blonde's relationship. I haven't seen the original but I did like the rare comedic moments in the film. Not a bad movie, it was enjoyable enough.

*** SPOILERS ***

Saw this one last night. Mo summed up my thoughts exactly. It was entertaining, but it needed more humor and better characters. (I wouldn't be surprised if the blonde had less than five lines).

It seems like they rushed through the script and skipped over a lot of "character scenes" just to get to the killing. That's common for horror these days, unfortunately.

What I did like was the finale. The supposed "main character" dies in a fire and his sister becomes the sole survivor. That was unexpected.

Obviously not better than the original, but still an enjoyable flick.

Of course it's not the original,

but as far as "remakes" and "reboots" and "reimaginings" go:

I thought it was pretty damn awesome.

It's hard to capture the magic of an original classic.

But you can still make a bloody great flick (literally).

Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Rob Zombie's Halloween I and II, The Fog, Fright Night, etc and the list goes on (way on)... a list of shitty remakes/reboots.

I was extremely surprised and pleased with Evil Dead.  

I'm actually about to head out and buy the DVD.

yo reaper, let me know if there are any additional scenes on the dvd/blu ray. i heard they cut some scenes for the R rating and I'd really like to see what they cut. this is one of the few times i'm genuily interested in unrated version.

You got it, buddy!  

However, I'll just be purchasing a regular DVD.

I didn't upgrade to Blu ray yet.  

Quoted from albinopenguin yo reaper, let me know if there are any additional scenes on the dvd/blu ray. i heard they cut some scenes for the R rating and I'd really like to see what they cut. this is one of the few times i'm genuily interested in unrated version.

THere are several "good" sites to read about DVD and Blu Ray releases, and what's included and what' not.

the Horror Club is one and I really like how the guys write up their views.

Another one is DVD Verdict.

Check them out...

I always use this to check out what's on the various editions (regions, different labels) of DVD and Blu-ray's to see which has the most extra's, cuts, commentary's etc:

http://www.dvdcompare.net/

I picked up Evil Dead along with Jason Goes to Hell.

Evil Dead features on regular dvd are as:

Making Life Difficult - The intense and physically exhausting creation of the film.

Directing the Dead - Director Fede Alvarez re-imagines a cult horror classic.

Being Mia - the physical and psychological transformation into "evil Mia"

Kind of lame there's no director's commentary or even commentary by Bruce and Sam.

O well.

JGTH has a badass commentary track, very insightful and funny.

Had to re-purchase it because I lost it a while back.

It gets a lot of bullshit, but I think it's one of the better Friday films.

This is a decent remake, although it adds nothing to the mythology of the original.  Some clever twists in the set up, but then it falls into retread territory.  I had the same problem that I had with the original -- after enough chainsawing and stabbing, the shock value wears off.  

The conjuring book wasn't utilized very effectively.  Just some nerd uttering a couple words and that sets the plot in motion.  It seemed like the film needed more than this.  If you're remaking a cult classic, the stakes have automatically been raised.  This film delivered the blood 'n guts, but not much else.  

Well, finally saw this last night!  One caveat: I HAVE NOT seen the original*.  Despite being a Bruce Campbell fan.

Honestly, this was one of the most fun horror flicks I've seen in quite some time.  Amazingly gory, action packed, decent characters and a good set up for the premise.

The only thing I thought was lame?  The abrupt wrap up at the end, with the book closing.  Seriously - they pulled everything off so well, and then couldn't come up with better than that?

**I HAVE seen Evil Dead the Musical, and ended up singing What the F*ck Was That? halfway though the reboot....

I saw this last year at a movie theater. OMG it's been a year...

Anyway... I didn't like it.

I like the original Evil Dead and I think the second one is a quite colorful and interestingly shot movie. I like that one the best of the trilogy. It has color to it, I like the look and feel of the movie. It has a dream like quality for me. It's a fun movie.
Army of Darkness on the other hand in my eyes is one of the worst movies of all time. I've bought this movie on DVD, I've tried. I've seen it 3-4 times. I watched it two months ago, giving it another shot... still horrible. Just scenes thrown together, stupid unfunny lines, rehashing things from the previous two movie, rehashing shots... I hate it. And I'm a big Bruce Campbell fan.

I like the addict angle they played in the remake. I thought that was good, rest wasn't anything interesting to me. I especially hated the beginning and ending of the film.

Of the top of my head Dawn of the Dead is the best remake from the remake craze of the past 10 years. I pretty much didn't like most of them, the Black Christmas one was horrible.

Not seen this yet but I will get round to it eventually. When it pops on TV.

Demento, I share your feelings on the trilogy. I thought I was the only person alive that disliked Army Of Darkness. I'll say it has some funny moments but the majority of the film is so full of childish over-the-top humor it becomes brain-numbing.
I have not seen any of these movies in ages, used to love the first two as a kid.

Did Raimi have anything to do with this remake? Not really followed its movements.

Quoted from Scoob Did Raimi have anything to do with this remake? Not really followed its movements.

His company made it. He and Bruce produced it.

And I have a feeling they would have made the same type of movie back then, if they had the same budget they had for the remake.