 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Jul 19, 2013 - 4:53 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
mastadge
(Member)
|
Just saw it the other day after an Evil Dead trilogy rewatch. Didn't care for it. The original was no masterpiece. Dull characters, pretty straightforward plot. Where it succeeded -- and in spades -- was in putting its extremely modest budget onscreen. It worked because of Raimi's crazy energy and visual inventiveness. In later installments what kept things afloat were Raimi's increasing manic kinetic energy, and Bruce Campbell's (unexpected, based on the first film) charisma and comic presence.
Sadly, one thing the remake is really lacking is that life. It looks good, but it's tedious. It has no energy. The deadites/demons aren't as crazy/creepy as they used to be; in this vision, they're basically zombies who talk. In this version, the book of the dead is less an evil artifact than a demon playbook, spelling out exactly what's going to happen and how to stop it, and helpfully annotated by previous victims(?) with marginalia and transliterations into English. This one has tons of blood, but the blood has little effect, either comic or horrific. The film is a wasted opportunity. They could basically have gone one (or both) of two directions: either a horrific remake of the original, or some kind of interesting expansion of the Evil Dead "mythology". Instead they did neither, and crafted a standard cabin-in-the-woods affair that had nothing new to say about the subject matter and nothing interesting to offer viewers.
Baños' score was pretty good, though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'm a huge Evil Dead fan - saw the original in the theaters on its release, met Raimi and Campbell at a film festival for ED2 - enjoyed the third -
I enjoyed the new one - it was never going to be as fun or exciting at the original - but I did like the angle that this has happened before, and will happen again at this cabin - so I got a less remake and more continuation of the story vibe - plus I loved the Banos score - is it a good movie? I don't know, but I enjoyed watching it - watch the entire credit sequence!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Jul 20, 2013 - 5:37 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Cooper
(Member)
|
Well, I enjoyed it (vague plot details follow). I remember Raimi's Evil Dead II much better than his original, so maybe that was a factor in the Alvarez feeling grittier, more naturalistic...as though some of the comic book spooky had been deliberately scaled back, at least in the early going. Overall, that made for a feeling of diabolical nasty that ably suspended disbelief; it was pretty disturbing. Those spasmodic Deadites with their killing machine eyes... Jane Levy does good demon. Her Devil Does The Dew!
Nice buildup; I especially liked the unveiling of the book (barbed wire means you've got a page turner on your hands). Some of the attacks could've been more imaginative, as with the nail gun "squall"--too goofball for the tone?--and the by the numbers cellar ambush.
I thought it might've benefited from a bit longer running time, another narrative twist, one more well engineered set piece which would lead up to that truly epic finale that was simply beautiful: One big, operatic, hellish vision. Maybe one of the Top Ten horror catharses of all time!
Looking foward to the sequel I hope we get; this one seems to have done well enough...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
