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| Courtesy of TriStar |
The
Cabin in the Woods has ruined lazy horror movies for me. Screenwriters Joss
Whedon and Drew Goddard so effectively deconstructed and satirized horror tropes
with their entertaining flick that attempting to utilize the same clichés in a straightforward
way seems pointless now. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens in Evil
Dead, the stylized remake of Sam Raimi’s 1981 low-budget classic. There are plenty
of interesting visuals, but it’s undeniably lazy from a storytelling perspective.
Aside
from a few minor character traits and changing up who survives until the end,
rookie director Fede Alvarez (who co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues)
doesn’t attempt to divert from the original’s basic structure. He focuses all
of his attention on upping the carnage, where he absolutely excels – Evil
Dead might be the goriest movie I’ve ever seen. If that’s what you’re into, you
should find plenty to enjoy.
But
gory isn’t the same thing as scary. Sure, I covered my eyes a few times – I don’t
particularly enjoy watching a girl slice her tongue in half with a box cutter.
But I also didn’t hesitate later that evening when walking into a dark room or
taking the trash outside. When a horror movie fails to scare a wuss like me,
there’s a major problem.
Like
the film that made Bruce Campbell a cult icon (he and Raimi executive produce
this time), the story revolves around a group of twenty-somethings who plan to hole
up in a remote, dilapidated cabin. In the original, the kids just wanted to
party. Now they’re doing it to help heroin addict Mia (Jane Levy) quit cold
turkey. At first, it seems like Alvarez heads in this direction to make the
inevitable demonic possessions symbolic of weightier social issues. Instead, he
forgets all about subtext once the blood starts flowing.
At
least I’m assuming he does. That’s the only explanation as to why characters
become stupid and interchangeable about 30 minutes in. That’s when Eric (Lou
Taylor Pucci) uncovers a book bound with human skin and begins reciting an
incantation obscured by jagged scrawl begging the reader not to say the words
out loud. Evil Dead provides absolutely no background on the character or a
plausible reason why he would do something so preposterous, other than “this is
why stuff got bad in the first movie.”
Once
the nonsense words are uttered, Mia is possessed by a particularly nasty demon
and the other characters – Eric, Mia’s brother David (Shiloh Fernandez), his
girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) and nursing major Olivia (Jessica
Lucas) – exist solely to be hacked, sawed, hypodermic needled, etc. until one
person is left standing.
They’re
pretty, generic cardboard cutouts who don’t speak, think or act like anyone
placed in a horrific, life-threatening situation would. Every decision is made
solely to get the audience to the next grisly set piece. By the time the
credits roll, even the blood and guts have stopped making an impact. In the final
10 minutes, a girl slowly rips her own hand off and the audience in my
screening didn’t even flinch; making that action ho-hum is a pretty stunning
accomplishment.
The
cast is mostly forgettable, which explains why I had to consult IMDb.com to
remember the names of both the actors and the characters they played. The one
exception is Levy (best known from ABC’s Suburgatory), who is absolutely terrific
as Mia. The film actually has a pulse whenever she’s onscreen, which makes it
even more excruciating when she disappears for large chunks of the running time.
Alvarez
has an undeniable talent for stunning visuals – there’s a disturbing beauty in even
his ghastliest shots – but he wastes his skills on an undeserving story.
Hopefully Evil Dead will serve as a springboard into better material for him,
rather than confine him to the horror genre for the rest of his career. I’ve
heard he contributed to the story for the flick’s upcoming sequel, but declined
to direct it. That’s a promising bit of info.
I
will admit to being a little curious where an Evil Dead 2 might take the mythology.
It’s unlikely the filmmakers would go the route of Raimi’s sequel (which was basically
a remake of his first movie with some black comedy thrown in), so what
direction does that leave? Plus, the person who makes it to the end of this
flick is a whole lot different than Bruce Campbell’s Ash. Alvarez has at least planted
the seeds for an interesting sequel, one that could accomplish the rare feat of
being worlds better than its predecessor. Let’s see if it happens.
Evil
Dead is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, some sexual content and
language.
Grade:
C
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