The book of the dead is ready to rise again in the highly anticipated remake of the horror cult classic ‘Evil Dead’ with gore galore and shocking fun.
The story focused around a group of friend ready to help out David, played by Shiloh Fernandez, with an intervention for his junkie sister Mia, played by Jane Levy, at their former summer cabin.
As the intervention and withdrawals symptoms come to play, the group finds a book in the basement, which is littered with dead cats.
Unfortunately, one of the friends opens the book and after reading a few words from the book all hell breaks loose with demonic possession, voices from beyond and cringe-inducing moments of pain and utter torment.
“Evil Dead” plays to the strength of its horror roots by delivering some terrifying imagery. Scenes such as possessed Mia splitting her tongue with a box cutter to pulling out nails from one’s skin lead to squirms from audiences yet seems to not turn up an actual scare.
The film relies more on the spectacle rather than the reaction of fright and terror from the audience.
The expectations for the film were at an all time high after months of marketing itself as “the most terrifying film you will ever experience,” as it reads on the poster for the movie, and for a film like this to fall short on actual scares it is disappointing.
That should not truly deter from the experience as the spectacle is just as good as the cult classic sets-up. The simple beginning is handled with care and structure, delving deep into what is going on, leaving the audience to wonder what is really going on and what does the mysterious book discovered behold.
The imagery is beautifully gruesome. The heavy use of practical effects make every painful moment realistic with believable moments of blood spewing from flesh and numerous creative death scene.
The story although entertaining seems to drag on at certain points seeming it could come to a close or scenes just need a definitive end. This is only a minor problem as the film is relatively short at 90 minutes and manages its time well.
“Evil Dead” may not break any new ground or deliver on a heavy number of good jump scares, but still manages to be an entertaining ride in horror.
“Evil Dead” is in theaters now and is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, some sexual content and language.