After a very long hiatus, the Evil Dead franchise came back in full swing in 2013 with a complete reboot of the first film directed by Fede Álvarez and produced by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. The film featured a new cast of characters and a phenomenal performance by Jane Levy. It had more gore, guts and shocking moments and is by far the scariest Evil Dead movie in the franchise.
Guts & Gore, Baby!
You know you’re watching a messed up movie when you watch a character cut off the side of her face. This film went balls to the wall with the gore factor and featured a darker tone that highlighted drug addiction (and withdrawal) as well as a grimmer atmosphere. The darker and more mature theme really shows how far movies have come and how much more intense they have been allowed to be.
Same Cabin, New Horror
The film is a true reboot of the first instalment and as far as reboots go, it is by far the best I’ve seen in my opinion. The film didn’t try to be the first Evil Dead or try to copy it scene for scene. The characters were original and didn’t try to outshine the older ones.
It took the concept and tried to put a modern spin on it. It didn’t tarnish any lore and felt like its own self-contained thing with a slew of nods to the original. I wouldn’t want to spoil it but the easter eggs for the original are as thick as the gore, which made me smile between dropping my jaw from shock and disgust at the same time.
There’s a Musical Too!
So, there’s kind of a musical. A metal band called Mushroomhead performed a song called ‘We are the Truth’ and the music video is basically a musical based off the 2013 reboot of Evil Dead. The first time I watched the music video I was actually grinning from ear to ear because I could see so much of the film in the video. That really drives home how much influence the Evil Dead franchise actually has.
Evil Dead is a cult classic. You’d hear whispers about it on online horror forums and might see the odd video on the internet here and there. But there’s something else out there in those woods, something dormant…something evil…
In the next and final article, I’ll be looking at the latest instalment in this franchise…if you can handle it.
