Let's get the business side of things out of the way now. This is technically a remake of the cult 1981 horror-comedy The Evil Dead. But it has a different set of characters, different angle for why they are at the cabin, and different outcome. For this reason, I suggest you give it a chance even if you don't like remakes, as it's really not the same movie, although there are some nods to scenes from the original scattered throughout. It was also produced by Sam Raimi (the original's writer and director), Bruce Campbell (the original lead actor) and Rob Tapert (original producer) and they handpicked the new director, so obviously this is not just a rip-off money making scheme. Fans of the original could still enjoy this, and people who've never seen it could also enjoy it. As long as you like full-blown gory horror movies!
A group of five friends gathers at a remote cabin in the woods to help one overcome her addiction to hard drugs once and for all. A week of withdrawal somewhere she can't get her hands on more drugs and where she can chill out should do the trick. Until one of the gang uncovers a strange book in the cellar, dusts it off and reads out the inscription despite all warnings in the book not to - which unleashes a demon who needs to possess 5 souls to unleash hell on earth and raise the dead.
The crew we have on board for this adventure is:
Mia - the drug addict and still sad about her mother's recent death. Played by the luminous Jane Levy who I love as Tessa on the TV show Suburgatory.
David - Mia's brother who has moved away and isn't really up on the latest family issues but has come back to help Mia recover.
Natalie - David's girlfriend. Yep, that's as much as we know about her!
Olivia - Mia's best mate and a nurse, so she's highly qualified for the medical side of the withdrawal symptoms.
Eric - friend of Mia and Olivia and a tad angry at David for not being around lately. Yep, that's as much as we know about him too!
Like any good horror movie, the film spends very little time on developing the characters' backstories before plunging into the action, and it has them undertake some very illogical behaviour which puts themselves or the others into danger. Example A - reading from a very scary looking book against all reason. Example B - walking down stairs/into dark scary places. Without these actions there are no horror movies and we can't yell at the screen "don't go down there/turn around/grab a weapon for God's sake"! We get to do all of these in Evil Dead.
So after Eric stupidly utters the magic words and tells nobody, Mia is quickly possessed by our demon friend who has quickly worked out the weakest link. And this is where the 'intervention' framing device becomes very clever, as Mia's initial descent and desire to leave is written off as withdrawal symptoms or quitting rather than coming across as the frightening issues they really are. This lends some much needed believability and tension as events quickly spiral out of control before anyone knows what is really happening. Demonic possession seems to be more catching than avian bird flu!
The main thing to know about this movie is that there will be buckets of blood dispersed before it is over, so don't go if you don't like the colour red. It is rated 'R' for extreme violence and gore - there were at least 5 scenes that had us all squirming and giggling at ourselves squirming. That is where the laughs end though, as the 'comedy' has been left right out of this version of the tale despite Diablo Cody (Juno) doing a script polish which ended up being largely unused.
The poster says "the most terrifying movie you will ever experience" but I didn't really think it was that terrifying. More suspenseful. There is very good use of sound though which will probably help you with some nightmares. I lied when I said good horror movies don't spend time on character development - the scariest movies I've seen have always spent time on character and made you really care for them or put yourselves in their shoes (Pan's Labyrinth, The Descent, Paranormal Activity 1).
Despite the lack of terror, I feel that this movie stands on its own merits and should be seen if you enjoy gory horror movies. It has enough differences to warrant a viewing, and it has some very clever framing and references to elevate it beyond the usual 'dumb teens bumped off one by one' type of film. The tension that is wrung out of a lot of the scenes also had me gripping the arms of the chair or my boyfriend's hand for lengthy periods of time. I give this 3.5 buckets of blood out of 5!
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