Evil Dead (2013)

I went to see Evil Dead with an open mind and man was i blown away. I would have never in my wildest dreams guessed that first time director Fede Alvarez turns this reimagination of Sam Raimi's film into a pure horror masterpiece. Where Raimi's film relied much more to an effects, Alvarez and his co-writer has turned Evil Dead into a psychological horror-film with some truly gory sequences in it. For a someone who is making his debut feature in films this is quite a achievement. Not only Alvatrez has surpassed Raimi's original but he has also made one of the greatest debut films ever in the history of cinema.

This is a damn confident filmmaking on every level and Alvarez seem to have style completely of his own. With foggy and eerie use of forests and the nightmarish images of decaying cabin, this film feels and looks more like an mixture of horror with some serious echoes of art-house sensibility in it. It kinda reminded me of David Slade's equally terrifying and handsome 30 Days of Night, which succeeded in creating something visually unique, terrifying and original as an horror film.

The setting here might not be nothing new with the bunch of young people going for a sort of an holiday in the cabin at woods. But what makes this holiday certainly different than any other cabin-vacations is that this is not supposed be any alcohol-filled weekend. Instead one of the five young people here is drug addict and is trying to get clean from that habit. This is by far one of the most interesting and effective plot changes when it comes to original story by Raimi. This plot which includes rehab makes everyhting much more dreamlike and even throws in some ambitious questions about what might be real or what might be just pure feverish hallucinations in a person's mind. Film toys with this idea but in the second half it makes clear which the final interpretation is.

One of the major changes between Raimi's 1981 film and this new adaptation is their tone, look and mood. Raimi's film may still have some innovative and groundbreaking camerawork in it but it has lost most of it's shock-value because the effects are so badly dated. Raimi has always claimed that Evil Dead was made into a serious horror-film and not a horror-comedy, which it unfortunately too often feels. Fede Alvarez makes it clear from the very beginning that there are nothing funny in this situation in which these people are thrown into. There is no corny dialogue or lousy one-liners. There is no clumsy use of CGI or anything that would even remotely look or feel like an comedic relief. This is pure, nasty and gory horror at it's very finest and i have not been this thrilled in cinemas that many times in my life.

Young actors are all great and believable here, especially Jane Levy is perfect choice for the tormented main character Mia. Shiloh Fernandez also is solid as her protective big brother. Rest of the cast give supporting roles that feel truly authentic. They all also get their mometns when to show more of their skills as an actors, so they are not treated like a cattle like too often cast does in a films like these today. There are no stereotypes to be found in here when it comes to characters. And unlike Drew Goddard's and Joss Whedon's interesting but flawed The Cabin in the Woods, Evil Dead never turns into self-parody. What these people go through is far from pleasant a experience and Alvarez wants you to feel their physical and emotional pain. Up, close and personal. There is no reason tor Alvarez to throw his hands in air and suddenly turn it all into a comedy. This is a dark and bloody story and there is hardly anything funny about it.

Alvarez's visual detail and eye seems to be beyond great. Here is a new talent who has loads of confidence behind camera. I loved the atmosphere which this film had. There was something truly terrifying in the way it toyed with our expectations and some of doppelganger-scenes felt something out of my worst nightmares. This film also succeeded in being a really scary horror-film. There has been lot of talk about the gore in this film and i must admit that some scenes are very painful to watch. Still it never falls in the familiar trap of the typical torture-porn. Instead the gore is included in the more suspenseful scenes and is always there to make us more edge of our seats, not only to shock us.

Technical features were all outstanding from the beginning till the impressive ending. Especially the moody and artful cinematography by Aaron Morton gave this film very edgy and grainy look which i liked a lot. Composer Rogue Banos has also done outstanding work in the musical department and created the most brilliant score in his entire career. There were times when the music sounded pleasantly Bernard Herrmann -like with heavy use of strings.

What else can i say. Every now and then there comes a horror-film that redefines the genre. Evil Dead is that film and it sets the bar so high for other horror-entries that it will take quite a while for anyone to come even a close when it comes to a pure horror. This is an instant classic and goes up there as a one of my personal favourites. Evil Dead is one of the greatest films i have experienced in my whole life. If you love horror-films then you will love Evil Dead.