I am happy that they keep this film franchise alive because I am such a huge fan of the original. I've purchased so much gear surrounding the original 3 films including a collector's edition of the original DVD with multiple commentary tracks and a special case for the DVD's that was a replica Necronomicon. I was quite pleased with that purchase and it was a prized possession until that ill-fated day that my dog at the time decided it was a chew toy an annihilated it.
I've had some "beefs" with some of the Evil Dead stuff that has been released since Bruce Campbell was no longer the main protagonist, but then again, I quickly tired of Ash vs. Evil Dead as a series because honestly, I don't think that the humor of the original movies is really varied enough to justify an entire massive series.
Campbell and Sam Raimi signed on as producers of this new movie and it is evident that they were trying to stick with original elements of the story, but wanted to vary it a bit and modernize it a bit to the point of making it proper horror and not so much comedy the likes of which most of the films past the first 2 were. I think that the combination of elements works but in the end will likely leave non-long-term fans a bit disappointed due to the rather difficult to understand nature of the "evil" that exists in all of the Evil Dead films and the series.
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I don't want to give too much of the film away but as anyone that has seen any of the Evil Dead stuff already knows, these individual stories follow a certain path out of necessity and if you know the formulaic process, you can foresee a great deal of what is going to happen in this movie before it even happens.
They start the film out with a cabin in the woods, I think in order to give the viewers a sense of "here we go again with the whole cabin in the woods thing!" This is a trick though, because the actual film isn't even related to what happens in the opening segments at all.
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Instead of hapless teenagers attempting to party in a strange isolated location in the woods, we have a family in an urban environment for once - which is something that this particular fan found to be refreshing, although it is a little bit "convenient" how they come across the Necronomicon in the first place via an exposed vault that is revealed during a very conveniently timed earthquake combined with an overly curious teenager.
One of the major things that I enjoyed about this movie was that it is more emotional than any of the other films that precede it. Instead of the usual "groovy" and "this is my BOOMSTICK" one-liners from an unlikely hero, we are treated to a much higher level of dread and true horror in the eyes of a family that is forced to face a demon that has taken over their mother's body.
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They did a really good job with the cinematography and much of this has to do with the fact that Dave Garbett, who is intimately familiar with the lore and ideas behind Evil Dead in a general sense and did most of the filming work on Ash vs Evil Dead, was the chief cinematographer on this film.
Gone is the humor for the most part, although there are minor references to favorite aspects of previous films such as a "boomstick" briefly playing a part and of course a chainsaw getting involved in the mix. Gore fans will be pleased as punch while watching this, because it seems as though they were trying to one-up themselves by introducing increasingly disgusting way of dispatching the Evil as the film goes on.
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I have no complaints about the casting and Alyssa Sutherland who plays Ellie and is the first to get taken over by the Evil, does a particularly amazing job in her role. I don't normally enjoy child actors and actresses, but even the kids in this film absolutely nail their roles.
I doubt that anyone who knows Evil Dead is going to be surprised by anything that happens as far as the overall plot is concerned outside of a unique moment or two because the film progresses like all Evil Dead films kind of have to progress. Even though you already know the result because of the fact that these movies must end the way that they do, it was one hell of a ride and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Should I watch it?
If you are a fan of the Evil Dead franchise in general I think it kind of goes without saying that you are going to see it no matter what anyone says about it. That has always been the case for me and likely always will be. For those unfamiliar with the franchise I think that it is going to take the correct type of person to enjoy this. These films are extremely gory, as they have always have been. They have to be that way in order to qualify as Evil Dead films in most people's minds and if they were to deviate from this they would do so at the risk of ostracizing their fanbase. Unlike other story creators, I don't think that Sam Raimi will ever allow that to happen.
This one ends in such a way as to leave room for another film in the future and seeing as how it made over $100 million at the box office before we even factor is streaming revenue, I think it is a safe bet that there will be more of these in the future. How long can they keep the ball rolling though?
