After watching this, I wouldn't call it a remake. It could just as easily be a sequel or accompanying piece to the original series. The beauty of Evil Dead is that it has a great mythology that allows it to create its own universe. Once you have that universe then you have room for expansion. Alvarez done the right thing by introducing new characters as opposed to modern versions of our beloved heroes and victims of yesteryear. He respected the original and created something new to co-exist alongside it. I love that. It not only means a bright future for the Evil Dead universe, but also for horror as a whole as we can get more and more Evil Dead, right?
The movie itself was not without flaws, but I'll get to them later. I'll start with the strengths. What impressed me more than anything was the underlying drug theme. I really felt this gave the character of Mia and the story some real depth and backbone. What better way to add to a story about overcoming demons than to include the use of a real life demon that affects a lot of people? I dug that. Another strength was that it was visually stunning and constantly eerie until the relentless mayhem begun. Then of course, there was the gore. I can't remember the last time I seen so much carnage in a mainstream horror movie. This did push some boundaries and one can only hope it's an indication for the future of horror movies that make theaters. I enjoyed how some deaths homaged the originals, with the addition of some how grizzly, bloody messes. The chainsaw severing at the end was fantastic.
Now, the flaws. This is mostly down to my obsessive geekiness when it comes to Evil Dead but the Necromicon annoyed me. The red English scribbles annoyed me. It took away from the mystique of the book that's always been one of the most fascinating mythologies in cinema. Second, the Deadites could have looked much better (by that, I mean more hideous and demonic). Lastly, the characters could have been a little better developed. For awhile it looked as if we were getting to know them all, but then all of a sudden they were dying. With the exception of Ash however, the original characters were poorly developed as well so I can't complain. Like the original, the lack of character depth was made up for by watching a nightmare unfold. I just thought they were onto something here and didn't quite see it through until the end.
Overall, what can I say? It really proved me wrong. I loved this movie and I can't wait for the sequel, and hopefully more sequels, along with a possible Army of Darkness sequel with Ash. There's a lot of room left in the universe and I want to see it tapped for all its potential.
