Review 4: Dead to Rights

This revival will be more exciting than the Julianne Moore kind.

Good evening gremlins,

Like a star-crossed lover, I was fated to return to you.  My head is bloody but not unbowed in my resolution to remain true to horror despite the despairing drought of mainstream macabre.  It has been nearly a year since I last reared my skull to the dusky twilight of the genre.  Oh, let’s face it.  The Cabin in the Woods depressed me.  As I mentioned in my review, it left me with an uneasy, unsatisfied feeling as well as a nihilistic hole where my hope for horror once was.  Since then, I’ve come to terms with the film and can appreciate it as a scathing critique and intelligent (though snarky) deconstruction of how the things that make horror fun are, in all actuality, marvelously absurd.  I find it only fitting that I should return to you with a review of a remake of the blueprint for the satirical razorblade that was Cabin:

We don't need no stinkin' "The"

When Sam Raimi directed The Evil Dead in 1981, it became an instant camp staple. This resulted in the demon spawn of The Evil Dead 2 and the Mel Brooks-ian Army of Darkness.  Made with a strung together budget of $350,000, Raimi intended for the original flick to be a pure horror film born out of pure terror.  Instead, it was seen as schlock and began an assembly line of iterations that nod to the intrinsic horror formula Teen + Derp = BLOODY MESS.  

MATH!

Taking this response, Raimi essentially remade his own film and released it as The Evil Dead 2, employing more comedy for an effective, balanced film that many consider much more satisfying than the original.  From my initial peek at the trailer for Evil Dead, my impression was that Producers Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell intended to follow through with their original intent to horrify.  And horrify it does.

The directorial debut of Fede Alvarez begins with the cookie cutter frame of sending 5 young friends off into a remote cabin in the middle of the woods together.  A smart writing choice (No doubt the influence of wildcard, Diablo Cody) gives impetus to the gathering.  Estranged Daniel (an uninspired but capable Shiloh Fernandez) is reunited with his friends to help his little sister Mia (Jane Levy) kick a nasty drug habit.  Along for the ride are old friends Olivia (Jessica Lucas) and Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci), as well as David’s current squeeze, Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore), who is apparently there to lend a hand. Beyond that, the exposition offers nothing more than shoddy attempts at deepening already shallow relationships with even thinner dialogue.  Lucky for us, unlucky for them, things get bad pretty fast.  

In true ignorant teen fashion, they discover a demonic book (made from human flesh, no less. Yum!) which simply MUST be read aloud.  Thanks to that small amount of justification given by Mia’s drug abuse, it isn’t that farfetched than no one thinks twice when she begins to act peculiar.  If only D.A.R.E. had equated withdrawal to demonic possession, drugs would be much less prevalent in schools.

Crack will SWALLOW YOUR SOUL!

Buckets of blood turn into silos full as the gang works to wrangle the possessed Mia.  Jane Levy deserves a special nod here for her acting gymnastics as she stretches from pure wide-eyed terror to taking up the torch as pure badass.  The plot advances at an unflinching tromp, taking enough pause to give easter eggs of reference to the original flicks.  Even the music and sound design gives you trills of a chainsaw during moments of pulse grinding threat before any motor is actually revved.  The movie seems as though it’s squeaking toward a neat finish before turning up the excitement for a jaw dropping ten minutes that just. doesn’t. quit.

While fans of the original might not be as deterred by the bloodbath and gore as some tree-hugging virgins, the make-up effects are arguably the star of this film.  Some may call it excessive torture porn, I call it a showcase to a forgotten craft.  As for the oral fixation stuff?  

That’s just Raimi.  Evil Dead might not be the scariest film, but it is certainly the most unnerving and squirm inducing in years.  The violence is wildly eclectic, ranging from the banal (watch those papercuts) to the “I don’t know how you’re still alive but I’m glad you are so we can see what else you can take” variety.  Some may complain of a lacking storyline or meaning, but I would argue that the story is told through the violence, which, for the modern horror genre, is a strangely novel idea.

After viewing, I couldn’t help but think, ‘They make it look so easy!’  Most modern (American) horror, both original and rebooted, suffers from a hyper-polished look, as though each director uses the same desaturated filter.  Evil Dead falls prey to this in its initial setup until settling into sparsely used techniques that pull directly from Raimi’s playbook.  If there is anything to be taken away from this particular revival, it’s this:  If it works, work it.  Why use CGI when there are perfectly capable make-up artists?  Why settle for standard horror triggers and pratfalls in filming when you can do an intense zoom in on a delicate wrist pinned under a car?  If you want to pull a page out of a well worn book, you can look to The Evil Dead and its incarnates.

4 out of 5 Bloody Pearls

It is good to be back.  While my reviewing may not be consistent, I will be sprinkling the blog with previews for upcoming films, and any tender meaty treats I can find to share with you.  Take care lovies.  After seeing Evil Dead and with spring rains approaching, you may want to carry a poncho.

Ciao,

AP