Evil Dead: Unrated (2013) (Blu-ray Review)
DIRECTED BY: Fede Álvarez
STARRING: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci
RATED: UR/Region: A/2:39/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 2
AVAILABLE FROM Sony Pictures
I’ll be honest: when Evil Dead came out in 2013, I had absolutely no interest in seeing it. The idea of remaking Sam Raimi’s original The Evil Dead sounded like one of those Hollywood ideas that makes you want to lock the studio executives in a cabin in the woods and see what kind of demonic bullshit they come up with next. We already had a perfectly good low-budget horror classic, so why mess with it? My mind was made up before I even watched the damn thing, and I went into it with a negative attitude that could’ve curdled milk.
Well, as it turns out, sometimes it’s worth admitting when you’re full of shit.
Once I finally gave Evil Dead a chance, I realized it wasn’t really trying to replace the original so much as carve out its own bloody little corner of the Evil Dead universe. Sure, it borrows familiar ingredients: an isolated cabin, a creepy book nobody should ever read aloud, and a group of people who apparently never learned that disturbing ancient artifacts is a terrible idea. Seriously, if you find a mysterious book wrapped in barbed wire and covered in warnings, maybe don’t open it. And if the book looks like it was bound using the skin of something that died screaming, perhaps leave it the hell alone. But then, if horror movie characters made sensible decisions, most of these movies would be about 12 minutes long.
What I initially dismissed as an unnecessary remake turned out to be a genuinely nasty, brutally entertaining addition to the franchise. Director Fede Álvarez doesn’t seem particularly interested in holding the audience’s hand, either. This movie is mean, bloody, and downright sadistic at times. The practical effects are fantastic, the gore is gloriously excessive, and the whole thing has the sort of grimy, vicious energy that makes you wonder whether the production crew needed a priest, a therapist, or industrial-strength cleaning supplies afterward.
And then there’s Jane Levy as Mia.
Holy hell, Jane Levy absolutely kills it in this movie. Mia begins as a young woman struggling with addiction, and her situation gives the story an emotional foundation that makes what happens to her particularly cruel. Levy brings vulnerability and intensity to the role, and once things go completely off the rails, she becomes an absolute force of nature. Her transformation is terrifying, her performance is ferocious, and she manages to make Mia feel like much more than just another unfortunate idiot who wandered into a cabin and accidentally invited Satan over for the weekend.
Honestly, I think Mia might be the second-best character in the entire Evil Dead universe, right behind Ash Williams himself. And that’s some pretty impressive company to keep when you’re competing with a chainsaw-handed wiseass who has spent decades turning fighting demons into an excuse to deliver one-liners. Ash is still the king, obviously, but Mia has earned her place near the top of the franchise’s bloody little family tree. I’d happily watch more of her getting dragged through hell and fighting her way back out.
What I appreciate most about this movie now is that it doesn’t need to be a carbon copy of the original to work. It takes the basic Evil Dead ingredients and cooks up something nastier and more serious, with its own identity and its own memorable moments. It’s less interested in the original’s goofy, manic energy and more interested in making you feel like you’ve just spent 90 minutes being personally victimized by a chainsaw. And sometimes that’s exactly what the doctor ordered. Though, in this case, maybe you should find a doctor who specializes in demonic possession and traumatic limb removal.
Do I still love the original? Absolutely. Nothing here changes what Sam Raimi accomplished with his scrappy little horror classic. But I’ve come to appreciate that this movie doesn’t need to compete with it. It can exist alongside it, doing its own thing, without pretending the first movie never happened.
Funny enough, the movie I didn’t want to see has become one of my favorites in the entire franchise. That’s a pretty impressive turnaround for something I initially treated like a cinematic war crime.
Final verdict: I went into Evil Dead expecting an unnecessary remake and came out with a newfound appreciation for one of the franchise’s best entries. Jane Levy is phenomenal as Mia, the gore is gloriously disgusting, and the movie proves that sometimes a remake isn’t a remake so much as another excuse to unleash demonic hell on an unsuspecting audience. Ash is still number one, but Mia is coming for that silver medal with a chainsaw in her hand and absolutely nothing left to lose.
Turns out the real evil dead was the stubborn movie snob I was before I watched it.
Extras
- Commentary featuring stars Jane Levy, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Director Fede Alvarez and writer Rodo Sayagues
- Making Life Difficult – The Intense and Physically Exhausting Creation of the Film
- Being Mia – The Physical and Psychological Transformation into Evil Mia
- Directing The Dead – Director Fede Alvarez re-imagines a cult horror classic
- Unleashing The Evil Force – Exploring the origins and design of the new Book of the Dead
- Evil Dead the Reboot – Cast Rehearsals, Bruce Campbell, Deadites AND MORE!
