Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Evil Dead (2013)

8/13/2013

Evil Dead (2013) - Alvarez debuts with one hell of a ride

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Huge types on this poster state the over-confident tagline for Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead

Evil Dead is a reboot of Michigander master filmmaker Sam Raimi's (Spider-Man (2002)) three picture cult franchise (1981-1992), which has many similarities with the original first movie, Evil Dead (1981), yet is also quite different: While the original film is told in a more creeping style, slower and scarier, this Evil Dead is more of a post 'torture porn' version: Fast, relentlessly gory and good-looking, if a tad hollow.

5 youngsters go to a cabin in the woods to clean up one of the guy's sister, who is a junkie. But Evil rests there, - and death and dismemberment ensue.

Another critique to feature debuting co-writer/director Fede Alvarez's (Don't Breathe (2016)) work here is that his Evil Dead barely has a first act, - Those seeking character specifics, - that little bit of 'meat' which might actually make us feel for (and with) the unfortunate youths, - will mostly search in vain here. All five of the cast spew dialog which mostly just states their intentions, such as; 'I am scared that...', 'we should...' and so on, blended with plenty of 'fucks' and 'fricking's' and other expletives, making it all very 'young' and certainly action-oriented. The 1981 original has more character color and humor, but despite the new Evil Dead being nearly bereft of humor, it still is a fun ride for a horror fan.
Hollywood up-and-comers Jane Levy (Monster Trucks (2016)) and hunky Shiloh Fernandez (Deadgirl (2008) are the leads. Levy twists and turns like a pro, while Fernandez does what he can with what is essentially an insubstantial character.
A generous four stars are nevertheless awarded to this reboot, which makes up for what it lacks in substance by being literally one hell of a ride: SPOILER From the opening thrill of watching a father lighting his daughter on fire, - justifiably, - to an awesome remake of the forest rape scene from the original film, the movie lacks nothing in images of extreme horror and mayhem. And is therefore only warmly recommended for true horror fans.
Evil Dead is co-written with Rodo Sayagues (Don't Breathe) and produced by the writer/director, the producer and the star of the original trilogy: Sam Raimi, Rob G. Tapert (Boogeyman (2005)) and Bruce Campbell (The Woods (2006))

Related posts:

2013 in films - according to Film Excess
The Evil Dead franchise: Army of Darkness (1992) or, Medieval Death
Evil Dead II/Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) - Campbell, Spiegel and Raimi's crazy, gory classic

Alvarez is interviewed about his second feature Don't Breathe (2016) at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con in this video

Cost: 17 mil. $
Box office: 97.5 $
= Huge hit (returned 5.73 times its cost)
[Evil Dead premiered 8 March (SXSW Festival, Austin, Texas) and runs 92 minutes. A remake was in development for years before it landed with Uruguayan Alvarez helming it. He was contacted solely on the basis of his 5-minute short Panic Attack/Ataque de Pánico! (2009), which achieved roughly 5 mil. views on Youtube and is about his native Montevideo being invaded and blown up by robots. Watch it here. Made on reportedly just 300 $, (and an unreported number of work hours), Alvarez has informed that his obvious knack for creating CGI effects was mostly shelved for Evil Dead, which, like the original trilogy, relies on practical effects, using CGI just for 'touch-ups'. Shooting took place in Auckland, New Zealand in 70 days from April - July 2017. The film opened #1 to a 25.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it fell to #5 in its second week and from there left the top 5 the following week, grossing 54.2 mil. $ (55.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 6.5 mil. $ (6.7 %) and Russia with 5.9 mil. $ (6.1 %). The franchise has since spurred a popular TV-series: Ash vs Evil Dead (2015-). Alvarez returned with From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series (2014, TV-series) and theatrically with great horror Don't Breathe (2016). Levy returned in Kroll Show (2014, TV-series) and theatrically in About Alex (2014); Fernandez in Deep Powder (2013). Evil Dead is fresh at 62 % with a 6.16/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Evil Dead?

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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8/13/2013

Evil Dead (2013) - Alvarez debuts with one hell of a ride

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