Evil Dead (2013) - Can Deadites Survive Without Humour?

Remaking a cult classic such as Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2 is a heavy burden, but Fede Álvarez's 2013 reboot/remake/sequel was generally positively received. Whilst the film matched, and beat the gore of the original, it adopted a much more serious tone than the originals. (No amputated hands running around and getting caught in mouse traps here!) But, this begs the question, without humour, what makes Evil Dead stand out?

The premise of Evil Dead is a genre-defining one: a group of college students stay at a cabin in the woods, and accidentally unleash a supernatural force. In this case, the deadites: demons whose moniker is swallowing your soul, and they'll possess your friends to accomplish this. In this case, the nuance is that the group of friends are here to help Mia (Jane Levy), go, and stay, sober. This includes her brother, who she's had a rocky relationship with since he left her to care for their ailing mother.

The characters here certainly are stronger than in the original Evil Dead, which made use of 80s stock teens more than interesting dynamics. Mia and David (Shiloh Fernandez)'s is particularly strong, and the core of the movie. both Levy and Fernandez deliver strong and believable performances. The same can generally be said for the rest of the friend group; we at care about them enough to not feel ambivalent or gleeful when they meet their gruesome fates.

There are a few direct similarities to the original movie, such as the buckthorn wood necklace Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) gifted his girlfriend. Here, it's expanded that the particular wood helps strengthen someone's spirit, which is a nice addition to the lore (even if it means waving away Ash's love for Linda.) I was expecting this to become important to the plot, but unfortunately it falls short as a token gesture. The same, really, for the referenced line in the third act; it just doesn't make as much sense as in the original. Eventhough these don't neccesarily add to the movie, they're at least a fun nod to see. The same cannot be said for deciding to keep the scene of assault-by-tree. If it was unnecessary in Raimi's version, it feels doubly so here. The brutality just doesn't feel justified.

Or it could, if this was used as a plot point. This is where one of the weaknesses of the film shows itself; the group is more foolish than in the 80s. If your friend comes stumbling out of the woods, in that much pain and distress, why would you not drive them to a hospital, 'junkie' or not? The sleek character building in the first act begins to fall apart in the lack of good decision making. (What's stranger is that this decision is ultimately a moot point, since the bridge is destroyed anyway. Why have we wasted ten minutes to establish that Olivia (Jessica Lucas) is an awful friend?)

But perhaps this is parr for the course for a group who decide to read a journal that says never to read it out loud, out loud. (Alone! It would make a bit more sense if they were sat in a group, but they're not!)

From there, the gore snowballs. And the gore does deliver; twice as bloody and wince-inducing as the original movie, making use of a higher budget and some wonderfully violent practical effects. Who knew nail guns and electric knives could be so awfully deadly?

Then the blood rain starts!

The final third third of the movie descends into an Evil Dead madness that lives up to the series' legacy and name. It's truly the highlight of the film, with a standout performance from (!!).

So, there's a lot that works with this remake, and a lot of fans were very happy.

Unfortunately, the change of tone, for me, lost some of the magic of the original. The black comedy of the Campbell trilogy (and show) were what made The Evil Dead stand out as something quirky and interesting. Without that comedy, you're left with a standard, albeit very gory, possession movie; which basically amounts to bad language and sexual phrases in a silly voice. Making the Deadites serious, unfornuately, makes them bland. They become lost in a sea of demons.

Overall, The Evil Dead remake is a good movie; it's even a good possession movie, with blood smoothing over the cracks in the story.

But it sure doesn't feel like an Evil Dead movie.