evil dead

Evil Dead 2013: A Film with Big Shoes to Fill
Since the 1981 release of the original Evil dead you will not find many horror films as near and dear to horror film fanatics’ hearts as this classic. Although it is now out-dated and known as a low budget film; these qualities are what made it such a great horror classic. Lacking the luxury of relying on a gigantic Hollywood budget and fancy effects the director used ingenuity to captivate people’s minds. Needless to say, it worked. Fast forward to 2013 and the remake of the original horror classic was released. The new Evil Dead certainly has some big shoes to fill. Will the new films huge budget and special effects ruin this classics reputation as one of the all time great horror films? The original Evil Dead was the true definition of a horror film; although the film lacked an intricate story line. Then again, it did not need one. It had everything that any fright seeking individual could wish for, plus some comedy. The original Evil Dead had a plot that was as simple as it comes. Five young adults end up at a cabin in the woods and release an ancient demand spirit. An hour and 25 minutes later, and gallons of blood, one hero remains. Over thirty years later the remake came out. Blessed by the director and main character of the original Evil Dead, it stuck to the bare bone formula of the classic; a simple story line, some painfully disgusting and horrific scenes, and a hint of comedy. The Evil Dead is truly an example of what other horror movies should seek to become.
The genre of ‘horror’ has been given to far too many films. What is it that truly makes a horror film? Of course a horror film needs to be unsettling, make you jump from anticipation, and be violent. However; there is much more to a true horror film. A real horror film needs to make you think. A real horror film needs to play with common fears. A real horror film needs to be impossibly possible. A real horror film needs to have a defendable yet inevitable aspect pertaining to the plot. Lastly, of course a horror film needs to shock you, but more importantly it truly needs to scare you.
Evil Dead 2013 most assuredly does all of the above. From the beginning of the movie when the five young adults show up to the cabin there is an eerie feeling lingering throughout the air. The decrepit cabin they all began to inhabit leaves the viewer wondering what horrible tragedy will ensue. This was achieved through the sheer vividness of how old and unsettling the cabin looked. The floor creaked with every step, almost sounding as if it could give way at any moment. Every sheer inch of the cabin was falling apart from the basement to the roof. This was definitely not somewhere most people would want to be. It left the audience questioning why the group would stay in the first place.
The story line began to emerge shortly into the movie. The five friends were at the cabin in an attempt to save their friends life. Mia, one of the five, was a recovering heroin addict who had recently had a near fatal overdose. The other four dragged her there in an attempt to sustain her sobriety. This gave the audience a sense of why they were all willing to stay in such a horrible place, and made the story seem more realistic.
However, none of the aforementioned constitutes a true horror film. Well this is when the Evil Dead begins to get a hell of a lot more interesting. One character, Eric, wonders down to the seller and finds that it is full of lifeless cats, hanging from the rafters by miniature nooses. This plays with a common fear, dead animals. People are often extremely sympathetic of animals; especially those they can relate to or have had a strong relationship with. A good horror film will certainly play with common fears in order to really get into the audiences personal emotions running rampant.
Behind the poor felines lays a book. They bring the book up stairs and began to read certain pages from it. After reciting a line from a blood covered page, the scene shift from in the house to out in the woods. The atmosphere begins to shift and a feeling of something being released emerges. This is where Evil Dead begins to become impossibly possible. This is not an occurrence that could ever truly happen in real life, and if someone did indeed believe it could be true society would write it off as insanity.
In fact, this is exactly what four of the characters do when Mia begins to beg to leave. After escaping into the woods she is attacked by the forest. When she returns she exclaims what has just happened and the rest of the characters simply assume she is trying to get out of the woods so she can use again. In turn they leave her in a room all alone, and ignore her claims of what had happened in the woods, despite her having an assortment of wounds. They write it off as severe withdrawals.
A while later she emerges from her room with a shotgun and attempts to shoot her own brother. They intern lock her in the very cellar where they found the book. Her face and voice have changed drastically by this point. Her bone structure seems as if it has become more ridged. Her skin, once an olive complexion, is now lacking any sort of pigmentation. This leaves the audience feeling as if she was possessed by the attack in the woods and is contagious.
The next portion of the movie is riddled with suspense, scares, and lots of gore. These are three classically important things in a horror movie. After the initial possessing of Mia; she infects almost the entire house hold. Almost like a domino effect. At one point the character Eric goes into a bathroom to check up on Olivia. She is sitting in the shower sawing her tongue in half with a box cutter. This scene sent the audience into a frenzy of terror. Woman were burrowing their heads into their boyfriends shoulders to no dismay.
As the movie went on a feeling of inevitability ensued. They all seemed to be doomed one way or another. It was almost as if no matter what they did there was no hope for any of them. This was especially prevalent in the many gory action scenes. From Eric being nailed to the wall behind him with a nail gun to the point which Natalie was being dragged into the cellar. They had no chance. This is the final important quality a horror film must have. The characters should be able to defend themselves, but we all know what carnage inevitably ensues.
Near the end of the movie two characters are left standing, David and Mia. This is where a major plot shift occurs. David, who has been left unscathed compared to every other character sacrifices himself to save his sister (Mia). He walks back into the burning house, to keep the demons at bay and away from his sister, just as it explodes. Mia’s arm becomes trapped under a car shortly after and right as a possessed flesh eating human almost has her, she rips free. Leaving her arm under the wrecked car, a smart trade for the shotgun that will save her. She finally kills the last demons and is the reigning victor. Her perseverance earned her life. Many movies are christened with the title horror film. Some certainly don’t deserve it. However, Evil Dead 2013 is certainly one which does. This great horror film did a phenomenal job evoking people’s emotions with common fears. It made the audience gasp, jump, and be genuinely scared countless times throughout the motion picture.