The Evil Dead Movie - Essay Example

? s Evil Dead Evil dead is a ic horror movie that revolves around five friends that venture into a remote cabin. During their stay in the desolate cabin in the woods, they discover a Book of the Dead, which eventually ends up summoning a vast number of evil spirits lurking in the woods. The evil souls possess the teenagers and they are forced to fight for their survival. The film released in the year 1981, under the direction of Sam Raimi, who created this masterpiece on a very low-budget; which becomes quite obvious with the screenplay and special effects. However, the plotline was quite novel, which caused the original release to quickly rise to fame and it was also dubbed as one of the ‘best cult movie’. Besides the plotline and the eerie scenario that the film was shot, other reasons for its success included outstanding monster design and its subtle and witty sense of humor in the script. The Evil Dead was originally meant to have only two films, but with the ever-expanding fan base, the number of movie installments was increased as well. With the fan following increasing at such a rapid pace even in the face of contemporary horror movies, it was only a matter of time before a contemporary remake was on its way. The remake was not entirely based on the original series and considering the bigger budget, the special effects were far more superior to the previous one. The original release included scare tactics that turned out to be more comical in nature than scary for the contemporary audience, which can only be explained through the lack of funds for the first film. Even the plotline was slightly different, as in the original plot the group of friends head there for leisure activities during spring break, the remake includes a group of friends trying to help one of their friends recover from a drug addiction. There a number of factors that can be taken against this entire franchise; for instance, there is no consistency between of the remake with the original film, which can be quite boggling at times. The original has strict acting with the use of humor from time to time and the lack of sophisticated CGI effects can be attributed to obsolete technology and low budget. The remake follows the same storyline, except for the fact that the beginning involves a vague reference to the back-story of the demonic possession. Similar to the original, the movie has a number of twists and constantly shows the possessed characters going back and forth between their normal forms to their possessed form. However, the characters have more depth than the original release as the characters seem to have a valid reason for not believing Mia, which was quite obscure when Cheryl claimed that there was a supernatural presence in their midst. Besides the extremely eerie premise of the movie, there are plenty of parts in the movie that is quite terrifying, but sometimes the excessive use of blood makes one cringe in disgust rather than scream with fear. The displaying and exaggeration of wounds and cuts is an over-used scare tactic throughout the movie. For instance, when one of the characters licks a box cutter and cuts her tongue in half, and there is one another scene where the character’s eyes are stabbed with needles and limbs are detached with an electric carving knife (Evil Dead, 2012). On the more positive note the action choreography was outstanding. The effects seemed real and animate enough to be believable that gave the movie a much-needed advantage at the box-office. For once, the directors did not simply rely on the tried and tested techniques used by Hollywood, which involved frivolous college students, who find themselves trapped in a haunted cabin. The characters were all quite believable and their reactions were that of serious adults; which showed that the vacation was not simply a pretext for their sexual trysts, but they had gone to the cabin in order to help their friend, which enabled the audience to sympathize with them as well. The actors were able to come off as more natural and the effects helped the bone crunching and arm sawing look all the more real and disgusting. Mia’s addiction adds realism to the plot and the actor has played her part well. The crew has a valid reason to disregard Mia’s postulation for her withdrawal from the drugs could lead to vivid hallucinations. They are skeptical of Mia’s condition, which in turn provides a reasonable explanation for her companions to continue their stay at the cabin. However, their nonchalance becomes excessive when they fail to find Mia’s blood vomit as completely odd and it seems that the lot realizes that they are in a horror film when they are halfway through the movie, when indeed that revelation should have struck them a long time ago. The sense of humor which was found in the original is not present in the contemporary one; it can be argued in both as a positive or negative way. A little bit of comic relief could have helped lighten the tone, for the remake was quite intense in nature. Although, the plot deviated from the initial characterization and in depicting certain events, but it remains true to the original, as it retained the forms of the creatures and overall essence of the story. Some of the overlapping elements consist of the chainsaw; shotgun, the tree rape scene and even the Oldsmobile give a hint of Deja vu for people who were avid fans of the original series. Therefore, it can be successfully claimed that the movie has its own sense of originality and has its own standing in the in the cinematic realm. Unlike the original movie, the contemporary film hardly has any element of romance. Which may diminish the emotional component, but it still underlines the bond each character shares, as they are concerned about Mia’s rehabilitation. Moreover, the movie has successfully embodied all elements of a horror that is coupled with a credible storyline and strong characters. The scare tactics are not completely original and some scenes are extremely gory. The movie lacks originality and although, it has parts that are genuinely scary, but not something that has not been done before. Even though, Alvarez and crew have done an outstanding job in bringing to life an intricate remake of the original Evil dead. On a concluding note, the movie has appealed to even the strictest critiques and has offered leeway to attain positive result. This movie offers a more serious version of the original and has established its own identity. The over use of blood and props gives the edge of gore, which is rapidly becoming a part of contemporary horror genre. If the movie is not compared to the original then it can be considered a decent attempt, but it is nearly impossible for fans of the original release, to actually come to terms with its remakes; as the original has established its own place in the genre. Other than that, the script is strong and though the back-story seems superfluous but it still adds to the premise; therefore, all in all, the movie is an extremely clever remake. The gore and overuse of blood offers a thrill to the audience, the movie seems plausible if it is not constantly compared to the original release. Work Cited Evil Dead. Dir. Sam Raimi and Fede Alvarez. Perf. Shiloh Fernandez, Jane Levy and Lou Taylor Pucci. United States: TriStar Pictures. 2013. Read More