Evil Dead (2013)

**This review contains spoilers**

In one last desperate attempt to cure her heroin addiction, Mia (Jane Levy) agrees to spend time in a secluded cabin the woods. Her brother, David (Shiloh Fernandez) his girlfriend, Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore), and Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) and Olivia (Jessica Lucas), who are childhood friends of Mia and David, all agree to help Mia through her rehabilitation. But Olivia proposes more drastic measures, after revealing Mia’s last near death experience to David: Mia will try to leave and go home again, but David must be strong and force Mia to stay in the cabin no matter what, because her body can’t survive another overdose. Reluctant at first, David agrees to the terms of the deal.

But the situation takes a bizarre turn for the worst, when Eric and David discover the hanging bodies of dead cats in the cellars beneath the cabin. Eric finds a book made of flesh, and bound in barbwire. After skimming through it, Eric unknowingly releases the evil within by reciting a passage. The evil forces quickly consume Mia, and through a series of bizarre incidents, the evil forces trap the group of friends without any exits to leave the deep, dark woods.

Jane Levy is an easy pick for the best performance here. Mia is innocent and fragile at first, but once the possession kicks in, Levy transforms into a diabolical and dangerous hellcat. Rest of the cast was solid enough, but Fernandez’s character annoyed the shit of me.

And what a debut for director Fede Alvarez. Think of all the pressure for making the first Evil Dead film in years. Alvarez didn’t just live up to the hype, he knocked it out of the park with a grand slam. If I’m not mistaken, the girl burning alive is the only true CGI moment. Alvarez didn’t flood this film with a barrage of flashy and glossy CGI effects, and that’s a good thing. The gruesome and bloody gore has a stronger sense of realism, and I’m overjoyed Alvarez didn’t take The Thing 2011 approach for special effects. Oh, and Alvarez brought back the demon POV of maneuvering through the woods before an attack. Good stuff.

The Evil Dead 2013 is more serious than the original films, especially Evil Dead 2 and Army Of Darkness. No hokey humor, and the overall tone of the film is darker. The Evil Dead 2013 is loaded with tons of gruesome gore, sadistic violence and torture, lots of, and I do mean LOTS OF blood, and you’ll see plenty of “hard to watch” moments throughout this film. The Evil Dead remake is not for the weak at heart, and you really should avoid this one, if you’re the squeamish type.

The Evil Dead 2013 is the best horror film I’ve seen so far this year, and it’s not even close. It's an extreme bloodbath of carnage and vicious violence, and the runtime just flies by. Fede Alvarez produced an outstanding debut film behind the camera, and I'm still buzzing over Jane Levy's awesomeness. A damn good remake/reboot, that should satisfy fans of the originals, and horror fans, who love nasty and bloody gore. I love this film, and I can’t wait for the DVD!  

Final Rating: 8/10