Evil Dead * (R) I’ve enjoyed most of Sam Raimi’s films, his recent Oz the Great and Powerful notwithstanding. The Evil Dead he wrote and directed in 1981 as his debut feature was a breath of fresh air, if that term can apply to gruesome horror flicks. He added considerable wit to his mayhem, establishing a viable premise and efficiently engaging us with the characters before dispatching them with gusto. The novelty of his style spawned two worthy, dropoff-free sequels, and made childhood pal Bruce Campbell a star in certain cult corners. Evil Dead II serves up one of the best sight gags in film history. And if you haven’t seen it, catch The Quick and the Dead for its wry, hip take on classic Westerns.
So why did he let these clowns borrow the title and the framework for a remake? Did he know what a pointlessly unfocused gorefest Fede Alvarez would whip up in his first feature-length writer/director gig? Did he expect more humor from credited co-author Diablo Cody, based on her brilliant Juno screenplay?
Times have changed. The original was rated NC-17. Although this one substantially tops its ancestor on anyone’s grossout scale, it only earns an R. The new script has a number of significant variations...almost all to the bad. Smaller cast; little effort to establish the premise for the peril; less reason to care what happens to whom; underlit and over-cut action scenes, obscuring much of the reason anyone goes to such flicks.
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The best moments arguably arrive during and after the credits, but that’s too little, too late. Maybe the real genius of Raimi is letting the next generation prove how hard it is to match, much less improve upon, what he did, even with all the newer technology at hand. Well, played, dude. Game, set and match to the old pro. (4/5/13)