Evil Dead

There have been several remakes of horror films from the 1980's. It was only a matter of time before Sam Rami's classic was given an update.
Growing up one of my favourite things to do when I went to the video store was to go to the Horror section. I loved to look at the covers of the videos. Usually they were very scary looking. I was never brave enough to actually watch any of these films and so looking at the covers was as close as I got to seeing the films. One of the scariest was 'The Evil Dead'. When it came to watching the 'The Evil Dead' trilogy, I came to it in a backwards way. When 'Army Of Darkness' was released in 1992 it did not have the subtitle 'The Evil Dead III' so I was not aware that it was part of that series until I actually saw the film (this is in the days before the internet when I knew very little about films before I saw them). Thankfully I went back and watched the first two films after I saw 'Army Of Darkness'. The original 'The Evil Dead' was the first film directed by Sam Raimi. It was made on a very low budget. Despite that Sam managed to make an incredibly scary film. His blend of crazy camera moves and over the top cheap special effects made it a groundbreaking horror film. While the film story had a serious edge to it, the overall tone of the film was a lighthearted one. The craziness of the situation made it more funny than serious.
Director Fede Alvarez and with his co-writer Rodo Sayagues have managed to capture that spirit of blending serious horror with the silliness of the situation to create a remake that manages to invoke the spirit of the original film and also make it feel fresh and new. I loved how they gave the characters more of a background. I also liked the reason they came up with for getting the kids to the cabin. Even though the special effects have been updated that does not detract from their effect. I also liked how the film goes all out with the gore. You do not see many mainstream horror films so hardcore with their blood and guts. But then again this film seems to delight in its craziness and how far it can take the gore. Most times I have trouble watching that much gore but here I did not seem to mind it. You can't help but laugh at how outrageous it is. There is also a great deal of fun in spotting references to the original that are hidden in the background. It was a good idea that they did not try to remake Ash. He is such an iconic character and not being played by Bruce Campbell would seem wrong.
The cast definitely look like they are having a great deal of fun with the film, even if they are being mutilated all the time (in the film that is). Jane Levy is excellent as our hero and victim Mia. She really runs the gamete of emotions. Shiloh Fernandez is also very good as Mia's brother. Perhaps a bit more serious than needed but still good. Lou Taylor Pucci is good as the nerd of the group. Most of his role is exposition but he still gets some good action scenes. Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore make some good demon fodder.
Fans of the original 'The Evil Dead' need not worry. One of the few remakes that while not better than the original is still worthy of great acclaim. Make sure you stay until after the end credits for a nice little salute.