I’m not going to pretend that I
was outraged when a remake of classic 1981 horror The Evil Dead was announced because I only saw that movie for the
first time about six weeks ago. What I will say is that when I did see it, I
loved it and suddenly hoped that a remake wouldn’t do what so many other horror
reboots/remakes do and cock up and completely miss the point of the original. Evil Dead ends up somewhere in the
middle, remaining recognisably true enough to the original while growing its
own branches and taking its own directions. It fails to match the original in
terms of entertainment or laughs but is much scarier and is possibly the most
stomach churningly disgusting films I’ve ever seen.
Differing slightly from the original,
five friends converge on a cabin in the woods in an attempt to get one of their
number off drugs. Believing the secluded cabin is the perfect place to cure
their friend’s illness they are unaware that it also has a history of the
occult and is home to a demonic presence. One by one the group are forced to
deal with the demons, leaving them either possessed or gravely wounded.
