There are too many good scary movies to explore to keep them contained as Saturday Morning Cinema pieces, and with October quickly coming to an end, I’ve got catching up to do. My first stop is 2013’s Evil Dead. A remake of 1981’s The Evil Dead, the film is a devilish orgy of supernatural terror, body horror, and blood.
I cannot claim to be a die-hard Evil Dead fan. I have seen the original and Evil Dead II, and I stuck with Ash vs Evil Dead for a bit, but I do not know the ins and outs of the lore or even much outside the basics of how the films connect. The new trilogy entries (Evil Dead, Evil Dead Rise, Evil Dead Burn), however, present modern styling and updated visuals that make the films an enticing watch. Yet ultimately, Evil Dead was a tough sit.
But it is not a tough sit because it is a bad movie. In fact, Evil Dead comes as advertised. It is gritty and tense with an abundance of gore, and it is that cocktail that makes the film hard to watch. This is not a “kick back on the couch and leisurely toss back some popcorn” movie. No, Evil Dead is a “slap you in the face with a bloody hand and then drag you by the hair to force you to watch a group of young adults get tortured and overtaken by a demon depicted as a thoroughbred of incomprehensible evil” movie. To put it simply, I was uncomfortable. Watching Evil Dead right before trying to fall asleep was, undeniably, a poor decision.
I have to believe that outcome is exactly what the filmmakers intended. Sure, you can extract a theme around the struggle of overcoming one’s “demons” (in this case drug addiction) and how their presence can hurt loved ones and those trying to help, but when all is said and done, you, as a viewer, are meant to be shocked and unsettled in the pit of your stomach. Evil Dead leaves no place for purity or a true happy ending; you just have to be happy that there is something left to embrace by the time the credits roll.
Coming through on the other end of Evil Dead, I have to admit it was a true horror experience. Is that not the purpose of a horror movie, to escort you safely to the end by making the on-screen characters experience all the terrible but leave you with that slight emotional bruise as a reminder you survived and felt something visceral? That is entertainment; it does not always have to be comfortable. With that in mind, I think I want to watch the next two installments (Rise and Burn), though I will have to be in the right mind to steel myself before hitting play. Just remember, if there is ever a printed version of Evil Dead, whatever you do, do not read from the book.
Featured Image: Shutterstock 2507738609 (esthermm)
