All fans of retro horror would hail the "Evil Dead" franchise as effortless splatter horror and its classic elements were essential to the development of the sub-genre. It was mainly remembered for its relatively crude, yet histrionic, special effects and straight forward plot that was simply orgasmic for us gore junkies.
The films were spawned around the theme of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient Sumerian text which wreaks havoc on a hapless group of cabin inhabitants in a wooded area in Tennessee. The series includes The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992) all written and directed by Sam Raimi.
Horror fans are generally not easily fooled and the latest installment will have to compete, probably unintentionally, with the original, basic formula. It could be the unfortunate case of due modernization that actually taints the intended result. The new “Evil Dead” remake was directed by Fede Alvarez in his feature debut and had teamed up with Sam Raimi and the original star Bruce Campbell who were the producers of this lofty project.
Critics are divided though on whether this new version has done justice to the franchise or provoked contempt amongst fans who have endured a marginalized genre. Mark Olsen of The Times wrote that the remake “has a gleeful exuberance of its own analogous to the mad invention of the original”, and added that it “nimbly walks the fine line of tribute, update and doing its own thing” and provides “plenty of over-the-top gore, great gushing geysers of it”. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune, however, stated that “it feels like a lot of other remakes of the 70’s and 80’s horror titles”. Personally, old school rules once more with a modern presentation. Expect more of these to come with the genre slowly regaining its prominence it enjoyed in the eighties.
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