I’m a MEGA NERD when it comes to the Evil Dead Franchise!!! I was very late to the party on this, but feel I became obsessed at the right time. Quick flashback before I get into the review.
I worked at Sam Goody back in High School (kind gives you an idea how old I am if you’ve never heard of this store). One of my co-workers was a huge fan of the Evil Dead movies and said I should check them out. So late one Friday night I picked up Pizza from my favorite local place, Pirrone’s, and then rented the original movie Evil Dead (1981) at Blockbuster. My now wife, was one of my best friends after high school, came over and we became instant fans. This was not a date, just friends hanging out. I should have known right there she was a keeper but that came later.
In my early blog days I have reviewed these movies and the TV series, but have yet to review Army of Darkness. Check out the reviews I have done if you’re interested:
On to the purpose of this post (Finally). This movie was FANTASTIC!!!! Check out the trailer:
For those who don’t know this franchise, it had previously revolved around your run of the mill guy Ashley J Williams. Both the original movie and Evil Dead 2 follow the same basic plot. Evil Dead 2 is more of a remake than a sequel. Ash goes to a cabin in the woods with his girlfriend. Finds the Naturom Demonto (Book of the Dead) and a recording of the professor who discovered the book. The recording leads into translation of the passages unleashing an evil on the cabin.
The difference in Evil Dead 2, Ash’s hand becomes possessed by the evil and he cuts it off at the wrist. He heads to the woodshed and creates the Chainsaw hand, and wields a sawed off shotgun lovingly deemed, his Boomstick. This character follows through Army of Darkness into the television series Ash vs Evil Dead.
Fast forward to one of the greatest remakes with Evil Dead (2013) which has a female character and follows the same basic premise. Now the newest installment steps away from the original formula and you don’t ever have to watch the original movies to love this one.
The movie opens with a cabin on the lake but one that is way nicer than the original. The Evil and gore starts hard and heavy right away and leads into the greatest opening title card ever!!!
Then the movie goes backwards one day and we get to meet one of our main characters and then the single mom with her 3 kids. An Earthquake reveals an underground bank vault with a heavily religious artifact strewn crypt that holds the newest version of the Book of the Dead.
Personally not my favorite iteration of the book of the dead but it’s still cool. It kind of reminds me of the Monster Book of Monsters from Harry Potter just less hairy. The internal art work is horrifying and just some of the beast artwork I’ve seen. With all of the Easter eggs paying homage to the original movies, I had hoped one of the pages would have been similar to one that has been in the previous books.
Now, how is the Evil released you might ask. In previous movies it was a reel to reel recording, or a brainy college professor who translated and unleashed the evil on our main character. In this movie we have good old vinyl played backwards and recorded by a shunned priest. I was digging the backwards vinyl because I remember that kind of thing from when I was a kid. People said you could always hear Satan if you played Chicago or Abba Backwards. Always thought it was weird it was those artists and no Black Sabbath. 🤣
The evil is darker in this movie. It controls the building and power is going out, the elevator isn’t acting right. This is a very dark movie so I highly recommend watching this in a darkened room or Turing the brightness up a bit on your tv. I have heard complaints about this but I personally feel it sets the whole tone and feel to really make the watcher feel uneasy. The rest is a wild ride that will drag you kicking and screaming to the very end.
Lee Cronin did an amazing job taking on the franchise. As I’ve said, you don’t have to have seen a single Evil Dead movie to enjoy this. It is completely its own story. Before the credits finished rolling I looked at my wife and she said what I was thinking, “I can’t wait to see where the franchise goes next”. This pivot away from our Everyman hero focus to focusing on the Book and Evil itself can give unlimited possibilities. Yet, the movie stays true to the others, the little bits for fans to find are amazing.
This is the best movie I have seen so far in 2023. I give this 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃. I’ve already watched this movie a second time by the time I finished writing this, and I can’t wait for the special features to become available on my iTunes copy. If you love horror and want to really be scared, this movie is a must.
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