Rating: 3/5
I liked Don’t Breathe, I liked Jane Levy in it, and I’m going to see Evil Dead Rise tonight, so it seemed like I ought to check this out
I’m not an OG Evil Dead devotee — despite seeing Bruce Campbell make fun of some nerds a little while ago — so there was nothing sacred to them that this remake could sully. That said, I will mention stuff I think is better/worse between the originals and this
Jane Levy came to the cabin with friends and her brother to throw her stash down a well and get clean. This isn’t the first time she has tried to get clean, so they’re not going to let her leave, no matter what
As it goes in these cabins in the woods, they discover dozens of dead cats and a book wrapped in barbed wire. So, of course, they unwrap it. And with every warning in the book that says not to say what is in the book out loud, they ignore it and summon something
The thing summoned shows itself to Jane Levy, so you know, she’d like to leave… you see where this is going
The camera does the movement from the originals to convey the spirit moving through the woods, which is neat. In fact, a lot of cinematography nods to Sam Raimi
The pacing on this is better than the originals — or maybe it utilizes more contemporary tropes so it moves in a more familiar way
Despite the chaos of this, I never felt like the demon acted unpredictably. It was always some iteration of “something gory and a lot of screaming” or “No, it’s me, I’m back, help me!” Not inherently wrong, but not interesting on its own
Overall, pretty fun! Not the banger that Don’t Breathe was, but far from the worst thing I’ve seen. Definitely among the goriest, though!
Stray Thoughts
- Nice CG Jeep driving over a river
- “Grandpa” is a good dog name
- That meat is old! I get it, you wanted it to bleed for the transition, but it’s gray 🤮
- “dying wouldn’t be so bad right now… I just don’t want to become the devil’s bitch!”