You can almost guarantee that a popular horror movie will eventually get a sequel or reboot. It's the perfect way to grab a few bucks from audiences as it utilizes nostalgia but promises something new and exciting that you need to see. But it goes without saying that history has shown audiences that many of those promises lack significant proof. Remakes of classic horror films are usually exact copies of the original or a lazy trope fest. It's a cruel trick that somehow keeps working with horror reboot after horror reboot that is found at the beginning of each year's cinema season. Everyone wants a flashback to the things that they remember from their childhood, but being promised something new much of the time gives false hope of only deepening love for that specific franchise.
It's why big production companies and mass audiences keep going back to franchises like Halloween and Scream. They have a guaranteed audience, and that same audience wants to come as close as they possibly can to experiencing it for the first time again. But, for the most part, it just creates movies that lack the creativity and heart that made the originals so great in the first place, as well as a sinking feeling of audiences realizing that they're watching something that only resembles the memories they hold dear.
It is on a rare occasion that a reboot sticks the landing and does what it says it will do. Especially when handling beloved franchises that fans hold personally. One of which is Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead. There isn't really anything that ranks above Raimi's claim to fame in horror in the film world of cult fandoms. The franchise has cemented itself in the horror hall of fame with its groovy characters, blood, guts, goofs, traveling camera shots, and of course chainsaws. When remaking something as respected and appreciated by such a wide range of fans, it's almost guaranteed to be welcomed with skepticism and worry, and as stated before, it's not without reason. This is The Evil Dead, how would anyone be able to replicate the unique experience one has while seeing Raimi's classic, especially for the first time?
Well, Fede Alvarez can answer that. Don't just try to recreate the original and attempt to get the same reactions for this film as fans had for the original. Innovate and try something new, all the while respecting what made the original film so successful in the first place. Although the 2013 remake shares the same skeleton as the original, it also shares its absolute over-the-top bonkers tone, but in a different way. It doesn't have the same comedic charm that the Sam Raimi film had, but where it lacks laughs it fills it with pools of blood, violence, and gore. To say the 2013 remake indulges itself in over-the-top gore and blood is an understatement. The final minutes alone are enough to give any horror movie a run for its blood-soaked money. It is intense and in your face which works extremely well as it has a much more serious tone.
But what makes Fede Alvarez's The Evil Dead remake work so well as a remake is that it's more than just copy and paste or a completely different movie that doesn't even resemble anything from the franchise with the name plastered on the front. It's quite rare that audiences can actually see an attempt to make a remake something that can stand on its own when remaking a classic. But Alvarez has proved himself a talent in the realm of horror cinema.
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The call to change up the story and characters-including ridding itself of Ash himself-was a gutsy one but arguably one that was needed and is still needed in more horror remakes and reboots. But Evil Dead wasn't changed too much to the point that it isn't recognizable as part of The Evil Dead franchise. It is still about a group of young people in a cabin in the woods who unleash demons upon themselves by reading the Necronomicon. But although it still has that massive story element still, it changed it up from it just people some young adults who go to hang out at the cabin. It involves a deeper story about Mia and her attempt at dealing with her drug addiction.
It is a necessary change for a new audience all the while keeping what made the fans of the original so entertained. It meets the market of the new generation of horror lovers who grew up with the large influx of possession movies. It works for the body horror fans. But it obviously still works for the fans of over-the-top B horror movies much like the fans of the original films. For those looking for their first foray into The Evil Dead franchise, maybe this isn't where you should start. But it doesn't mean it should be ignored as a part of the franchise. Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead is what most horror reboots should strive for and is easily a welcomed entry in the franchise.