Plot: What’s it about?
What happened? The first three Evil Dead movies are bona fide classics. A then up-and-coming director by the name of Sam Raimi essentially invented a genre with the horror/comedy and the result was, you guessed it – Evil Dead. These were fun, campy movies that “concluded” in 1993 with Army of Darkness. Flash forward a few decades and now we’ve got a new lot of these films that bear only a passing resemblance to Raimi’s gems. The comedy has been replaced by over-the-top violence and, I’m willing to bet, has lost viewers in the process. To put it this way, when this arrived I’d forgotten it was released and thought they’d put out a new version of Evil Dead Rise. Nope, this is new. Let’s dive in.
We meet Alice (Souheila Yacoub) as her abusive husband (George Pullar) has violently died after they’ve had a big argument. After the funeral she jettisons to her family’s lake house where it’s clear that Will’s parents: Susan (Tandi Wright) and Edgar (Erroll Shand) blame her for their son’s death. Joseph (Hunter Doohan), the brother-in-law and his girlfriend, Thua (Luciane Buchanan) tend to give Alice a little more leeway. Evidently there’s a lot of free time as Joseph has been diving into his grandfather’s demonic spirit research where he, you guessed it, sets a few free. They go for Edgar first and then their sights turn to the others. There’s carnage, knives that come out of dishwashers, car headrests that impale and everything in between. If you’re into this sort of thing – there ya go.
It’s hard to follow in the footsteps of truly great (and cult classics at that) films like the Evil Dead movies. Many have tried and few have succeeded. I can see where they were going with this as some of the over-the-top antics and violence here are more paying homage to Raimi and his “creation” but there’s nothing like the original. I wouldn’t say this is a total waste of time, but I wouldn’t expect to see this one nominated for any Academy Awards either. Then again, I don’t think that was the intent. If this sort of film (or any of its predecessors) is your thing then you’ll have fun, otherwise there are plenty of other horror films to fill the bill.
Video: How’s it look?
If you like your movies dark, then this one’s for you. Warner’s 2.39:1 HEVC 4K image seems to be the same one used by Warner on their 4K discs. And why not? There’s no use in re-inventing the wheel. Also, the image does a great job of utilizing HDR for a nice, balanced look and feel. And that’s good, as there isn’t a shade of blue in the film. Faces covered in blood, green skin and ugly teeth – if this is something that gets you going, then you’ll be right at home. Detail is sharp, contrast strong and with it being a new film we know what to expect. And it does deliver. I just wish the content behind this nice-looking image had a little more substance.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The film does take full advantage of the included Dolby Atmos mix. This is mainly utilized for some spacial effects, screams and whatever else the evil spirits circling our speakers want. Vocals are a bit on the soft side, but they take a backseat to the front stage’s piercing mix. Virtually all of the sound is naturalistic, which does give us a nice-sounding atmospheric mix. Turn it up, it’ll make it a bit more enjoyable.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Evil Dead: Blazing the Trail – Director and writer Sébastien Vaniček along with producer Rob Tapert and a few cast members wax prophetic on the film.
- The Hot Shot: Evil Dead Burn‘s One-Shot Sequence – About the only thing cool about this movie (the one-shot sequence) is explored in some more detail.
- The One’s Gonna Burn – Another short feature that focuses on costumes and makeup and some of the special effects used therein.
The Bottom Line
While not horrible, I did have to ask myself “what the hell did I just watch?” It in no way compares to the first trio of Evil Dead films, rather these seem to remove a lot of the comedy which is what made them so enjoyable. There are some enjoyable moments and I did like the end “one-shot” sequence. Warner’s disc is spot on with the A/V, though the supplements are somewhat mailed in.
