Writer: Lester Gan Wai Lun

Writer Ratings:
Overall:
Cast:
Plot:
Effects:
Cinematography:

Watch this if you liked: "Evil Dead" (1981) & "Cabin In The Woods"

Has any story that began with the phrase "Five friends head to a remote cabin" ever ended well? Seems like a typical start to a fairly typical horror film, from there on it really depends on the writers' creativity to make it into a timeless masterpiece ("Cabin In The Woods" fan anyone?). This film being the remake of the 1981 horror hit is no slouch itself, considering how its director (Fede Alvarez) doesn't even have a list of blockbuster movies to back his underrated reputation. A well made film guaranteed to send a continuous supply of chills down your spine, something mainstream horror films today fail to deliver time after time.

Fans of the original film will not be disappointed by this remake; it has almost everything that makes a great horror film. The build-up and suspense, creativity in the brutal killings of its characters, a demon so scary it gets implanted into your memory and pops up whenever you take a shower or before you go to bed, and with Alvarez taking the old school method of gore by using actual movie grade concoctions of fake blood instead of CGI rendered blood. All these, on rather minor budget of US$ 17 million, balls up into one of the scariest horror film of the past decade.

To paint you a word picture on how scary this film is, the demons in this film will make Toby (the demon from "Paranormal Activity") seem like his pet Chihuahua. The downside however, the tension was pretty constant throughout the film. How hard would it have been to include some humour (at least ones that will actually make people laugh) to break the tension? Also the characters may seem a little underdeveloped compared to the original, but it is hardly bothersome once they get possessed and the killing spree begins.

As far as the plot goes, what you read in the description of this film is pretty much what you're going to get, five too good looking friends in their twenties deciding to go to a cabin located in the middle of nowhere and do everything normal minded people wouldn't even consider doing. Apparently logic has no place in the horror genre. On the plus side, there are events from the original film which also takes place in this one. The reviewer won't tell you what exactly, but it is a good bonus to all "Evil Dead" fans out there.

All in all, the movie is a fairly great experience and a mountain of respect for the director in managing to pay tribute to the 1981 original while making this his very own "Evil Dead". However, the tagline "The most terrifying film you will ever experience." doesn't hold up. It may be the most terrifying film of the past decade, but there are a few films in the past 40 years that comes to mind as truly terrifying as much as it is thought provoking ("The Exorcist" for one).

Cinema Online, 11 June 2013