Welcome everyone to the newest feature here at Coming Soon. ‘5 Reasons Why’ is dedicated to featuring and defending a controversial topic that is sure to spark a healthy debate among readers. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of this writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Comingsoon.net, Mandatory.com, Crave Online or any of its other subsidiaries.
In the summer of 1979, a group of friends gathered in the woods to make a scary movie. They had no idea that the film they were making would go on to be one of the most well-known and beloved films of all time. Sam Raimi, the film’s director, didn’t know that this little horror movie would launch his career as one of Hollywood’s most decorated directors. Bruce Campbell, the star of the film, has it to thank for almost every single role he’s ever gotten. He played a character named Ash, who would grow from timid survivor to legend in the span of three films. The movie was called The Evil Dead and it is truly a classic in every possible way. That being said, a director by the name of Fede Alvarez created a remake of the film, with his own vision, while still paying homage to the original. In 2013, The Evil Dead was remade for an entirely new generation and, despite not featuring Bruce Campbell (for the most part), it transcended the original in every way.
5) It Had a Bigger Budget
More money doesn’t always equal a better product. But sometimes it does. Back in 1979, Raimi and his crew had roughly $350,000 to play with. This may seem like a lot but for a movie, it might as well have been pennies. What Raimi, Campbell and the rest of their team accomplished with that amount of money is incredible, even by today’s standards. That being said, Fede Alvarez and his people had about $17 million to spend, and it shows. Nobody can deny the effort that both filmmakers put into their respective works. Alvarez’ just looks better.
4) Expectations Were Low, and then Subverted
Remakes of beloved classics had, for the most part, failed to capture the magic of the originals. Films like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween were all remade, to disastrous results. Because of this, expectations were quite low when going into the 2013 version of The Evil Dead. Which is why it blew every single one of them away. Not only was this Evil Dead an original story, but it also had characters to care about, to root for and, most importantly, to pay to watch. The original had Bruce Campbell, of course. But can you honestly say you cared at all about any of the other supporting characters?
3) It Was Mean, Violent and Scary
For its time, The Evil Dead was a pretty scary film but looking back at it now could cause more giggles than shivers. Comparatively speaking, the remake is relentless in its horror. There are very few moments of levity. It starts off depressing and it doesn’t stop until everything is literally covered in blood. Whether you like gore or not, one cannot argue its effectiveness in this film. A lot of people died. In very gruesome ways. Then watching them turn into Deadites and in turn chase down their still-human companions was horrifically satisfying.
2) It Respected but Transcended the Original
The best reason to remake a movie is because you have a new story to tell, but you want to do it in a way that is familiar to a ready-made audience. All too often, this doesn’t happen. In the case of Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez did have a new, interesting story to tell. In fact, even if he took away all of the Evil Dead references and just made a different horror story about kids trapped in a cabin in the woods, it would likely still be successful. That’s because Alvarez told his own story as evident in the closing stinger of the film. It didn’t overstay its welcome. It didn’t overshadow the rest of the film. Really, it wasn’t even, technically, a part of the film. It was groovy.
1) It Featured an Empowered, Relatable Female Heroine
Most importantly, however, Evil Dead gave us a new character to root for as she takes on the best hell has to offer. Mia is not Ash. She’s not supposed to be. Given, there were a few notable similarities between the two, Mia was never supposed to be the second coming of Ash. Yet that’s exactly what she became, but for completely different reasons. Mia didn’t tell her boyfriend to “give her some sugar, baby.” She didn’t call anything her “Boom-Stick.” Heck, she barely wielded a chainsaw. And that’s a big reason why audiences loved her. She wasn’t the “New Ash.” She was the “First Mia.” And as somebody struggling with addiction issues, who had the desire to quit, to make herself better, she immediately endeared herself to thousands of people going through similar issues. Mia could never be Ash, but she never tried to be. And that’s why we love her. It’s also why the remake of Evil Dead is superior to the original.
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